Over one million children await school admission
Lockdown also delaying book printing and distribution
PHOTO: AFP
LAHORE:
Around a million children across Punjab have been affected by the ongoing delay in start of school admissions owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The provincial government is reportedly planning to resolve the issue during the coming month. The students whose parents want to admit them to class one to nine are not even being offered online classes and the delay in their admission has put their future at risk.
Students of elite schools and some government institutions are getting online education amid the lockdown imposed to contain the disease. However, about one million children are awaiting school admission this year in the 36 districts of Punjab. A large number of students are spending time at home, while their parents are worried about their future.
Punjab Teachers Union Secretary General Rana Liaqat Ali told The Express Tribune that teachers across the province were protesting over the situation and demanding that the government start admissions to save the future of a large number of students.
"Every year, around one million students get admissions classes one to nine in Punjab. Around 400,000 students leave schools every year after the matriculation exams. This year the situation is different as parents have been affected financially by the pandemic and available for children have also dropped. This year we are expecting around 1.2 million admissions in the schools in the province," said Rana Liaqat. However, in addition to the admissions, another major issue faced by the education sector is the printing of textbooks for the students.
"Around two months are required for the distribution of books following their printing. The issue for us is how we will complete the course after the admissions and distribution of books," said Allah Rakha Gujjar, a former president of Punjab Teachers Union.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 27th, 2020.
Around a million children across Punjab have been affected by the ongoing delay in start of school admissions owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The provincial government is reportedly planning to resolve the issue during the coming month. The students whose parents want to admit them to class one to nine are not even being offered online classes and the delay in their admission has put their future at risk.
Students of elite schools and some government institutions are getting online education amid the lockdown imposed to contain the disease. However, about one million children are awaiting school admission this year in the 36 districts of Punjab. A large number of students are spending time at home, while their parents are worried about their future.
Punjab Teachers Union Secretary General Rana Liaqat Ali told The Express Tribune that teachers across the province were protesting over the situation and demanding that the government start admissions to save the future of a large number of students.
"Every year, around one million students get admissions classes one to nine in Punjab. Around 400,000 students leave schools every year after the matriculation exams. This year the situation is different as parents have been affected financially by the pandemic and available for children have also dropped. This year we are expecting around 1.2 million admissions in the schools in the province," said Rana Liaqat. However, in addition to the admissions, another major issue faced by the education sector is the printing of textbooks for the students.
"Around two months are required for the distribution of books following their printing. The issue for us is how we will complete the course after the admissions and distribution of books," said Allah Rakha Gujjar, a former president of Punjab Teachers Union.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 27th, 2020.