A positive change?: Primary and secondary schools to be merged
Primary school teachers will teach a greater number of classes.
KARACHI:
In an attempt to revamp the public education system, the province’s primary and secondary schools will be merged into single units - elementary schools.
This move will help the government achieve its broader goal of introducing O’ and A’ Levels in public schools across the province. “In the future, there will be no ‘primary school teachers.’ They will be replaced by ‘elementary school teachers’,” said education minister Pir Mazharul Haq at a meeting organised at Chief Minister House on Tuesday.
The change is by no means cosmetic - it has implications for the quality of teaching and facilities currently available to students. Primary school teachers will be trained so that they can teach a greater number of grades. Students of primary and secondary schools will also have to share buildings and a whole gamut of facilities that institutions are expected to provide. No further details were provided in the meeting and it remains to be seen whether the move will prove to be a boon for the flailing education sector of the country.
The main question here is whether teachers, buildings and facilities will be able to handle more students. It also remains to be seen whether a single school can efficiently meet the eclectic needs of students in various grades. Haq added that 2,100 lecturers would be appointed soon.
The provincial government has already planned to spend around Rs1.3 billion on 170 schemes for the education sector under the Annual Development programme.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2012.
In an attempt to revamp the public education system, the province’s primary and secondary schools will be merged into single units - elementary schools.
This move will help the government achieve its broader goal of introducing O’ and A’ Levels in public schools across the province. “In the future, there will be no ‘primary school teachers.’ They will be replaced by ‘elementary school teachers’,” said education minister Pir Mazharul Haq at a meeting organised at Chief Minister House on Tuesday.
The change is by no means cosmetic - it has implications for the quality of teaching and facilities currently available to students. Primary school teachers will be trained so that they can teach a greater number of grades. Students of primary and secondary schools will also have to share buildings and a whole gamut of facilities that institutions are expected to provide. No further details were provided in the meeting and it remains to be seen whether the move will prove to be a boon for the flailing education sector of the country.
The main question here is whether teachers, buildings and facilities will be able to handle more students. It also remains to be seen whether a single school can efficiently meet the eclectic needs of students in various grades. Haq added that 2,100 lecturers would be appointed soon.
The provincial government has already planned to spend around Rs1.3 billion on 170 schemes for the education sector under the Annual Development programme.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2012.