Private schools issued notices

The extension of winter vacations in schools has led to a dispute between private schools and the education department.

Winter vacations started on Dec 21 and ended Dec 31. However, the Punjab Education Department extended the vacations till Jan 7 and told private school owners not to open their schools.

Some private schools were opened for which the District Education Authority issued show cause notices to more than 100 schools in the district for violating the directives of the Punjab government. On the other hand, private school owners have decided to take the matter to the courts and will submit a petition in this regard in a day or two.

“We are submitting a petition in the Lahore High Court as the Punjab Education Authority’s [decision disrupts study plans for students] for the preparation of annual exams scheduled for March,” Private Schools and Colleges Owners’ Association President Malik Abrar told Dawn.

He said the provincial government does not announce vacations in consultation with stakeholders.

“As many as 62pc of children are enrolled in private schools and 38pc in public schools but the private education sector is still ignored in decision making,” he said.

“We are not against the vacations but the government should consult with the met office for a weather forecast and announce vacations accordingly. The met office’s forecast says a cold wave will prevail in the region after Jan 7 but the government asked that schools be opened on Jan 7,” he said.

Private schools find it difficult to manage their budge in the first 10 days of every month as it has to collect fees and pay salaries, he said.

District Education Authority Assistant Director Mohammad Shafqat told Dawn that private schools have been issued notices for opening schools during winter vacations despite clear directives by the provincial government.

He said owners of private schools have been asked to give their arguments for opening.

FJWU holds training workshop for faculty

The Quality Enhancement Cell of the Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) organised a training workshop on outcome based learning education for faculty members of 14 departments of the university.

Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology’s dean of Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering Prof Dr Zahid Halim was the chief guest on the occasion.

He focused on the importance of outcome based learning education and said it covers aspects of the teaching and learning cycle from curriculum planning to instructional delivery, constructive assessment, evaluation and continuous quality improvement.

Speakers talked about keeping outcome based education in mind when planning curriculums and faculty members discussed issues of their departments.

The workshop was aimed at helping faculty members understand the process of self-assessment using outcome based education approaches and to develop program objectives and to achieve goals more effectively.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2019