RAWALPINDI: In 20 government high schools in the Rawalpindi District, only 10 per cent students passed the secondary school examinations, while in one high school, not a single student appeared for the examination.

There are 389 high schools for boys and girls in the district. In 20 schools, only eight to 10 students passed the exam, forcing the District Education Department to take action against the principals and the teachers.

Meanwhile, in the Government Boys High School in Sanghori, there are over 30 students enrolled in class 10 but none of them appeared for board examinations. Sanghori Village in Gujar Khan is the native village of Nishan-e-Haider recipient Captain Sarwar Shaheed, a martyr of the 1948 Pakistan India War.

Among the students who appeared for the secondary school examinations conducted by Rawalpindi Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, 70 per cent passed. However, overall private school students performed better than government school students and clinched all top positions.

Not a single student appeared in board exams from school in Sanghori

Taking notice of the students’ poor performance, the district education department prepared a list of educational institutes which performed badly in matriculation exams. The teachers and principals of these schools would be issued penalties.

Executive District Officer Education Qazi Zahoorul Haq told Dawn that the government had directed him to ensure an improvement in the performance of teachers in government run schools and share a list of schools with poor results.

He said a preliminary list had been sent to Lahore and departmental action would be taken against those schools where less than 10 per cent students had passed matriculation examinations. Mr Haq said that under the penalty, the department would minus years from their service and forfeit increment and allowances to teachers and the head of the school. He said last year, action had been taken against a number of schools which resulted in better performance this year.

Punjab Teachers Association District President Sagheer Alam defended the teachers and said they try to do their best but they are forced to participate in anti-dengue and anti-polio campaigns three times a month which diverts their attention.

He claimed teachers also face difficulty in producing good results because the students are also of below average abilities. “Talented students prefer private schools over government institutions,” he said.

He said that the government should provide better facilities to the teachers to improve performance rather than taking departmental action.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2015

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