Deprived govt schools outperform model colleges in matriculation exams

Officials say they had to make do with temporary teachers in absence of full-time staff

ISLAMABAD: Despite a shortage of staff and funds, schools set up by the federal government in the capital have outperformed the model colleges in the annual matriculation examinations announced last week.

According to a comparative analysis conducted by the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), as many as 10 model schools – previously known as federal government schools - yielded a 100 per cent result, all of their students successfully passed their exams.

The government had renamed federal schools in the capital as model schools to bring uniformity in the education system. However, it failed to eliminate the discrimination while distributing funds and qualified human resource. The government had also set up model colleges which received the bulk of funds and resources.

Despite that, the federal schools performed better than the 20 model colleges in Islamabad.

Eight girls’ schools produced 100 per cent results including the Islamabad Model School for Girls (classes VI-X) in Sectors F-7/2, G-9/3, G-6/1-3, G-10/1, G-11/1, E-8, G-9/1, and G-8/2.

IMSG in Sector F-7/2, however, produced the best results in the city with a 5.36 grade point average (GPA), which was better than the grades produced all the boys and girls schools working under the ambit of FDE. As many as 119 students from the school appeared in the exam conducted by the Federal Board and all were declared as successful.

The school’s principal Saadia Adnan stated that Islamabad’s model schools had performed better than the model colleges, which had been set up in the urban sector, despite the wide gap in resources with the equation favouring the colleges. “Qualified staff is available [at the colleges] while we, at the model schools, have to cope with reinstated and sacked employees as well,” she said.

She added that said they did not have full-time teachers for at least eight subjects including English, Urdu, Computer Science, Home Economics, Physics, Islamiyat and Mathematics and that they had to resort to employing non-teaching staff to fill in for regular teachers.

Among the boys’ schools, the Islamabad Model College for Boys (ex-federal college) in Sector G-9/4 produced a 100 per cent result with a cumulative GPA of 4.67. Around 126 students of the college had appeared in the exams and all of them passed it.  Officials, however, credited the education reform programme which has helped plug the gap between the two classes of schools run by the government by upgrading deprived schools by adding new infrastructure and training teachers.

In the rural areas of the capital, IMSB Chirrah gave a 100 per cent result with two of its students appearing in the exam and passed. Out of the 40 schools in the rural areas of the capital, 16 produced a result of over 80 per cent. Some also had a pass percentage of 33.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2017.