THIS year, the Punjab government has introduced a new kind of assessment, known as school-based assessment (SBA), announcing that no student will be promoted without passing the exam.

For this purpose, a special website has been designed and an item bank is provided by the Punjab Examination Commission (PEC) to all public schools.

The schools have been asked to generate papers for Grade I to VIII from this website by using log-in IDs given to them by the PEC information technology team.

This surely is an appreciable step taken by the government. Things seem perfect till here, right?

But the problem is that somehow papers of all subjects have reached bookshops having photocopiers, and their owners are now minting money by selling these question papers to students.

Almost 70 per cent of students are believed have got their hands on these papers and they do not bother to open books for final exams.

Earlier, closure of schools and now this open sale of question papers have raised big question marks on the whole education system.

Some serious steps should be taken to solve the problem.

Mehwish Qaisar

Faisalabad

TIMBER MAFIA: The timber mafia in Waziristan is causing large-scale destruction by cutting trees from the forests in Baddar, Bodinzee and Shawal valley. It is also actively involved in illegal cutting of trees in Orakzai and Khyber districts, ruining the beauty of the region and causing a threat to the environment. Heavy logging in the region has led to an increase in the temperature. The government must take action against the mafia, and raise awareness on the issue among the people.

Muhammad Zafar Mehsud

South Waziristan

JOBLESS PROFESSIONALS: Due to the pandemic, many qualified aircraft engineers holding licences from foreign regulatory authorities have faced redundancy or premature retirement. They now require a licence duly endorsed by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to get a new job, but are being denied the same. Although an airworthiness notice was issued on Dec 21, 2020, for the conversion and validation of foreign licences, it has not been implemented yet. The matter needs immediate attention.

Tahir Hassan

Karachi

TOURISM ISSUES: The country is undoubtedly gifted with some wonderful tourist spots, but there are several hurdles in promoting tourism, especially related to infrastructure. Most roads are in a dilapidated condition, there are no checks and balances on the prices of hotels and food items, and the local tourists add to the chaos by throwing litter all around. The tourism department should chalk out a comprehensive plan to streamline tourist activity.

Fazal Rehman Safi

Peshawar

CLIMATE CHANGE: Our society is oblivious to the adverse impact of climate change and ignores the importance of planting and sustaining trees. The 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Programme is a wonderful plan, and so is the initiative to grant extra marks to university students for every 20 saplings planted. Every individual is responsible for promoting afforestation to combat global warming.

M. Hammad Khan Ghori

Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2021