No action yet against school that cheated

School owner had confessed to deliberate violation of rules.

NAROWAL:

Almost a month after the allegations surfaced and despite directions from the district coordination officer for disciplinary action against the school that cheated in the chief minister’s debate and writing competition, the executive district officer (EDO) has still not taken any action against those involved.

Talat Rasheed, owner of the Ghazali Model School, Shakargarh, has confessed to cheating in the competition held on November 24, admitting to tampering student records to gain an unfair advantage in the competition. He has sought forgiveness on ‘compassionate grounds.’

On November 24, the administration of Ghazali Model School sent its three students to participate in the chief minister’s speech, debate, essay writing and art competitions. A few days after the competition, a competitor school pointed out that the Ghazali school administration had violated the criteria for participants by fielding students, who were either above the cut-off age or had not participated in previous rounds.

The school had nominated its student Aliza Riaz for speech competition at tehsil level, however, she had not appeared at the markaz level, a requirement under rules. Two high school students Ammar Masood and Abdullah Aslam were nominated for middle school Urdu and English essay writing competitions respectively.

An inquiry was conducted by District Management Officer (DMO) Sajjad Gondal which concluded that the allegations against the school were factual. Gondal reported that the school administration had concealed facts with the connivance of some Education Department officials. “The three students secured top positions, but they were not eligible for participation in the competitions,” he added.

The inquiry report, submitted to the DCO on December 1, suggested that Deputy District Officer Shafqat Begum may have helped the students.

On the same day, the DCO directed EDO Shahzad Awan to take action against the school within seven days. Instead, Awan constituted another committee, headed by himself, to pin the responsibility accurately and transparently.

Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, managing director of Eden High School, another participating school, alleged that Rasheed had close contacts with the EDO.

He said it was unlikely that any action would be taken against him. Awan rejected the suggestion and said that the committee was constituted to hold to ‘fix responsibility.’ DMO Gondal recommended cancellation of school licence and blacklisting it for future participation in similar competitions. “A criminal case might be registered against the school management. The position secured by the students may also be cancelled and awarded to next eligible students,” he said. He said action against those involved will be taken under PEEDA Act.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2011.