Poor SSC-I results put Punjab schools under fire

A dispute over responsibility for this year's poor Class 9 results across all nine educational boards in Punjab has intensified between the provincial Education Department and teachers' organisations.

The Education Department has placed the primary responsibility for the poor results on teachers, while teachers' organisations have blamed the government and the department for what they described as flawed educational policies.

Private schools' organisations have also attributed part of the poor performance to teachers, while holding prolonged government-declared holidays responsible for disrupting the academic cycle.

As the dispute intensifies, the Education Department has begun removing principals and headteachers of schools with poor results, transferring class teachers and issuing show-cause notices. Teachers' organisations have warned that such measures could further intensify the dispute and adversely affect the education system

Approval has reportedly been granted for strict departmental action against heads and teachers of government schools across the province where the Class IX pass rate is between zero and 15%.

According to the Rawalpindi Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), 184 schools recorded a zero per cent result in the Class IX examinations, including 81 government schools.

Rawalpindi district recorded the highest number of government schools with a zero per cent result, followed by Attock and Chakwal.

When government and private schools are combined, 91 schools in Rawalpindi, 35 in Attock, 26 in Chakwal, 24 in Jhelum, 10 in Murree and eight in Talagang recorded zero per cent results. Show-cause notices have reportedly begun to be issued to the heads of these institutions.

Meanwhile, teachers' organisations have rejected the Education Department's attempt to hold teachers responsible for the poor results and have issued a 30-point charge sheet against the government and the department. Teachers questioned how improved results could be expected when there were only around 120 teaching days in a year of 365 days.

They said three weekly holidays - Friday, Saturday and Sunday - disrupted academic continuity, while teaching for approximately four hours a day made it difficult to complete the entire curriculum and achieve the required educational standards.