The Inter-Board Coordination Commission (IBCC), in a meeting held recently, has approved 'online home learning' at the school level across the country.
The IBCC is a federal government organisation responsible for accrediting 'A and O Levels' in Pakistan and is authorised to provide equivalence for further education as well as to recognise the exams and results of the online home learning programme, completed at the matriculation level. The direct benefit of this decision will go to 'out-of-school children' who will be enrolled in online schooling programmes as private or private school candidates and will now be able to study up to matriculation.
Furthermore, at the meeting, it was decided to extend the one-year 'Diploma in Information Technology' (DIT) programme at the technical education level in Pakistan to two years. Notifications regarding both decisions have been issued.
The IBCC Executive Director Dr Ghulam Ali Malah informed The Express Tribune that matriculation in science is also possible through online homeschooling and the qualification of such a student will also be recognised.
He stated that although the decision would affect the boards of all four provinces as well as Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the proposal has come from the education boards of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Furthermore, the education board of that province may also allow matriculation examinations to such students in the case that a school connected to the relevant boards wishes to offer online home education. However, the examination will be conducted on a physical basis and there will be no scope for an online facility for the examination.
Additionally, the IBCC meeting decided to declare DIT as equivalent to intermediate and the notification that three separate subject combinations consisting of three subjects have been made for this diploma. The first combination of subjects is Physics, Statistics and Computer Science, the second is Mathematics, Economics and Computer Science and the third is Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science.
The technical boards have made a scheme of studies by preparing the two-year curriculum of DIT, according to the IBCC executive director.
Notably, even if the two-year DIT is regarded as inter-computer science, students will have problem in getting admission in the relevant faculty at the university level.
IBCC chief says that he will soon write letters to HEC and universities for the ease of admissions in universities.
According to the chairman of the Sindh Board of Technical Education, Dr Masroor Sheikh, this proposal along with the formation of the curriculum was presented by the Sindh Technical Board.
He said that till now the one-year diploma was being conducted. We were preparing computer operators for the job market. However, because credits do not transfer, students are unable to use this base to seek higher education, which is now feasible.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2023.
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