Punjab promotes primary students to next grade

'Education House' learning channel to be launched this week

RAWALPINDI: With schools in the province closed for another two months owing to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, putting the ongoing and upcoming academic years in jeopardy, the Punjab government has decided to give all public school students, up to the seventh grade, an automatic promotion into the next class.

This was announced by the Punjab Education Ministry on Wednesday.

The ministry said that students in kindergarten up to grade VII will be promoted into the next grade when the new academic year begins without having to first appear in any sort of examination - usually held at the end of the academic year.

'Taleem Ghar'

To provide education to students who are stuck at home owing to the Covid-19 lockdown, the Punjab Education Ministry plans to launch “Taleem Ghar” (education house) this week.

Taleem Ghar will comprise educational content aimed to continue classes on key subjects for students of various grades. To ensure accessibility, the channel will be aired on local cable television (TV) networks in the province to engage students in educational activities.

Dedicated channels will televise one subject a day from 9am to 1pm covering classes from kindergarten to Grade-VII.

Assistant education officers of all seven tehsils of Rawalpindi district have completed their consultations with cable operators and a schedule of classes has been issued.

Apart from the cable channels, a mobile application and a website are also being developed to communicate lessons to students.

Rawalpindi District Education Authority (DEA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kashif Azam said that all preparations have been completed for the Taleem Ghar programme. Apart from lessons, he said that students will also be assigned homework through the channel.

He also endorsed the Punjab education ministry's decision to promote all students from kindergarten to grade-VII to the next classes sans an annual exam.

Payday for teachers

Following the federal capital, the Punjab government on Wednesday allowed private educators in the district to open schools for managing their administrative affairs and to pay their teaching and non-teaching staff with minimum human contact.

For most private institutions in Rawalpindi, Wednesday saw staff visit their respective institutions to pick up their cheques.

"Employees were called to the institutions one by one," a school official said, adding that staff members were instructed to take all precautionary measures whilst at work.

All Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association (APSCA) Secretary-General Irfan Kiyani confirmed the opening of private educational institutions to The Express Tribune.

He assured that schools will implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) devised by the government to prevent coronavirus spread. Besides paying salaries, the schools will develop a mechanism to conduct classes remotely and assign homework to the students at homes, he added.

Further, DHA chief Azam assured that schools will be allowed to carry on administrative work without calling students in and conducting classes. The official said that the authority will strictly monitor the institutions in this regard.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 2^nd, 2020.