KARACHI, May 6: Due to considerable delay in provision of free textbooks to students, any purposeful teaching at government run primary schools in the city has yet to commence.
Teachers say that the inordinate delay was a source of concern to them as well as they would be required to complete the entire course in limited time by putting extra pressure on students.
A survey of some schools in Gulberg town on Tuesday showed that though new textbooks were not available, due to poor planning of Sindh Textbook Board and lack of monitoring by Sindh Education department, teachers were forced to impart education in a disorganised manner.
The STB has so far failed to give a new deadline for supply of books to about 2.8 million students of classes I to V in the province, which includes about 0.477 million Urdu medium and 0.09 million Sindhi medium students of Karachi schools.
Karachi City Government alone has paid Rs 34 million to STB in advance as cost of the books promised to be provided to its students before April 1, when the new academic session commenced.
Most of the teachers and headmasters or headmistress interviewed by this scribe, maintained that there was no indication of the availability of the new and revised books, while on the other senior officials and educational supervisors in the city government had also not come up with any uniform line of action to handle the situation.
We are doing what we understand would help keep the students busy and make them knowledgeable. It is noteworthy that a fresh and formal start would have to be made again as soon as the books are available," said a teacher at a school in Block 20, F B area.
However, a number students of the second shift, at some primary schools were seen playing cricket in their classrooms or sitting idle waiting for their teachers.
A teacher at Ibrahim Ali Bhai Elementary Boys/Girls School, UC-8, Gulberg Town, said that she and her colleagues were just taking classes to give general education in science and other subjects.
It is not likely that formal education would resume before mid-August, while the half yearly examinations and winter vacations are due in December. One can imagine the pressure in regard to teaching the course for teachers as well as students, added another teacher.
At Choudhary Muhammad Ali Elementary School, teachers said that there was no guidance from higher authorities and as such they did not know what to do to keep the process of teaching going.
A limited number of students playing at Moonlight Boys Schools in the town were unable to even name their school. At Allama Iqbal primary School No 3, teachers were seen taking classes in a pathetic condition, while the rooms presented a dismal look as there was no electricity also. The teachers explained that they had taken out a couple of sets of old books from the store and had to make do with them.