A year of failed experiments
Punjab education department fails to achieve almost all targets
Punjab education department fails to achieve almost all targets. STOCK IMAGE
RAWALPINDI:
The Punjab Education Department started the year with over-ambitious goals to improve the quality of education. However, 2014 was just another year of disappointment and disillusionment.
The year began with a target of enrolling 0.4 million children in primary schools under the Universal Primary Enrolment campaign across Punjab. However, a major chunk of the target —70 per cent — could not be achieved.
Failed rationalisation policy
Another blow was served by the education department’s relocation policy, later renamed as the rationalisation policy, which met with failure after teachers moved court against the department.
Under the policy, the government had decided to make the teacher-student ratio 1:40 in every school and as a result, around 1,200 teachers were transferred to various schools across Rawalpindi.
But the policy could not be implemented owing to political pressure forcing the education department to retract its decision and send the teachers back to their former schools.
In 2014, the education department also introduced e-learning and decided to provide electronic boards for every school. But the project could not be materialsed in letter and spirit. The then education minister Rana Mashood also announced setting up of digital libraries, which remain a distant dream to this day.
Besides, the department had also announced to provide computer tablets to children across the province but it was discovered later that the announcement was mere political rhetoric.
Flawed exam system
The examination system under the Punjab Education Commission continued its downward trend with no annual performance evaluation report of teachers and student prepared. Vacancies were created to accommodate blue-eyed officers from THE district management group with hefty salary packages.
Moreover, examination papers for the fifth and eighth grades (annual and supplementary) were leaked, following which students with as low as 20 per cent marks were cleared in Rawalpindi as well as across the province.
Failed merger
In the previous year, the government merged the Punjab Curriculum Authority and Punjab Textbook Board through an ordinance to formulate a curriculum through special legislation passed by the provincial assembly. But the body failed to produce any positive outcomes.
Both entities were at loggerheads since the body’s creation due to the overlapping function of publication of commanding of textbooks of classes I and XII which the board was not ready to share with the authority.
To improve performance of teachers, furthermore, the education department had linked teachers and heads of schools’ promotion to issuance of a license. As per the policy, teachers would be promoted in stages after undertaking an examination.
In Rawalpindi, 44 heads of schools were issued notices for 60 per cent drop out from ninth grade. Similarly, around 70 per cent teachers in Rawalpindi district and 15,000 teachers across the province were issued notices for performing poorly in examinations.
Land reclaim issue
The education department remained helpless to get back the schools’ land encroached by land grabbers. Around 18 schools have been pursuing litigation against the land ‘mafia’ for the last 18 years.
According to Alif Ailan, 984 schools — 456 girls and 528 boys’ schools — lack playgrounds.
Besides, 344 schools do not have boundary walls for which the government has approved Rs80 million after the attack on the Army Pubic School in Peshawar.
Also in 2014, the government announced that no primary school will be opened in the government sector. It set up the Punjab Education Foundation which would approve the setting up of primary schools.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2015.
The Punjab Education Department started the year with over-ambitious goals to improve the quality of education. However, 2014 was just another year of disappointment and disillusionment.
The year began with a target of enrolling 0.4 million children in primary schools under the Universal Primary Enrolment campaign across Punjab. However, a major chunk of the target —70 per cent — could not be achieved.
Failed rationalisation policy
Another blow was served by the education department’s relocation policy, later renamed as the rationalisation policy, which met with failure after teachers moved court against the department.
Under the policy, the government had decided to make the teacher-student ratio 1:40 in every school and as a result, around 1,200 teachers were transferred to various schools across Rawalpindi.
But the policy could not be implemented owing to political pressure forcing the education department to retract its decision and send the teachers back to their former schools.
In 2014, the education department also introduced e-learning and decided to provide electronic boards for every school. But the project could not be materialsed in letter and spirit. The then education minister Rana Mashood also announced setting up of digital libraries, which remain a distant dream to this day.
Besides, the department had also announced to provide computer tablets to children across the province but it was discovered later that the announcement was mere political rhetoric.
Flawed exam system
The examination system under the Punjab Education Commission continued its downward trend with no annual performance evaluation report of teachers and student prepared. Vacancies were created to accommodate blue-eyed officers from THE district management group with hefty salary packages.
Moreover, examination papers for the fifth and eighth grades (annual and supplementary) were leaked, following which students with as low as 20 per cent marks were cleared in Rawalpindi as well as across the province.
Failed merger
In the previous year, the government merged the Punjab Curriculum Authority and Punjab Textbook Board through an ordinance to formulate a curriculum through special legislation passed by the provincial assembly. But the body failed to produce any positive outcomes.
Both entities were at loggerheads since the body’s creation due to the overlapping function of publication of commanding of textbooks of classes I and XII which the board was not ready to share with the authority.
To improve performance of teachers, furthermore, the education department had linked teachers and heads of schools’ promotion to issuance of a license. As per the policy, teachers would be promoted in stages after undertaking an examination.
In Rawalpindi, 44 heads of schools were issued notices for 60 per cent drop out from ninth grade. Similarly, around 70 per cent teachers in Rawalpindi district and 15,000 teachers across the province were issued notices for performing poorly in examinations.
Land reclaim issue
The education department remained helpless to get back the schools’ land encroached by land grabbers. Around 18 schools have been pursuing litigation against the land ‘mafia’ for the last 18 years.
According to Alif Ailan, 984 schools — 456 girls and 528 boys’ schools — lack playgrounds.
Besides, 344 schools do not have boundary walls for which the government has approved Rs80 million after the attack on the Army Pubic School in Peshawar.
Also in 2014, the government announced that no primary school will be opened in the government sector. It set up the Punjab Education Foundation which would approve the setting up of primary schools.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2015.