ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Parvez Khattak has said people chose them to bring about a change, and such a change is impossible without changing the education system in the province.
Addressing a Department for International Development (DFID) sponsored donors moot here on Tuesday, he said historically the very system of education divided among public, private and mardrassa systems had been reinforcing the problems of the society as it did not help change the lot of the poor. On the other hand, the CM said, due to frequent postings and transfers in the Education Department, no teacher took the responsibility either for educational standards’ improvement or looked after the sustenance of the facilities provided.
He called upon the donors’ community worldwide to come forward and help them bring about a real change in the education sector.
He said the very uselessness of education acquired at public schools was increasing dropouts and thus the poor children opted for labour jobs.
The chief minister announced that the provincial government was introducing English-medium education in the public sector educational institutions of the province. Under the scheme, he said, English would be introduced from Class 1, just like in the private schools. He said a teacher asking for transfer from the place he was initially recruited to would now have to resign and apply for fresh recruitment to the station of his choice. In case he remained in the said school, he would be promoted on the basis of the results he produced.
The CM called upon the donors’ community to help train teachers so that they could face the challenge of English teaching. He pointed out though the number of schools was sufficient in the province, these were mostly two-room schools and thus were insufficient. He said the provincial government was committed to the enrolment of all the 1.5 million out-of-school children of whom over 200,000 were enrolled just last month.
While DFID advisor Sir Michael Barber conducted the moot, the representatives of all partners of the KP government were present on the occasion. KP Ministers Mohammad Atif and Shahram Khan Tarakai, Finance Secretary Syed Said Badshah Bukhari and Education Secretary Judat Ayaz also participated in the event.
It was revealed on the occasion that the CM had approved the revitalisation of the Provincial Education Foundation, paving the way for recruitments from a wider pool and increasing private sector participation in it. An independent monitoring unit equipped with modern technology would be in place throughout the province, while booklets for teachers training and sensitisation against corporal punishment plus a communication strategy in this respect was in final stages and would be operational from the next educational year. On the other hand, the provincial government would introduce assessment of students from Class 8 from the next educational year.
The Education secretary, in response to a question, pointed out that the provincial government was spending Rs 85 billion on elementary education – Rs 1,816 per student – which was more than the per student fee of any private school. The IMU mentioned above would eradicate absenteeism among the teachers and improve monitoring and evaluation, he said.
