Increasing motivation: Govt announces cash awards for outstanding headmasters

Rs100,000 will be given to those whose students do well in SSC exams.

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has announced a cash award of Rs100,000 for headmasters who perform well. They will be judged on how well students of their schools do in the annual Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams.

“A total of 118 schools from across the province will be shortlisted for awards based on the SSC results of students of class nine and ten,” an official of the Elementary and Secondary Education Department told The Express Tribune on Saturday. Rs100,000 would be given to headmasters while other teachers would be awarded Rs50,000.

The performance of teachers will be gauged through the Independent Monitoring Unit, a tool devised by the K-P government to track performance indicators and forward them to the education department so that corrective measures can be taken to improve the quality of education. Based on the system, a report will be prepared to select deserving teachers so that they can be awarded.

Lauding the initiative

President of All K-P Subject Specialist Association Salar Islam Tariq appreciated the initiative of the provincial government and said such recognition is likely to boost teachers’ interest in their jobs.

Appreciating progressive steps taken in the area of education, Tariq suggested the government should also bring some changes in the examination system and devise strategies to eradicate the menace of cheating and nepotism.

He added the examination board should adopt the mechanism of the National Testing Service so that students can have the right to education based on merit. Under the current system, he said, private school owners pay hefty sums of money to book examination halls so that their students can cheat their way to good results and the school subsequently earns a reputable name.

Tariq also decried the marking system, saying it is up to the person checking the papers to give marks arbitrarily.

“The government would be able to rightly award deserving teachers if cheating and favouritism is eliminated and a computerised marking system is introduced,” he added.

Boosting morale

In a meeting with teachers, K-P Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Atif Khan appreciated their role and said Rs50 million would be allocated to award the best teachers and principals of the current year.

He added such incentives will motivate teachers who will in turn do well in their work. Khan said Rs800 million has also been allocated for capacity-building of teachers.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2015.