Registering and monitoring schools
A survey has reveals that 65% of Rawalpindi’s private schools are unregistered
A survey has revealed that 65% of Rawalpindi’s private schools are unregistered, meaning the education department has no information about their functioning, curriculum, or ethics. This is unacceptable. The excuse of there being a lack of a system within the registration committee at the education department is dismissed. Likewise, lethargy on the part of private schools is apparent as a vast number — 3,000 out of 5,000 schools-- operate unregistered. There is a system failure and private school owners need to sketch a blueprint of a proper registration procedure.
The District Education Authority must take on a more assertive role, evidenced by the fact that even registered schools are not monitored enough. This means that schools can continue to engage in profiteering. There also needs to be a restructuring of the registration committee, by hiring more staff to review the high volume of registration applications and assigning specific roles to each member. Additionally, separate bodies should register and monitor schools, though liaising regularly with each other. Schools that have chosen to remain unregistered need to be exposed and fined.
Considering our education emergency, private schools have been saviours in one regard, acting as an immediate, ‘band-aid’ solution to the long-term education problem. They have enabled many Pakistani students to secure bright futures. However, dependency on private schools cannot continue. The government needs an overhaul of the public school system and although it has begun this in some regions of the country such as the crackdown on ghost teachers, expedited action is needed. A system of checks and balances needs to be applied because while private schools have offered some benefit, many continue to operate unethically. They raise tuition fees at will and hire faculty members who provide basic teaching but then force students to attend after-school tutoring sessions to derive profits. Parents, without a regulatory government body, are unable to voice a complaint.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2018.
The District Education Authority must take on a more assertive role, evidenced by the fact that even registered schools are not monitored enough. This means that schools can continue to engage in profiteering. There also needs to be a restructuring of the registration committee, by hiring more staff to review the high volume of registration applications and assigning specific roles to each member. Additionally, separate bodies should register and monitor schools, though liaising regularly with each other. Schools that have chosen to remain unregistered need to be exposed and fined.
Considering our education emergency, private schools have been saviours in one regard, acting as an immediate, ‘band-aid’ solution to the long-term education problem. They have enabled many Pakistani students to secure bright futures. However, dependency on private schools cannot continue. The government needs an overhaul of the public school system and although it has begun this in some regions of the country such as the crackdown on ghost teachers, expedited action is needed. A system of checks and balances needs to be applied because while private schools have offered some benefit, many continue to operate unethically. They raise tuition fees at will and hire faculty members who provide basic teaching but then force students to attend after-school tutoring sessions to derive profits. Parents, without a regulatory government body, are unable to voice a complaint.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2018.