Education system irks Pindiites

In Rawalpindi exam results with high grades and good marks are advertised by all Rawalpindi schools. But a majority of parents barely feel happy. They think that certificates indicating good results being handed over to students are to conceal lack of good education.

“The thing which sets alarm bell ringing is lack of proper knowledge among children who pass their exam with good results. Ironically the fault doesn’t lie with them. The school authorities are to blame for this,” says Wajeeh-ul-Hasan.

“This is seriously annoying. Because, if our children end up securing high grades and good marks without learning anything, they will lag behind in competition in their working life,” says Zartaj Zahra.

“Our education system has been built in a way that it forces everyone to run after high grades and good marks that may ensure success in life, thus the students’ dependence on notes and get-through-guides,” says Itrat Hussain.

Abbas Ali says: “Why the government with provision of textbooks to school students doesn’t prohibit publication of notes and get-through-guides and private tuition system. These notes and get-through-guides overwhelm the book market. Private tuition system is also progressing.”

“The basic problem is that the number of schools is not satisfactory in the country. The number of teachers is also far less than needed. Teachers cannot finish lessons in the classroom and so they assign homework to students and the only way out for them is private tuition,” says Shabana Batool.

“The pile of textbooks on children’s back has grown big. Various publishers contact school authorities and persuade them to select books for their students to study. Thus students become forced to rely on notes and get-through-guides in the market for extra help,” says Jafar Raza.

Shameer Ali says: “Textbooks are changed in the name of improvement now and then. Training of teachers for the new topics or ways of presentation included in new books is hardly satisfactory. When new books arrive in school, parents and teachers find themselves in a sea of confusion.”

Ghayoor Abbas says: “Examination system is also changed as frequently as the books. Teachers are used to teaching in a certain way that help students deal with questions in the exam. Without prior training for teachers, which is hardly done, they cannot even make new kind of questions for the exam, and so rely on guidebooks to prepare question papers and advise the students to do the same in order to ensure good results.”

Anmol Fatima says: “If it is difficult to reorient the whole education system, at least the number of books on children’s back can be reduced by prohibiting assigning homework, and by banning experiments with textbooks and the exam system.”