Rawalpindi starts survey of private schools

These institutions will then be registered through a software

RAWALPINDI: As part of its efforts to regulate them in line with the directions of the apex court, the Rawalpindi district education authority (DEA) has kicked off a survey to collect data of all private schools in the district.

As a result, the DEA will be able to bring all 5,000 private schools in the district under the net of a government regulator.

To make the registration process more efficient, the district education body aims to register these schools through a purpose-built, online application — which has been gifted to the DEA by the private schools' authorities — once the survey is complete.

The DEA officials told that they have received as many as 1,000 registration applications from private schools in the district while they have shifted hundreds of applications, which have been long pending, to this online system as well.

DEA Senior Official Irfan Muzfar Kayani told The Express Tribune that on the instructions of DEA chief executive officer (CEO) and the Rawalpindi deputy commissioner (DC), they have set up a separate branch for the registration and regulation of private educational institutions in the district.

For this purpose, he said that staff has been deployed in the branch.

Kayani further disclosed that the make the process smoother and more efficient, the private school authority had provided them with software to digitise their processes, particularly the entire registration system. This software will eventually also help make it easy to register private schools online.

Talking about the role of private educational institutions in the education sector, the official said that they were not only playing their part in the enhancement of the overall literacy rate in the country apart from providing employment to the educated youth.

Asked about the survey, Kayani said that it is currently underway across the district and is expected to be completed by the middle of February, after which the registration process will start.

He further stated that DEA will create policies for creating ease and provision of facilities to private institutions once the registration process is complete.

Promoting IT culture

Cantonment and Garrison Directorate — Federal Government Educational Institutions (FGEI) Director-General Major-General Muhammad Asghar has emphasised the need to promote IT culture at all tiers and directed to encourage E-learning for faculty.

Further, he said that there is a dire need for the professional improvement of administrative and NTS of FGEIs for which the Ministry of Information, Technology and Telecom (MOITTT), through www.digiskills.pk, has offered several online courses.

Maj Gen Asghar said that teaching faculty and non-teaching staff can enrol into the Digital Literacy, Creative Writing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) courses to develop handy skills.

Digi-Skills is a project executed by the Virtual University of Pakistan (VU) to equip a million professionals, youth and students with key technological skills.

The project offers 10 digital skill programmes which can be availed free of cost. These courses are not restricted by age of applicants, their qualification or the time they have restricted. To make it accessible for all, the courses are taught in both, English and Urdu languages.

The only requirement is for the participants to have access to a computer or other similar digital device and a stable internet connection. Participants can register by signing up on www.digiskills.pk.

After completing the course, participants will be awarded an e-certificate.

Moreover, a participant can take up more than one course at a time. The first course will be 'freelancing' and the second can be selected by the participants as per their interest.

WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM APP

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2020.