KARACHI: No teaching guidelines for composite exam system
By Mukhtar Alam
KARACHI, March 21: Despite the passage of a considerable amount of time the federal education ministry has been unable to reorganize the teaching contents for theory and practical education of class IX and X students in line with the requirements of the proposed system of composite exams, said educational circles.
A number of teachers and managers of government and private schools in the city believed that students of class IX remained hanging on the issue of composite exams since the inception of the new academic session, as the government failed to address the grievances and reservations of students, teachers, examiners and experts.
The things are messed up, as there is no guideline available for the teaching under the new system. Textbooks which were bifurcated under a previous planning of the federal government are still not available with many of the students, said a senior government school teacher.
Number of practicals has been increased considerably but teachers are left without briefing, for which the educational boards or the education department can be blamed.
Sources in educational boards said that at the 111th meeting of Inter-Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) Pakistan held in February, the Kohat board had come up with the observation that since the government had announced not to hold class IX exams in 2006 and onwards but the course contents for classes IX and X were still lying in the bifurcated form.
There was a need to eliminate the unnecessary and less important contents from the textbooks of IX and X classes and those should be given the shape of a single book for each subject, it was further observed in the meeting and finally it was resolved that the curriculum wing of Ministry of Education, Islamabad be requested to revise the course contents due to change of system of SSC exams from by-parts to composite.
Sources privy to the board said that almost none of the boards had advised their affiliated schools on the topics of practical or theory education to meet the requirements of the new system.
A senior official at the Sindh Textbook Board said that it was true that federal curriculum wing had not so far issued any directive for preparation of books keeping in view the composite exams. There was a need to consolidate the topics at present available in the shape of two separate books, he added.
It was learnt that while a previous scheme of preparation of new textbooks for class I to X was half way, the federal government had further planned to revise the existing curricula and bring new books by the new academic sessions commencing in 2007.
We have been told that the federal government would finalize the revised curricula some time in May or June, if things went in direction, following which plan of books would be handed over to provinces for preparation of manuscripts. However, preparation of social sciences and language books would take longer time than the natural science books, pointed out the official.
SINDH CABINET: In the meantime, according to sources in the Sindh government, after repeated instructions of Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad the issue of composite exams is likely to be considered at a meeting of the Sindh cabinet on March 22.
In two different letters of Feb 13 and March 26, the Governor House had intimated Sindh chief secretary that the governor wanted the composite exams issue to be placed before the cabinet for a discussion and decision, keeping in view the interest of the students in consonance with the public opinion, added the source, saying that the outcome of the cabinet meeting on this issue would be communicated to the federal government.
While waiting for a decision on the appropriate government forum in the favour of old system of SSC exams of class IX and X, Syed Khalid Shah, chairman of Federation of Private Schools Management Association, said that there had been a greater panic and confusion in schools during the last few months.
He said that time had still not run out for conduct of class IX exams under the old system in 2006. Giving a notice, students could be put to exams in the end of May or second week of June, while the teachers would also be available for examination duties; he added and said that teachers and class IX teaching could be continued from the second week of May for the purpose.
Anisur Rehman, General Secretary of Heads and Teachers Welfare Associations’ Alliance, said that the decision to implement the new system was an arbitrary one and against the spirit of education, ignoring the welfare of students and problems of the parents at large.
