Flying colours: Govt decides no report cards for classes I to III
Education minister announces 19,000 more teachers.
KARACHI:
Children studying from classes I to III will be promoted automatically without formal report cards to rank them on their performance, the education department’s steering committee has decided.
“But there will be a written examination locally for the sake of creating a sense of exams among the students,” reads a resolution the committee passed. Education minister, Pir Mazharul Haq, presided over the meeting.
On the other hand, the students from classes IV to VIII will be graded in exams which will end by March 30. Haq also announced that the department will hire 19,000 more teachers on contract.
The steering committee meets every year to discuss the schedule of admissions, examinations, vacations and other issues before the beginning of the academic year. This year’s meeting was held at the reform support unit of the NJV School. The chairmen of the boards of education and textbook board, representatives of private schools associations and the education executive district officers attended.
Admissions
It was decided that schools should wrap up admissions for classes I to X (or ten) before March 31. However, in Karachi the admissions for first and second year will continue to end by the first week of September, because of the centralised admission policy (CAP). But the rest of the province will follow the schedule set by the education department, and will end admissions by the first week of August.
Exams and results
The theory exams of classes IX and X will be announced from April 5 while all the education boards in the province will announce the results of class X by July 15. The deadline for the Board of Secondary Education Karachi was decided as July 31.
For first and second year, theory exams will begin from May 7. All education boards were directed to announce the second year results before August 31, while the deadline for Karachi was set as September 15.
Minister Haq stressed that optimum use should be made of school and college premises for exams. “In case there is a shortage of space, the education department will help the school or college in finding an appropriate place.”
He said that the examination forms for students with a minimum of 75% attendance will be accepted. “We’ll ensure that teachers are available in places where there is a shortage.”
Extracurricular activities
Before the meeting, the education secretary, Muhammad Siddique Memon, and the country manager of a Canadian sports organisation, Iqbal Jatoi, signed a memorandum of understanding for organising activities in seven districts. The organisation is called the Right to Play and it holds sports and other extracurricular events in schools and colleges.
The meeting also decided to make sports compulsory in all schools across the province. “We also decided to allocate five per cent seats on a sports quota in the centralised admission policy,” Haq added.
While reminiscing about his school days, the minister said that he studied from a government school where he used to play sports. “But such activities are not available anymore in many government schools now,” he lamented.
It was also decided that sports week and other events will be held from December 15 to 30 every year and also in the last week of February for the current year.
Scholarships
This year, the education department allocated Rs40 million for “merit-cum-poverty” scholarships for students who do exceptionally well in class IV. “Around 15,000 needy students till class VIII will receive scholarships,” said secretary Memon. The students will be tested again in class VIII and it will then be decided if they continue to receive the scholarship till Class X.
Summer vacations
Like every year, the steering committee could not make a unanimous decision about which months should be allocated for the summer vacations. However, a summary will again be sent to the chief minister, recommending that they be held in July and August, instead of June and July. The reason was that Ramazan is expected to begin from July 20.
Last year, there was a massive confusion about when the vacations will begin. Some schools shut down during June and July while others announced vacations during July and August. The committee had proposed the same last year as well but it was later turned down by the chief minister.
The total number of public holidays during the academic year was limited to 19. Four holidays have already passed because the meeting was held late this year.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 9th, 2012.
Children studying from classes I to III will be promoted automatically without formal report cards to rank them on their performance, the education department’s steering committee has decided.
“But there will be a written examination locally for the sake of creating a sense of exams among the students,” reads a resolution the committee passed. Education minister, Pir Mazharul Haq, presided over the meeting.
On the other hand, the students from classes IV to VIII will be graded in exams which will end by March 30. Haq also announced that the department will hire 19,000 more teachers on contract.
The steering committee meets every year to discuss the schedule of admissions, examinations, vacations and other issues before the beginning of the academic year. This year’s meeting was held at the reform support unit of the NJV School. The chairmen of the boards of education and textbook board, representatives of private schools associations and the education executive district officers attended.
Admissions
It was decided that schools should wrap up admissions for classes I to X (or ten) before March 31. However, in Karachi the admissions for first and second year will continue to end by the first week of September, because of the centralised admission policy (CAP). But the rest of the province will follow the schedule set by the education department, and will end admissions by the first week of August.
Exams and results
The theory exams of classes IX and X will be announced from April 5 while all the education boards in the province will announce the results of class X by July 15. The deadline for the Board of Secondary Education Karachi was decided as July 31.
For first and second year, theory exams will begin from May 7. All education boards were directed to announce the second year results before August 31, while the deadline for Karachi was set as September 15.
Minister Haq stressed that optimum use should be made of school and college premises for exams. “In case there is a shortage of space, the education department will help the school or college in finding an appropriate place.”
He said that the examination forms for students with a minimum of 75% attendance will be accepted. “We’ll ensure that teachers are available in places where there is a shortage.”
Extracurricular activities
Before the meeting, the education secretary, Muhammad Siddique Memon, and the country manager of a Canadian sports organisation, Iqbal Jatoi, signed a memorandum of understanding for organising activities in seven districts. The organisation is called the Right to Play and it holds sports and other extracurricular events in schools and colleges.
The meeting also decided to make sports compulsory in all schools across the province. “We also decided to allocate five per cent seats on a sports quota in the centralised admission policy,” Haq added.
While reminiscing about his school days, the minister said that he studied from a government school where he used to play sports. “But such activities are not available anymore in many government schools now,” he lamented.
It was also decided that sports week and other events will be held from December 15 to 30 every year and also in the last week of February for the current year.
Scholarships
This year, the education department allocated Rs40 million for “merit-cum-poverty” scholarships for students who do exceptionally well in class IV. “Around 15,000 needy students till class VIII will receive scholarships,” said secretary Memon. The students will be tested again in class VIII and it will then be decided if they continue to receive the scholarship till Class X.
Summer vacations
Like every year, the steering committee could not make a unanimous decision about which months should be allocated for the summer vacations. However, a summary will again be sent to the chief minister, recommending that they be held in July and August, instead of June and July. The reason was that Ramazan is expected to begin from July 20.
Last year, there was a massive confusion about when the vacations will begin. Some schools shut down during June and July while others announced vacations during July and August. The committee had proposed the same last year as well but it was later turned down by the chief minister.
The total number of public holidays during the academic year was limited to 19. Four holidays have already passed because the meeting was held late this year.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 9th, 2012.