Teacher training: Course timing could cost students their grades
SED says courses necessary for new recruits, move to English medium.
LAHORE:
The School Education Department’s (SED) Directorate of Staff Development (DSD) training has been criticised for being ‘ill-timed and ill-planned’.
Four hundred teachers and administrators from around the province are attending the training that started from December 20, 2010 and will conclude on January 15, 2011.
There are four types of courses being offered as part of the training that include those for district teacher educators, education manager (DDO education etc), English Teaching Programme and Subject Specialists training. The duration of the courses, being held at the DSD, Lahore, varies from two to three weeks.
Muhammad Jameel Najam, a former director of public instructions (DPI), called the SED’s decision to hold the training unwise. “This is the most critical session of the academic year. Class five and eight annual examinations are scheduled in the first week of February, those of matriculation students in March and intermediate examinations will start in April,” Najam said. Out of a total of 400, 250 are grade five, eight and 10 teachers.
He said that this time of the year was usually dedicated to helping students revise their course materials by holding internal exams in schools in order to help them prepare for their finals. “Remedial classes are then held for those who do not secure good grades in internal examinations. How is all that going to happen when teachers are administrators are away in Lahore on training?” he asked.
Najam expressed his apprehension that this ill-timed training would come at a cost of the students’ final grades. “Since they won’t have time for revision, there is a big chance that the school results will suffer. And when that happens and the Education Department asks why their performance is miserable, the teachers and headmasters will blame it on this training,” he added.
He continued his criticism saying that the students had already suffered this year because the government had extended summer holidays. “Many schools and colleges have not even been able to finish their syllabi. Instead of helping the teachers do that, the DSD called them in for training,” Najam said. He demanded that the chief minister discourage SED initiatives “that can cost the students their future”.
DSD officials confirmed to the Tribune that some of the teachers had been reluctant to come to Lahore for the training because it is the most critical time of the academic year. “Under training headmasters and teachers from across the province had to postpone internal school examinations in order to attend the training,” said one official. According to officials, the Education Department forced the administrators and teachers to attend the training. “The SED officials took this ridiculous step so that it could present a good annual report to the chief minister,” said another.
A teacher who is attending the training told The Express Tribune that the DSD had called them in because they wanted the training to be completed before the academic year ends on April 1. The teacher expressed his dissatisfaction with the content training.
DSD training coordinator, Dr Shakeel, told the Tribune that the training was necessary because majority of the teachers and subject specialists were fresh recruits. He said that the DSD had arranged the training so that the teachers could be trained how to teach subjects like mathematics and science in English.
SED secretary Muhammad Aslam Kamboh was not available for comments.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 11th, 2011.
The School Education Department’s (SED) Directorate of Staff Development (DSD) training has been criticised for being ‘ill-timed and ill-planned’.
Four hundred teachers and administrators from around the province are attending the training that started from December 20, 2010 and will conclude on January 15, 2011.
There are four types of courses being offered as part of the training that include those for district teacher educators, education manager (DDO education etc), English Teaching Programme and Subject Specialists training. The duration of the courses, being held at the DSD, Lahore, varies from two to three weeks.
Muhammad Jameel Najam, a former director of public instructions (DPI), called the SED’s decision to hold the training unwise. “This is the most critical session of the academic year. Class five and eight annual examinations are scheduled in the first week of February, those of matriculation students in March and intermediate examinations will start in April,” Najam said. Out of a total of 400, 250 are grade five, eight and 10 teachers.
He said that this time of the year was usually dedicated to helping students revise their course materials by holding internal exams in schools in order to help them prepare for their finals. “Remedial classes are then held for those who do not secure good grades in internal examinations. How is all that going to happen when teachers are administrators are away in Lahore on training?” he asked.
Najam expressed his apprehension that this ill-timed training would come at a cost of the students’ final grades. “Since they won’t have time for revision, there is a big chance that the school results will suffer. And when that happens and the Education Department asks why their performance is miserable, the teachers and headmasters will blame it on this training,” he added.
He continued his criticism saying that the students had already suffered this year because the government had extended summer holidays. “Many schools and colleges have not even been able to finish their syllabi. Instead of helping the teachers do that, the DSD called them in for training,” Najam said. He demanded that the chief minister discourage SED initiatives “that can cost the students their future”.
DSD officials confirmed to the Tribune that some of the teachers had been reluctant to come to Lahore for the training because it is the most critical time of the academic year. “Under training headmasters and teachers from across the province had to postpone internal school examinations in order to attend the training,” said one official. According to officials, the Education Department forced the administrators and teachers to attend the training. “The SED officials took this ridiculous step so that it could present a good annual report to the chief minister,” said another.
A teacher who is attending the training told The Express Tribune that the DSD had called them in because they wanted the training to be completed before the academic year ends on April 1. The teacher expressed his dissatisfaction with the content training.
DSD training coordinator, Dr Shakeel, told the Tribune that the training was necessary because majority of the teachers and subject specialists were fresh recruits. He said that the DSD had arranged the training so that the teachers could be trained how to teach subjects like mathematics and science in English.
SED secretary Muhammad Aslam Kamboh was not available for comments.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 11th, 2011.