Free schooling: Evening classes proposed for out of school children
ISAPS says evening classes not a new idea, has already been implemented in Sindh.
Foundation Assisted Schools Programme under which 2,150 schools are operating in the province too will now allow evening classes. PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE:
The Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) announced last week that it would be piloting evening classes to educate the needy children under the Education Voucher Scheme.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, PEF Additional Director Communications Qudratullah said more than 160,000 children were currently getting education under the same scheme.
“We have granted permission to partner schools to hold evening classes to accommodate children,” he said. Qudratullah said evening classes would help working children continue their studies.
Foundation Assisted Schools Programme under which 2,150 schools are operating in the province too will now allow evening classes.
“The idea [of evening classes] is not new. It has already been implemented in Sindh,” said Ahmed Ali, a research fellow at the Institute of Policy and Social Sciences (ISAPS).
“In Sindh, retired teachers are preferred to teach evening classes. Another alternative is to give additional incentives to morning shift teachers.”
He said a large number of teachers gave private tuitions. “The key is to attract them to evening classes at those schools.”
According to the School Education Department (SED), the Punjab needs 78,000 new classrooms to accommodate the out-of-school children.
A policy brief on urbanisation and education released recently by the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative and the SED recommended that the government utilise the existing resources to enroll 15 million out-of-school children in the province.
Ali said evening classes could not only help educate working children but also adults.
Under a similar project by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) from 2002 to 2007, more than 20,000 children were taught in government schools in the afternoon.
Government schools were used as community learning centres.
“It is such a waste not to use schools for the larger part of the day,” said Baela Raza Jamil, the ITA director programmes.
The ITA is surveying out-of-school children in three districts. It plans to educate 2,500 such children in each district.
Jamil said government schools should be operated in the afternoon as well.
“With the limited resources, we have to ensure optimal usage of what infrastructure we have… so instead of building new classrooms, we shall focus on improving the current infrastructure.”
Punjab Teachers’ Union (PTU) leaders said unless the government introduced incentive-based educational programmes for these children, adding school shifts would not be useful.
PTU General Secretary Rana Liaquat Ali said nearly 10 schools in Lahore had had introduced evening classes on and off but the exercise had not been successful.
In Punjab, he said, the exercise had not been very successful.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 27th, 2014.
The Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) announced last week that it would be piloting evening classes to educate the needy children under the Education Voucher Scheme.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, PEF Additional Director Communications Qudratullah said more than 160,000 children were currently getting education under the same scheme.
“We have granted permission to partner schools to hold evening classes to accommodate children,” he said. Qudratullah said evening classes would help working children continue their studies.
Foundation Assisted Schools Programme under which 2,150 schools are operating in the province too will now allow evening classes.
“The idea [of evening classes] is not new. It has already been implemented in Sindh,” said Ahmed Ali, a research fellow at the Institute of Policy and Social Sciences (ISAPS).
“In Sindh, retired teachers are preferred to teach evening classes. Another alternative is to give additional incentives to morning shift teachers.”
He said a large number of teachers gave private tuitions. “The key is to attract them to evening classes at those schools.”
According to the School Education Department (SED), the Punjab needs 78,000 new classrooms to accommodate the out-of-school children.
A policy brief on urbanisation and education released recently by the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative and the SED recommended that the government utilise the existing resources to enroll 15 million out-of-school children in the province.
Ali said evening classes could not only help educate working children but also adults.
Under a similar project by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) from 2002 to 2007, more than 20,000 children were taught in government schools in the afternoon.
Government schools were used as community learning centres.
“It is such a waste not to use schools for the larger part of the day,” said Baela Raza Jamil, the ITA director programmes.
The ITA is surveying out-of-school children in three districts. It plans to educate 2,500 such children in each district.
Jamil said government schools should be operated in the afternoon as well.
“With the limited resources, we have to ensure optimal usage of what infrastructure we have… so instead of building new classrooms, we shall focus on improving the current infrastructure.”
Punjab Teachers’ Union (PTU) leaders said unless the government introduced incentive-based educational programmes for these children, adding school shifts would not be useful.
PTU General Secretary Rana Liaquat Ali said nearly 10 schools in Lahore had had introduced evening classes on and off but the exercise had not been successful.
In Punjab, he said, the exercise had not been very successful.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 27th, 2014.