Govt-run schools delay annual results in Rawalpindi

Students return disheartened without knowing their scores

RAWALPINDI:

The annual results for classes I to VIII in a majority of government schools in Rawalpindi district faced delays this year due to inadequate planning by the education department.

This delay left many students disheartened as they returned home without knowing their results.

Typically, government school exam results are announced on March 31, unless it falls on a Sunday or an Islamic holiday, in which case the results are released on March 30. However, this year, March 31 coincided with a Sunday, prompting many schools to issue results on March 30.

Despite efforts by some schools to announce results on April 1, several government schools were unable to do so.

The delayed results are now scheduled to be released on Tuesday, April 2. The reason cited for the delay is the exams for Class IX and Matric, which were held on April 1.

According to results announced so far, all government school students passed their exams this year, with no failures reported across any class. While students welcomed the new policy to pass every student, teacher organisations and school councils have raised objections.

The new academic session in government schools, initially set to start on April 1, has been rescheduled to April 3 due to these delays. However, another challenge has emerged with the distribution of free textbooks. Around 60% of students in the district's 1,980 government schools have been deprived of free textbooks due to difficulties in distribution.

This problem stems from a programme that collects old textbooks from passing students to give to new ones, halting the distribution of new books. As a result, only 30-50% of old books have been recovered, leaving many parents with the burden of purchasing new textbooks from the market.

The District Education Authority have yet to address these concerns, leaving schools and students to navigate these challenges independently.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 2^nd, 2024.