In Sindh, 94% of aspiring teachers fail junior-level aptitude test

The test was part of the recruitment process for the posts of junior elementary school teacher

KARACHI: The disappointing results of teachers' tests conducted by the Sukkur Institute of Business Administration (IBA) have cast a pall over education standards in the province. Of the 34,000 candidates who appeared for the test for the post of junior elementary school teacher [JEST], only 2000 managed to pass. In other words, hardly 6% of the candidates managed to clear the test conducted by the Sukkur IBA Testing Service.

According to the official record of results, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, the Sindh government had announced 6,000 positions for junior elementary school teachers and 1,100 posts for 'early child teachers', respectively. The tests for selection against the said vacancies were conducted on different dates between November 11 and 28. "For early child teachers, more than 3,000 candidates had applied, of whom only 287 managed to clear the test," said an education department official, who asked not to be named.



Rather difficult

Several candidates who appeared for the test, however, complained that it was 'difficult' and 'lengthy'. Many said the questions were far too technical and out-of-course. "Looking at the 94% failure ratio, the education department has decided to review the situation. The education department will either re-advertise or decrease the limit of passing marks ratio to fill the remaining vacant positions," said an education department official, who is privy to the development.

"I have appeared in many tests. There were long paragraphs in English and technical questions. It was not possible for me to solve it," complained Nusrat Hussain, one of the candidates who belonged to Sukkur division. "There were logic and IQ questions, which were difficult for me to understand in the limited time. The actual time was two hours and they winded up the exam in one and a half hours," she added.

IBA's stance

Sukkur IBA Registrar Zahid Khand told The Express Tribune that the Sindh government had announced a policy to pass only those who secured 60% or higher. This was, unfortunately, not possible for the majority of the aspiring teachers.

"We have suggested the government to reduce the pass percentage to 50% or 55%, so that more candidates can make the cut," he said.
When asked about the complaints of the difficulty level of the test, Khand refuted all the allegations, saying the paper was fairly easy and the large number of failed candidates was an indication of the failing standards of education in the province. "We prepared the paper from sixth, seventh and eighth-grade Math, English and Science textbooks. There were also some IT-related questions. The high failure ratio is in no way our fault," he remarked.

The Sukkur IBA has been involved in the recruitment tests for aspiring teachers since 2007. The move was taken after massive irregularities were uncovered in the hiring process of teachers. The World Bank, which was a major donor of the education department, had also expressed concern and asked the provincial government so start hiring teacher through a third party evaluation process.

The Sindh government had inked MoUs with the National Testing Service, Sukkur IBA and the Sindh University to conduct the tests.
For now, Education Secretary Qazi Shahid Parvez has said that they have just received the results from Sukkur IBA and are reviewing it before taking any final decision. "So we have not yet issued any orders, but we will make a decision soon," he said.

Reform Support Unit

On the other hand, the Reform Support, which was initiated by the provincial education department with the help of the World Bank, is expected to be winded up soon.

According to senior officials, privy to the development, various projects worth around USD700 million were initiated under this programme in different phases to bring reforms to the education sector, increase enrollment [especially girls] and develop infrastructure of schools in the province. Unfortunately, the programme has been unable to achieve any tangible results so far.

"Since the donor has now stopped funding, the government is considering shelving this program. In this connection, a summary has been moved to the chief minister to run this program from provincial government funding," said a source, adding that around 104 consultants were appointed to work on these initiatives, most of whom will lose their jobs.