Back to school: Instead of retiring, elderly teachers hit the textbooks

Three hundred candidates enroll for Bachelor of Education degrees.

UBAURO: Veteran teachers are attempting to get their Bachelor of Education (B Ed) and Master of Education (M Ed) degrees – so they can qualify for an increment of Rs600 to Rs700.

A majority of the teachers taking their exams are from Punjab and Balochistan. Candidates from Punjab said it was difficult to pass additional exams in their province for the degree, while those from Balochistan were at the Shah Abdul Latif University’s (SALU) because of the state of security back home.

Dur Muhammad Bugti, a 45-year-old primary school teacher from Dera Bugti, said that he had served as a teacher for 22 years. “The law and order situation in Balochistan is not good. I have taken admission in evening classes and if I pass my B Ed, I’ll get an increment of Rs600 to Rs700.”

A candidate from Rajanpur, Allah Bux, 60, confessed that he was about to retire as a primary school teacher. “I want the Bachelor degree for the increment,” he said.

According to an estimate by an official, 70% of the candidates are from Punjab and Balochistan and close to retiring.

Mujahid Hussain, the college principal, informed that 300 candidates were enrolled for the Bachelor degree and 187 were enrolled for M Ed. Hussain said that 35% of the candidates were from other districts.

The SALU Controller of Examination Barkatullah Qureshi said that his university conducted examinations and made arrangements to curb plagiarism and cheating. “There is no age limit for getting an education. We give admissions to all candidates who provide documents along with eligible certificates. We also verify their regular classes,” he added.

Several candidates were caught copying. Qureshi also confirmed that 13 cases were registered during the Educational Development in Pakistan examination.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 24^th, 2012.