KARACHI: IT to remain optional subject in HSC exam
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, March 3: The Information Technology examination at intermediate level in the Sindh colleges would be held as optional subject, this year too, it was learnt officially.
A large number of students in the province, particularly those in Karachi, as well as their education boards concerned were confused over the subject, as the Sindh Education department did not take up the issue at the last meeting of its steering committee, which decided the schedule of different examinations under the educational boards and other related details.
The government intended to introduce the IT as compulsory subjects at its colleges from the year 2001-2002, but failed to do so for what it called a lack of IT infrastructure and equipment at the colleges in the province.
After a lot of debate on the subject, Sindh government had decided to defer the idea of conducting IT's compulsory examination till the year 2004, but it had so far failed to take any policy decision in this regard.
When contacted, Sindh Education Secretary Ghulam Ali Pasha on Wednesday said that the matter was not discussed at the steering committee's meeting only because the government had already decided to return the fees, collected from the students for the year 2003-2004 for IT Education, in view of the fact that the required educational facilities could not be made available to the students.
In view of government's allocations for the IT infrastructure and equipment, and appointment of IT teachers at colleges, he hoped that compulsory IT examination at the HSC level would be held in 2005, through out the province.
Though the government wanted to have a uniform policy in regard to IT education at colleges, it would review the situation a fresh, and if needed the department would suggest the government to implement IT as compulsory subjects at least for Karachi-based students, majority of whom had now been provided with IT facilities at their respective colleges, he maintained.
He said that computers, as planned for the year 2003, could not be purchased, as funds were not made available for the purpose in time. Now we had received adequate amount for purchasing computers for the colleges at Karachi and other places, and things were moving in right direction, he added.
Centralized Admission: Talking about the merits and demerits of the centralized admission policy for intermediate classes in the colleges of Karachi, he said that he understood that there was a room for improvement in the policy, which had proved effective in the last few years.
He said that a review meeting on the subject would be held to get further input leading to improvements in the admission policy. Officials of the Sindh Education department and the city government would meet, in due course of time, to make the admission policy for year 2004-2005 for colleges more transparent and viable for the students, he pointed out.
