GUJRAT: The public sector’s high and higher secondary schools are short of proper science laboratories as some 200 units are required in schools of Gujrat district while as many as 400 additional classrooms are also needed.

However, the local education authorities claim that all the schools in the district do have the equipment for the labs but there are no rooms available in a number of schools to establish proper laboratories.

Talking to Dawn, a monitoring volunteer of the education reforms programme in Gujrat and Jhelum districts says as per the official data there are some 304 high and higher secondary schools in Gujrat district out of which only 105 have the particular science labs that include 38 of physics, 33 of chemistry and biology (34).

As many as 200 labs and 400 additional classrooms are required

Adding he says the same is the case with the Jhelum district that has at least 157 high and higher secondary schools but they all are not fully equipped with science labs such as physics labs are 18, 17 of chemistry and 15 of biology.

As per the government policy, the high schools should have at least a joint science lab whereas the higher secondary schools should have separate science labs for the subjects of physics, chemistry and biology but in case of these two districts, such policy has not been followed properly.

Moreover, the existing labs in a number of these schools are non-functional or locked with no experimental activity by the students and teachers is witnessed, says another monitoring staffer, adding that even the schools that claim to have equipment for the labs, [often] distort facts as these schools too do not have complete lab apparatus in addition to the shortage of proper lab rooms where student could do practical.

Gujrat Chief Executive Officer Kashif Tahir tells this correspondent that almost all the high and higher secondary schools of the district have enough science equipment; however the problem is the shortage of particular rooms for these labs. He says the district education department has already recommended the construction of at least 400 additional rooms in government schools of Gujrat that also include primary and middle level institutes.

However, he says with the provision of additional classrooms the shortage of science labs can also be catered. He says funds provided under the non-salaried budget (NSB) are spent on the provision of science labs equipment for schools and there has been no such issue in the district.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2018