FDE under fire over short weekend for educators

Islamabad:The Federal Directorate of Education has directed principals of the public sector schools and colleges in Islamabad Capital Territory to ensure that teachers hold remedial classes on Saturdays.

As per the FDE notification, all public sector schools in the Islamabad Capital Territory will be open every Saturday starting August 10 for remedial classes and foundational literacy, and to promote activities like sports and mind games.

These sessions will be two hours long and optional for students. Staff members will continue their regular working hours on Saturdays, according to the notification. The regulator ordered strict compliance with these directives, mandating the attendance of both teaching and non-teaching staff on Saturdays.

This new policy, introduced on the orders of the federal education secretary, has been met with criticism from educators. They argued that working on weekends would impose additional financial strain and disrupt their planned activities, including household chores and family outings.

The teachers suggested extending hours for remedial classes during regular weekdays. "We aren't opposed to remedial classes. We recognise their significance and are ready to offer extra assistance to students who are having difficulty in certain subjects or areas of learning. However, this could be easily managed after school hours instead of requiring us to come in on weekends," a teacher told 'The News' requesting anonymity as he's not authorised to speak to the media.

Another educator also questioned the FDE's decision, arguing that restricting weekends solely for teachers is unfair. He pointed out that some teachers had families living in other cities, so they spent their weekends with them. "Both the teachers and their families would be adversely affected by a shorter weekend," he insisted. Teachers also said that they had planned to take up the matter with authorities to find a "reasonable solution."