KARACHI, Jan 4: The new academic session for school-goers in the province will now begin from Aug 16, 2006 after the Sindh Education decided to stretch the summer vacation for educational institutions over a period of two-and-a-half months, it was learnt officially.
This and other decisions including conduct of examinations for students of schools and colleges and vacations were taken at a meeting of the steering committee of the Sindh Education Department held with the department’s Secretary, Ghulam Ali Shah Pasha, in the chair on Wednesday.
While the date of commencement of new session for college students would be decided after a sub-committee formed by the steering committee on Monday furnishes its report, the committee decided.
The meeting decided that all educational institutions would observe summer vacations from June 1 to August 15 in the future, instead of June 1 to July 31. Winter vacations would be observed from Dec 27 to Jan 6, said Deputy Secretary of the department Sharaf Ali Shah while briefing journalists about the meeting’s proceedings.
In regard to conduct of SSC and HSC annual examinations by educational boards, it was proposed in the working paper for the meeting that SSC (theory) examinations should be held from March 1 and HSC (theory) examinations from April 28.
However, dates could not be finalized as chairmen of the boards said they required some more time. They were of the view that since SSC Part-I (Class IX) annual examinations had been eliminated in line with resolutions of a combined meeting of federal and provincial education ministers, there was a need to assess afresh workings related to examinations.
Mr Sharaf said a committee had been formed by the steering committee comprising chairman of BISE Mirpurkhas, EDO Education, Hyderabad, and an additional secretary of the education department. The committee, he said, would recommend to the education secretary dates of the SSC and HSC exams in a week’s time for approval and notification.
He said a committee had also been formed for formulating dates of admissions and commencement of academic sessions for colleges in the province.
He said that in addition to summer and winter vacations, the educational institutions would be required to observe 12 holidays already declared by the Sindh government for 2006.
However, from a list of 21 optional holidays notified for Sindh government employees, the steering committee selected five days as optional holidays by educational institutions, which include Chehlum in Muharram-ul-Haram, 27 Rajab (Shabb-i-Mairaj), 15 Shaban (Shabb-i-Bara’at), 21 Ramazan-ul-Mubarak (Yaum-i-Ali) and 27 Ramazan (Shabb-i-Qadr).
The committee further observed that school and college teachers should take up examination duties under respective educational boards compulsorily, otherwise action would be taken under the Sindh government’s employees’ efficiency and discipline rules.
Heads of educational institutions were also urged to ensure the implementation of 75 per cent compulsory attendance for students appearing in educational board’s examinations, said the deputy secretary.
In the meantime, talking to Dawn, the Sindh Education Secretary, Ghulam Ali Pasha, said the steering committee had also endorsed the education ministers’ decision pertaining to conduct of composite examinations of SSC from 2007.
He said an in-house, preliminary or qualifying annual examinations for students of Class IX in 2006 and years to come was also under the government’s consideration.
Any decision on a proposal that the preliminary examinations should be linked with the composite examinations was also due as a committee of the department had been assigned to examine related possibilities.
“We are also thinking about whether a student entering Class IX after Class VIII education should be allowed to appear in the newly introduced composite examinations directly, irrespective of his academic performance in Class IX, or if he should be made liable to clear class IX exams conducted by school on the pattern of other secondary class exams,” the secretary elaborated.
He said that exams of students up to Class VIII in government and private schools would be completed in April, while compilation of results and process of new admissions or promotions would be finalized in May.