Teachers evaluation system yet to be implemented

Teachers evaluation system yet to be implemented
Peshawar: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is yet to implement the evaluation system of teachers and students in public sector schools.

The elementary and secondary education (E&SE) department had planned to introduce 'School Report Card System' in the government-run schools more than a year ago but it hasn't implemented the same so far. The evaluation system was planned to bring drastic improvement in the standard of the public schools, officials said.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani was also briefed about the evaluation system in schools during his visit to Peshawar. The prime minister had lauded the education department for planning such an effective system, officials said.

They said that Mr Gilani had also suggested that such system should be implemented across the country.

Under the SRCS, officials said, schools would be divided into different categories according to their performance. Currently there is no classification of the schools.

"Once the SRCS is implemented, it will help the department to determine factors, which causes good or bad results," officials said. In the existing system no one knows why students of some schools are brilliant or weak in studies.

The SRCS suggests designing of a framework to evaluate the performance of students, teachers and headmasters. In the implementation process, officials said, first schools would be divided in three categories on the bases of results of examinations.

Those schools showing best results in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and intermediate examinations would be placed in category 'A' following by category 'B' and 'C'.

The administrations of category 'A' schools will be given special incentives to encourage them and maintain the status. The incentives could be enhancement in the annual budget of the Parent Teacher Council (PTC), which oversees utilisation of funds in the respective schools.

Similarly efforts will also be made to improve the academic level of category 'B' and 'C' schools and these would be under focus to push them to higher categories.

The regulatory authority will be also tasked to find out reasons as to why some schools are not showing good results. It will also work on how to improve the education standard in the province. There will also be a mechanism of reward and punishment for the teachers, whose students stand good or bad in the examinations.

Presently there is no evaluation criterion for low standard of schools owing to leniency of teachers, headmasters and principals. "People have lost trust in government-run schools as most of them don't show good results. Those, who can afford, admit their children to private schools. Even teachers of government schools are reluctant to admit their children to the schools where they themselves teach," sources said.

Under the plan, in the first phase, SRCS would be implemented in the primary schools followed by middle, high and higher secondary schools consecutively, officials said. The selection of schools would be made according to infrastructure, number of classrooms, students and teachers.

This correspondent made several attempts to contact E&SE secretary Mohammad Arifeen but his phone was switched off.

M.Phil student found murdered in hotel room
Peshawar: An M.Phil student of the University of Peshawar was found slaughtered at his hotel room in Saddar area here on Saturday.

The deceased was identified as Shaukatullah son of Naqeebullah Khan, a resident of the southern Bannu district.

A case has been registered against unknown killers under section 302 of Pakistan Penal Code at the concerned West Cantt police station.

A police official said that the deceased had rented a room at Paradise Hotel situated on the Sunehri Mosque Road.

He added that first the student acquired a single room, but later he asked the hotel management for a double room, as he was expecting a guest.

The official said that the management got concerned when Mr Shaukat did come out of his room till Saturday afternoon. Later, police was called to hotel in the evening. The locked room was forced open in presence of police officials and the student was found in a pool of blood with his throat slit.

The official said that relatives of the deceased were handed over the body on Sunday morning and added that a police party would visit the family after three days to register statements. The official was not sure about which department of the university the student was studying in. Dawn

Rally supports devolution of HEC
Peshawar: The activists of Pakhtun Students Federation (PkSF) Saturday staged a rally and blocked the Saddar Road near Railway Rest House to support the devolution of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to the provinces.

The PkSF activists were holding banners inscribed with slogans in support of the devolution of powers under the 18th Amendment. They were also raising slogans against those opposing the devolution of the HEC to the provinces.

Addressing the really, the Awami National Party's information secretary Arbab Muhammad Tahir Khan said those speaking against the devolution of the HEC were actually against the 18th Amendment, which was approved by the Parliament with majority. "It has now become a part of the Constitution and those opposing it were obstructing the implementation of the constitutional provisions," he argued.

He said the provincial government would go ahead with its plan to form a body to replace the HEC in the province. The news