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KARACHI, Jan 18: Expressing reservations over the provincial education department’s decision of starting the new academic session from April 1, various stakeholders have requested the relevant authorities to review the administrative move.
They want the education authorities to stick to the older schedule and start the new session in August. However, a final decision in this regard would be taken next week, sources told Dawn.
The steering committee of the education department had last month decided that the new academic session would be advanced by four months ie, from April 1 instead of Aug 16. Accordingly, it had reduced the duration of summer vacations from 75 days to 60 days and had also advanced the schedule of schools and college examinations.
Due to the reservations expressed by various quarters, the education department had convened a consultative meeting with all the stakeholders last week that had unanimously agreed to start the session from April 1.
Realizing the main hurdle in the implementation of the decision ie provision of new textbooks in the given time, the meeting had decided to remove the impediment by providing used books to the students until the new ones were published.
According to sources, the education department is not very much convinced by the reservations expressed by certain quarters including private schools and parents etc. It would be pertinent to mention here that the education department had so far not issued a notification for the commencement of the new academic session.
‘No new textbooks before June’
Sources said that the provincial caretaker minister for education had been informed accordingly about the actual time the publishers would require for the printing of new textbooks.
Despite all efforts, the Sindh Textbook Board would not be able to get the books ready before June, they said.
According to sources, the education department had already cancelled its tender for the procurement of paper for textbooks while printing of books was not possible at this stage as the bank accounts of the Sindh Textbook Board had been seized and the authorities were yet to reach an agreement with the publishers.
The textbook board’s accounts were seized after the board’s building was ransacked by miscreants during the weeklong violence that had erupted soon after the assassination of the Pakistan People’s Party chairperson, Benazir Bhutto. Apart from all this, schools have reportedly completed only 100 days of academic activity, while according to the rules; schools must complete 180 days during a full academic session.
“It is not possible to fulfill this condition even if the schools are made to open seven days a week from now on,” said an official.
Besides, the environment of fear and uncertainty created due to the present law and order situation in the country and tension during Muharram was yet another factor, which could force the schools to remain closed for a few more days, he said.
Sources said that the education department had decided to implement its decision of advancing the academic session by four months from next year (2009). An official announcement in this regard would possibly be made next week, they said.
The caretaker Sindh Education Minister, Shujaat Ali Baig, said that he had taken the whole situation in account and would take a formal decision after getting guidance from senior quarters.
“We will announce a formal decision about the commencement of the new academic session after my consultation with the governor and the chief minister of Sindh,” he told Dawn.
