November 18, 2008	Tuesday	Ziqa'ad 19, 1429

KARACHI, Nov 17: The Sindh education department has decided to make it mandatory for all registered institutes of kindergarten teachers’ training to get their students examined by local education boards and a notification in this regard is expected to be issued shortly, it has been reliably learnt.

The education department has already directed the management of teachers’ training institutes to get the institutes registered with the directorate of private institutions within 30 days, warning that unregistered institutes will be fined at the rate of Rs500 a day after the deadline.

Well-placed sources in the provincial education department told Dawn that most institutes issued certificates without conducting exams on the completion of a course.

They elaborated that most institutes offered admissions to graduates after holding their interviews and tests. Though candidates were imparted training for one year there was no check and balance on their performance as except for getting curricula approved from the Sindh Board of Technical Education, all other functions were handled by the management of institutes. From the preparation of curricula to the conduct of exams, if any, and the issuance of certificates, all functions were handled by the institutes.

Pointing out that there is a worldwide trend of having separate examination bodies, a senior official of the education department said it appeared a funny exercise on part of private training institutes that conduct both training and examination on their own.

When the nursery teachers approach schools for jobs, their competence or credibility of their certificates was usually questioned by the hiring authorities. Even if their services were hired they were generally paid a meagre salary.

“In fact irony of the matter is that a person who spends a huge amount ranging between Rs70,000 and Rs100,000 on acquiring one-year training of kindergarten school teacher is appointed on a monthly salary that is in no way commensurable to that of a qualified school teacher,” the official added.The sources said the education department had set up a committee of experts to review curricula for Montessori teachers’ training course and the committee members were expected to complete their task within a couple of months.

Pro forma

The committee, which was constituted by Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq on receiving complaints from parents against exorbitant fees being charged by private schools, has sent a pro forma to all private schools, asking them to provide complete details of their class-wise fee structure of the last five academic years, starting from 2004-05 to 2008-09.

The pro forma sent on behalf of the committee to the private schools by the provincial director of private institutions, Mansoob Hussain Siddiqui, has also sought details concerning the class-wise number of students, strength of teaching staff, salaries, performance of students in examinations of local education boards and under the Cambridge system during the last three years. Besides, details including area of the plot on which the school is located, type and ownership of its building and number of class rooms were sought.