Survey findings: Non-teaching duties dent academic work
Majority of govt schoolteachers oppose English as medium of instruction in early years of schooling.
ISLAMABAD:
A survey has revealed that government teachers are frequently assigned myriad tasks which take them away from the classrooms, ultimately compromising desired results.
The survey, conducted by Alif Ailaan across the country, sheds light on factors that contribute to teachers’ performance in the classroom and was launched here on Thursday.
“Voice of Teachers” is based on a survey of over 1,250 teachers and school officials (both government and private) from more than 600 primary, elementary and high schools in urban and rural areas of 15 districts.
According to the report, an overwhelming majority of government schoolteachers complained about ‘non-teaching duties’ and unwanted assignments.
Teachers have to spend around 50 days a year, on average, performing tasks that have nothing to do with teaching, the report states. The activities include preparation of voter lists, election duties, health campaigns, and various other drives.
Absenteeism
Teachers’ absenteeism has also been viewed as a problem by most teachers in the survey, which states that teachers absenteeism in Punjab has been curbed as compared to other provinces.
“Political connections, links with teachers’ associations and even outright corruption allow some teachers to remain absent without official leave,” the report states.
Propagating corporal punishment
According to the report, an overwhelming majority of teachers (73%) either agree or strongly agree with the statement that corporal punishment is useful.
On the contrary, widespread use of corporal punishment affects a child’s willingness to go to school and their behaviour in the classroom, the report says.
According to the report, while talking about the time to prepare for lectures, teachers argued that workload left little time for lesson planning, checking and preparation.
Besides, the majority of teachers across the board are required to look after more than one class or section. Around 91 per cent teachers in Punjab said they have to look after two or more classes simultaneously.
Among private schoolteachers in Balochistan, for example, 91 per cent reported that they were assigned two or more classes or sections, and 24 per cent of private schoolteachers in Sindh have been assigned six or more classes or sections.
Lack of facilities
According to the report, around 75 per cent government teachers said their school has no a library and 95 per cent of them said that their school lacks science labs.
The teachers point out that even in schools that do have a library, in many cases, students were not allowed to use them or there were not enough books for them to read or use.
About 35 per cent of private schoolteachers said they have computer labs in their institutes as compared to just six per cent government teachers.
“Almost all government teachers (98 per cent) said their schools do not have access to Internet with only six per cent schools in Punjab have access to Internet.
Medium of instruction
According to the report, a majority of government schoolteachers oppose the use of English as the medium of instruction, particularly in early years of schooling, citing their students’ lack of familiarity with the language.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 21st, 2014.
A survey has revealed that government teachers are frequently assigned myriad tasks which take them away from the classrooms, ultimately compromising desired results.
The survey, conducted by Alif Ailaan across the country, sheds light on factors that contribute to teachers’ performance in the classroom and was launched here on Thursday.
“Voice of Teachers” is based on a survey of over 1,250 teachers and school officials (both government and private) from more than 600 primary, elementary and high schools in urban and rural areas of 15 districts.
According to the report, an overwhelming majority of government schoolteachers complained about ‘non-teaching duties’ and unwanted assignments.
Teachers have to spend around 50 days a year, on average, performing tasks that have nothing to do with teaching, the report states. The activities include preparation of voter lists, election duties, health campaigns, and various other drives.
Absenteeism
Teachers’ absenteeism has also been viewed as a problem by most teachers in the survey, which states that teachers absenteeism in Punjab has been curbed as compared to other provinces.
“Political connections, links with teachers’ associations and even outright corruption allow some teachers to remain absent without official leave,” the report states.
Propagating corporal punishment
According to the report, an overwhelming majority of teachers (73%) either agree or strongly agree with the statement that corporal punishment is useful.
On the contrary, widespread use of corporal punishment affects a child’s willingness to go to school and their behaviour in the classroom, the report says.
According to the report, while talking about the time to prepare for lectures, teachers argued that workload left little time for lesson planning, checking and preparation.
Besides, the majority of teachers across the board are required to look after more than one class or section. Around 91 per cent teachers in Punjab said they have to look after two or more classes simultaneously.
Among private schoolteachers in Balochistan, for example, 91 per cent reported that they were assigned two or more classes or sections, and 24 per cent of private schoolteachers in Sindh have been assigned six or more classes or sections.
Lack of facilities
According to the report, around 75 per cent government teachers said their school has no a library and 95 per cent of them said that their school lacks science labs.
The teachers point out that even in schools that do have a library, in many cases, students were not allowed to use them or there were not enough books for them to read or use.
About 35 per cent of private schoolteachers said they have computer labs in their institutes as compared to just six per cent government teachers.
“Almost all government teachers (98 per cent) said their schools do not have access to Internet with only six per cent schools in Punjab have access to Internet.
Medium of instruction
According to the report, a majority of government schoolteachers oppose the use of English as the medium of instruction, particularly in early years of schooling, citing their students’ lack of familiarity with the language.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 21st, 2014.