The education department's initiative to organise STEM-based competitions covering the core subjects comprising physics, chemistry, biology and computer science for students of government and private institutions has met with resistance from both sectors.
Private schools have termed it a futile effort and refused to participate while government schools have also shown a lukewarm response, with only a few schools participating. The District Education Authority’s CEO expressed disappointment over the poor response through a voice message on a WhatsApp group of government schools.
He has made it mandatory for at least four girls' and boys' schools from each of Rawalpindi's seven tehsils to participate in the competitions. He has also issued orders to the tehsil education officers to ensure compulsory registration of schools for the contests, however, private schools believe that holding such competitions at this time is impossible and untimely, as summer vacations are approaching before annual exams are being held. Furthermore, intermediate annual board exams are about to start while practical exams for matriculation students are also scheduled to start soon.
Despite having around 1,900 government schools in Rawalpindi, only a few schools have shown interest in the competitions which has prompted the CEO to issue strict orders for compulsory registration of schools. The school heads are protesting against these orders, while teachers of physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science are also worried about the lack of preparation time for these subjects.
According to school sources, government schools have decided to prepare models for these subjects through private sector resources, as they believe it is impossible to prepare ideal models for children in such a short time. However, the CEO maintained that these competitions are essential to encourage children and bring out their hidden talents.
Published in The Express Tribune May 5th, 2024
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