Capital grapples with school dropouts

Parliamentary committee seeks report on Cambridge paper leak

ISLAMABAD:

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Education has been informed that 17,000 children across 30 union councils in the federal capital are currently out of school, while Cambridge has acknowledged the leak of a Mathematics examination paper and has been asked to submit a detailed report on the matter.

Director General of Education, Junaid Akhlaq, told the committee that admissions to federal government educational institutions are being conducted entirely on merit, with capacity available for 32,000 students.

The meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Education was chaired by Acting Chairperson Syeda Aamna Batool. Officials from the Ministry of Education, the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA), the Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC), and the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) briefed the committee on a range of issues.

During the session, committee member Shazia Soomro expressed displeasure over what she described as the ministry's lack of seriousness, observing that while committee members attend meetings regularly, neither the Secretary nor the Minister is present.

Former PEIRA Chairman Ghulam Ali Mallah informed the committee that 50 unregistered schools had been identified in the federal capital and that inspection teams had already been constituted. He further stated that, under the law, private schools would be required to allocate ten per cent of admissions free of charge, and that the relevant mechanism had now been finalised.

The committee was informed that, out of 1,600 schools, 500 had already submitted reports regarding free admissions. Out-of-school children who pass the requisite tests would also be eligible to receive free education at elite schools.

Mallah added that efforts to eradicate narcotics from educational institutions would be undertaken in collaboration with the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF).

The meeting was further told that 17,000 children remain out of school across 30 union councils of Islamabad. Joint Secretary Education Hameed Niazi stated that the survey had been completed and that a target had been set to enrol all such children in schools by May 30.

Serious concern was also expressed over the Cambridge examination paper leak controversy. IBCC officials informed the committee that Cambridge had admitted the leak of a Mathematics paper and that a comprehensive report had been sought.

Shazia Soomro remarked that Pakistan's own examination system had long been criticised, but questions were now being raised about the credibility of the Cambridge system itself.

The issue of admissions to federal educational institutions also prompted heated discussion, with committee members arguing that the online portal system posed difficulties for economically disadvantaged parents.