Cantonment school finally moves out of headmistress’s house
New building can accommodate more students and also has space for a playground
PHOTO: FILE
RAWALPINDI:
After nine long years, the Cantonment Board Primary School in Kamalabad has finally been shifted to a well-ventilated building.
The school was previously operating in a small building which was owned by the headmistress of the school. She lived on the ground floor of the building and had rented the first floor to the school at a monthly rent of Rs32,000.
Hence, not only did she draw a salary from the school, but she also benefited from the rent. Operating in a single story, the schools lacked sufficient space to house 84 students and 13 teachers, including the headmistress, three non-teaching staff, a guard and a watchman.
The district administration, though, was facing difficulties in shifting the school to another building as the headmistress allegedly argued against the move.
However, once the matter was discussed during a meeting of the cantonment’s board, it was decided to shift the school into a large building on Street 12. The new building has the capacity to accommodate 200 students and it also has space for a playground. Moreover, the school will now be accessible to students residing in wards 5 and 6 of the cantonment.
Cantonment Board Member Haji Zafar Iqbal said that they will try their best to provide better facilities to the students at the new facility.
Marking system replaced with grades
The Punjab Education Department has decided to replace the traditional number marking system with a grading system for the Matriculation and Intermediate systems.
The decision has been taken to bring the current government-run education system at par with the O and A levels system of Cambridge University.
The idea was suggested by the chairman of Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) and came into force after it was approved by Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.
From now onwards, there will be no race amongst students to acquire maximum marks as they will only be given grades such as A+, A, B, C and D grades depending on their performance in the exam. However, a backlash against the decision has come from educational experts who have completely rejected it.
Headmasters Association Chief Dr Chaudhry Sagheer has said that the educational boards which applied grading system in practical examinations have failed.
He added that every number (marking out of a total in exams) matters when students seek admissions in colleges and universities.
He lamented that according to the proposed system, any student scoring marks between 90-99 will be awarded an A+ grade, which will make it difficult for universities and colleges to select the best possible students for their institutions.
WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM QAISER SHERAZI
Published in The Express Tribune, July 08th, 2019.
After nine long years, the Cantonment Board Primary School in Kamalabad has finally been shifted to a well-ventilated building.
The school was previously operating in a small building which was owned by the headmistress of the school. She lived on the ground floor of the building and had rented the first floor to the school at a monthly rent of Rs32,000.
Hence, not only did she draw a salary from the school, but she also benefited from the rent. Operating in a single story, the schools lacked sufficient space to house 84 students and 13 teachers, including the headmistress, three non-teaching staff, a guard and a watchman.
The district administration, though, was facing difficulties in shifting the school to another building as the headmistress allegedly argued against the move.
However, once the matter was discussed during a meeting of the cantonment’s board, it was decided to shift the school into a large building on Street 12. The new building has the capacity to accommodate 200 students and it also has space for a playground. Moreover, the school will now be accessible to students residing in wards 5 and 6 of the cantonment.
Cantonment Board Member Haji Zafar Iqbal said that they will try their best to provide better facilities to the students at the new facility.
Marking system replaced with grades
The Punjab Education Department has decided to replace the traditional number marking system with a grading system for the Matriculation and Intermediate systems.
The decision has been taken to bring the current government-run education system at par with the O and A levels system of Cambridge University.
The idea was suggested by the chairman of Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) and came into force after it was approved by Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.
From now onwards, there will be no race amongst students to acquire maximum marks as they will only be given grades such as A+, A, B, C and D grades depending on their performance in the exam. However, a backlash against the decision has come from educational experts who have completely rejected it.
Headmasters Association Chief Dr Chaudhry Sagheer has said that the educational boards which applied grading system in practical examinations have failed.
He added that every number (marking out of a total in exams) matters when students seek admissions in colleges and universities.
He lamented that according to the proposed system, any student scoring marks between 90-99 will be awarded an A+ grade, which will make it difficult for universities and colleges to select the best possible students for their institutions.
WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM QAISER SHERAZI
Published in The Express Tribune, July 08th, 2019.