KARACHI: Campaign against composite exam system picks up
By Arman Sabir
KARACHI, Feb 3: Banners against the composite examination system proposed for Class Nine and Ten were displayed at various places across the city on Saturday amid uncertainty among the concerned students and their parents over whether the Sindh government would switch over to the proposed system or continue with the existing one this year.
Although some quarters within the government have been resisting the federal authorities’ pressure in this regard, all stakeholders appeared to be in a fix due to the prolonged controversy that has constantly been deepening, besides heightening concern, mainly among the students who have cleared the SSC-I examination last year.
Mother of one such student told Dawn that the new academic session for SSC students started in September without any relaxation period having been allowed to the class IX students and they started focusing on class X studies to appear in the examinations scheduled for April this year. Can a student do study properly for his most important examination in just a few months time and that, too, amid the utter confusion created by the controversy over the composite examination system? she asked.
On the other side, a student organisation has displayed banners at various places in the city in its campaign against the federal government’s decision of introducing the composite examination system in Sindh.
Secretary Education, Sindh, Sabhago Khan Jatoi, has reiterated that composite examinations would be held this year as per the decision taken by the provincial government in accordance with the guidelines from the federal education ministry.
However, sources in the provincial education department were of the view that the decision might be changed at the eleventh hour, keeping in view the political pressure, as had happened last year.
While the controversy has badly affected studies of the students concerned, leaders of various organisations of teachers and professors have strongly opposed the composite examination system and the federal government’s decision, maintaining that education was a provincial subject and the Centre was trying to impose its will on the province, thus violating the Constitution.
Prof Dewan Aftab Ahmed Khan of the Union of Senior Professors had earlier said the law and the Constitution allowed the federal government only to form a unified curriculum; and do not allow it to interfere in any other affair of education policy of a province.
He appreciated Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad’s move to suspend the decision last year, and appealed to him to play his due role in convincing the federal government to let Sindh decide about the examination system on its own.
Criticising the role of Sindh Education Minister Dr Hameeda Khuhro, he said she seemed to be representing the federal government rather than the people of Sindh who had voted her to the assembly.
He also appealed to the Sindh chief minister, speaker and members of the Sindh assembly to evaluate the negative impact of the composite examination system and devise a policy that could safeguard the students future.
President of the Sindh Teachers Forum Prof Nasiruddin Khan said composite examination system at the secondary level could not be justified in a situation where exams at university level were being held every six months under the semester system.
