ISLAMABAD: The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) is mulling over paying attention to 180 most talented ninth and 10th graders so more students enrolled in its schools can secure positions in board exams. The directorate is planning to start extra classes for these students.

The students of FDE-run schools hardly get the first position in matriculation exams conducted by the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE). This year, one student secured the third position in the exam. The schools are located in six sectors and each sector is being looked after by an area education officer (AEO).

An FDE official said a few days ago, its director general (DG), Dr Ikram Ali Malik, asked the AEOs to prepare students so that they could also secure top positions in the next exams.

The official said the AEOs had been directed to prepare a proposal about ways students could be taught well. Soon, the AEOs will share their input with the DG for making a formal decision in this regard.

The official said the directorate was mulling to identify 30 brilliant students from each sector, who after dismissal time in their respective schools, would be brought to centralised schools, where they would be given extra classes for four hours daily. They would also be provided free pick and drop service.

“Though a final decision in this regard will be made after a detailed meeting with AEOs, but yes, we are planning to give brilliant students special attention so they are able to get top positions,” the official said.

When asked about other students, he said that teachers have been paying special and equal attention to all students in all schools.

However, as a special case, we are planning to focus on the most talented students to restore the lost glory of government-run schools.

He said in the past until the early 90s, children of the elite class used to get education from FDE-run schools because these schools in that time were known for their quality of education.

The officer said that many of our former students have been serving in Islamabad’s bureaucracy, adding that with the passage of time however, the standard of education saw a decline.

“Now, we are making efforts to bring improvement, recently we hired teachers purely on merit and focus is also being paid on teacher training,” he said.

The FDE is regulatory body of around 425 educational institutions of Islamabad. Five more new institutions will also start functioning next week.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2022