KARACHI, Aug 23 Not a single student of the pre-engineering and science general groups from 45 educational institutes in the city has passed the Higher Secondary School Certificate Part-II Annual Examinations-2009.

A study of the pre-engineering group results issued by the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi showed that the pass percentage of 21 institutes, including three government and 12 private colleges and three government and private higher secondary schools each, remained zero. In the general group exams, the pass percentage of 24 institutes, including a government college, 19 private colleges, and four government higher secondary schools, remained zero.

Similarly, the performance of 47 other colleges and higher secondary schools remained abysmally low, with the pass percentage of pre-engineering students from 34 institutes and that of general group from 13 colleges at less than 20. A further break-up of figures shows that the 34 institutes with very poor performance included seven private and 21 government colleges, and one private and five government higher secondary schools. It was found that most government colleges, which failed to perform well in both the exams, were located in the low-income localities or in the suburbs of the metropolis and perhaps that was the reason senior teachers managed to avoid getting posted there, leaving students of the respective colleges to be taught by junior teachers.

“Isn't it an irony that on the one hand the intake of these colleges consists of the students who obtained B, C, D and E grades in their school exams and on the other they are taught by teachers with experience less than those posted in the so-called prestigious colleges or those located in the heart of the city despite the fact that the intake of such colleges comprises A-1 and A graders,” remarked a senior professor who wished not to be named.

He said it was beyond his comprehension why people at the helm in the education department hesitated in transfer of teachers from one college to another despite the government rules that say teachers can be posted in other colleges if they have completed their three years of service in one college.

He was of the view that the colleges which give admissions to low grade students and which are located in city's suburbs could never perform better in future as well if qualified senior teachers were not posted there. A massive reshuffle of teachers by ensuring that every college had both senior and junior teachers would however yield some positive results, he added.

“In fact there is a general trend among teachers that they get posted in the prestigious colleges to enjoy instant fame so that their private tuitions become more lucrative,” he remarked.

He also cited shortage of teachers, overcrowded classrooms, ill-equipped laboratories and a short academic session as responsible for such poor performance of government institutions.About the private colleges with dismal performance in the exams, he said that there was a mushroom growth of private educational institutions charging exorbitant fees, but there was no proper mechanism in place to check their performance and education standards.