PESHAWAR, April 9: The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Peshawar has initiated the process of categorisation of private educational institutions.

BISE Peshawar is one of the eight boards of intermediate and secondary education in the province that will put private schools in different categories according to the facilities available there and academic standard.

The process of categorisation of private schools has begun for the first time in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. BISE Peshawar is responsible for categorisation of private schools in Peshawar, Charsadda and Chitral districts and Mohmand and Khyber agencies.

BISE Peshawar Chairman Prof Mohammad Shafi Afridi told Dawn that in the light of categorisation, fees structure for the private schools would be devised. He said that private schools would be divided into four categories. Proformas had already been issued to around 100 private educational institutions to obtain the required information, he said. “Fee of each school will be selected according to its category,” he added.

Prof Afridi said that the Board of Governors of BISE Peshawar would approve the draft of the proposed fee structure before sending it to the elementary and secondary education department for final approval.

Each private school will be given marks out of the total 100 marks for providing different facilities to students and carrying out various activities.

According to the set criteria, 36 marks have been allotted to physical facilities, 35 to academic activities, 10 to managerial/financial part and nine to co-curricular activities while 10 marks have been specified for extraordinary measures taken by the by the respective school.

The categorisation committee, which has already been established, will award marks to the schools keeping in view existence of the above mentioned facilities.

The schools getting 81 to 100 marks will be declared outstanding and placed in category A-1. The schools having 61 to 80 marks will be considered excellent and placed in category A.

Those schools, which get 51 to 60 marks, will be put in category B and awarded the status of good. The schools having below 50 marks will be placed in category C and the administration will be directed to its condition.

“During the examination of a school, the committee will consider the total covered area of the building of the institution and the purpose of construction of the building to see whether it was built only for the school or not,” said Prof Afridi.

Size of classrooms, science laboratories, library, examination hall and auditorium, detail of washrooms, electrification, drinking water facilities and playground had their own value in the categorisation of schools, he said.

“Academically, the categorisation committee will see the qualification of the principal of the school, the ratio of teachers and students in a classroom which are 1-40, teachers’ academic and professional qualification and orientation workshops for the staff, academic points as per results of the secondary school certificate examinations during the last three years and incentives to students,” the BISE Peshawar chairman said.

He said that the committee would also look into the position of a school in co-curricular activities in the last academic year, incentives for students and teachers and magazine and newsletter published by the said institution to award it marks.

The managerial and financial part of the categorisation has 10 marks. The authorities will look into different fees like admission, tuition, annual and administration charged by a school. The committee will also check mode of payment to teaching staff, admission withdrawal register, school leaving certificate and rules regarding employment and accounts.

The extraordinary section of the categorisation deals with presence and use of multimedia, generator and dispensary; outlook of the building; availability of internet and photocopier machine; computer laboratory; canteen; transport; fire extinguisher; furniture and condition of hostel.

After getting the filled proformas, the members of the categorisation committee will visit the schools randomly to verify the data,” said Prof Afridi.