February 04, 2008	Monday	Muharram 25, 1429

KARACHI, Feb 3: The Nation-al Education Council (NEC) has appealed to the government to retain the academic calendar starting from April as it appeared suitable for the majority of stakeholders.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, NEC Chairman Syed Khalid Shah said the participants of the inter-provincial meeting of education ministers being held in Karachi on Monday should keep in mind that holding annual examinations in the month of May had caused various problems to students due to the hot weather and power crisis.

He recalled that the Sindh education department during the on Dec 26 meeting of the relevant steering committee had agreed in principle that the new session should be started from April.

The department was about to issue a notification in this regard but the federal education ministry restrained it and took the plea that any change in academic session had to be decided at the inter-provincial meeting of education ministers.

“Now when the meeting has been scheduled to be held on Monday, the Sindh minister for education should plead the case of stakeholders in the province,” he added.

NEC representatives from the NWFP and Balochistan also called for proper attention to the education sector in their provinces and said that lack of interest and adequate resources had been keeping people of the NWFP and Balochistan backward.—PPI