THE Punjab University’s BA, BSc annual examination results have once again exposed the “shattered” higher education system in Punjab and English Language is continuously serving as a nightmare for thousands of students wishing to become graduates.

Overall 37.69pc pass percentage itself shows that a large majority of students appear for their BA, BSc examinations to become eligible for a bit better jobs but fail to qualify.

This year 83,012 candidates failed to qualify the examination, out of them some 74,011 candidates (89.157pc) were unable to clear their English Language (Compulsory) examination.

Educationists and English language teachers say the results have shown the real picture of the education system in the province. They say the Punjab Higher Education Department has gone deaf and dumb as it is neither responding to the poor results for the past many years nor is coming up with interventions that may help improve quality of education at public sector colleges.

89pc of unsuccessful students fail in English Language

They say many public sector colleges have lost their importance either by giving very poor results or presenting shamefully low number of students to appear for the degree examination.

Though, the Punjab higher education has an allocated budget of around Rs24.196 billion, the PU BA/BSc results preamble says, the Government College, Bhaipheru, Kasur, (that falls in Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal’s constituency), has sent admission of only four students and all of them failed in the examination. Similarly, the Government College of Science, Faisalabad, sent admission of only one student and that candidate failed too. The Government College, Pindi Gheb, Attock, sent admission of 10 students and all of them failed. All these three colleges have posted zero percent results.

The result gazette also says that there are 14 other public sector colleges that sent admissions of less than 15 candidates each, raising questions over their viability. The colleges either does not have proper faculty or those posted are either unable to turn around the lives of their students or they are not performing their duty honestly.

No public sector college, including even the best of the best, has earned any distinction in the results. In BSc, all private colleges’ girls earned positions while in BA the private candidates won positions.

A senior educationist says the results show that the foundation of the education system in Punjab has collapsed. He says the college education system has crumpled during the past three decades and no administration could plug the damage.

Terming the college education system as “Wasteland”, the educationist regrets the best minds are being attracted by the flourishing private sector. He says a majority of teachers in public sector just do not improve their qualifications and many don’t even study new books and update their knowledge.

Students say there are regular complaints that public sector college teachers do not complete their courses in their classes. The educationists say there is no proper monitoring of workload of teachers, feedback and analysis of students’ performances. They regret that there is no system of training of college teachers.

The educationists also regret that the higher education department administration has been politicised and continue to serve politicians to get postings of their choice.

“Over the years, no intellectual improvement has been propelled by the public sector colleges in society,” educationists observe.

They say that many colleges, particularly in small cities and rural areas, are facing acute shortage of basic facilities, including teachers.

The educationists say the degrees being received by graduates are also not helping them get respectable jobs which leads to frustration among them.

Parents and students say the public examination results influence their decision making while selecting the college they should join. Some parents say that it is a pity that none of the public sector colleges, even in Lahore, have shown great results. Such results lead parents to spend extra money and send their children to private colleges or even to tuition academies. Billions of rupees spent by the government on education did not give any benefit to the quality-conscious parents, a concerned parent said.

Punjab Higher Education Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal did not respond to the comment on the state of higher education in Punjab.

THE Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association (PPLA) for the past two years have been calling for implementation of the Chief Minister’s Package for College Teachers but in vain.

Complaining that the delay is causing unrest and resentment among them, the college teachers demand the Punjab Higher Education Department notify the cancellation of contract policy, regularize teachers serving on a contract basis, 10 posts of NPS-21 and promote cases against two BPS-21 posts lying vacant since long. The teachers also demand notification of 19,548 agreed posts of college teachers. — mansoormalik173@hotmail.com

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2014