Composite examinations: a needless controversy

Dr Noman Ahmed

PUBLIC sentiment on the heated issue of composite examinations is becoming frenetic by the day. Direct stakeholders, including students of class nine and 10, their parents and teachers are having a hard time dealing with the dilemma that the recent debate has presented. This, along with conflicting news and sporadic rumours are further adding to their miseries, which, in turn, is representative of an example of bad governance where an authoritarian, non-constitutional and rigid approach is adopted by the provincial education minister. Working under the tutelage of the Federal Education Minister, the Education Department of Sindh seems to be unfazed by this current state of affairs.

On one hand, the regime does not stop harping its stand of devolving key matters of governance to the lower levels while on the other, it has created a centralised edifice of decision-making for the most procedural of issues. At least two former provincial ministers have citied their reservations on the matter.

There cannot be two opinions on the fact that education is a provincial issue according to the Constitution of Pakistan. In “The Development of Education: National Report of Pakistan”, (GoP, Islamabad, 2004), this fact has been very clearly reiterated by the policy makers of the federal government itself. The role of the federal government is limited to advice on policy, planning and promotion of educational facilities in order to allow the federating units to meet the need and aspirations of their people. The entire institutional infrastructure of the education sector is based on this premise. Even the Local Government Ordinance (LGO) 2001 has further devolved the responsibilities of managing educational matters to the district governments. The National Education Policy (1998-2010), Education Sector Reform Action Plan (2001-2006) and Education for All National Plan of Action (2001-2015) also support the decentralisation of education management. What one finds happening in practice is completely in contrast to these provisions.

An over-centralised approach is now adopted by the federal education ministry (FEM). The provincial education departments and ministries are working under the aegis of FEM. Even minute procedural matters such as academic calendar and decisions on internal contents of the subjects are directed by the federal government. The whole issue of combined examination is becoming controversial and problematic due to this approach. It is only fair if the federal government reconsiders its approach and allows provincial ministers to perform their constitutional roles. In other words, a cordial working relationship needs to be evolved in the best interests of the education sector, in general, and students/parents, in particular.

There is nothing new about composite examinations. Students appeared in them during the ’50s and ’60s. In those days, the schools — particularly government schools — were better managed. Internal organisation, self-management capacities and working discipline were very much intact. Consequently, these schools received a composite intake, that is, a combination of students from various socio-economic backgrounds. Due to the missionary zeal of teachers, the capacity of students was enhanced through internal assessments and other similar procedures.

Today, however, the situation has drastically changed. The standard of government schools has declined along with their capacity, and the under-privileged class mostly ends up in these institutions. Due to unabated political interference, inappropriate recruitment of teachers, lack of essential facilities and funds, a sizable number of such schools have been reduced to mere enrolling offices. It is also important to note that the rot has spread to many private schools as well. While they are generally able to perform better, the overt commercialisation of education has greatly affected the quality of education in private schools. Despite charging hefty fees, the corresponding input in teaching, guidance and counseling is not received. Invariably, students have to resort to tutors to attain proficiency and the ability to appear in examinations.

If combined examinations are introduced, the quality of education will only fall further and the teachers will, inadvertently, take it easy. School managements will only focus on batches that are to appear in the examination and students will be left at the mercy of tutors for a period of two years, thus studying everything on their own.

With the advent of electronic media in everyday life, students are prone to distractions. Students of yester years, however, had very few extra curricular activities and studying or playing were the two key occupations. Now it is an uphill task, even for a well-meaning student to focus on studies for long hours. The temptations are too powerful to be ignored. In such a situation, annual examinations appear to be a tool for maintaining discipline when it comes to studies. With the fear of examination gone, students will only revert to studies seriously after a year-and-a-half, close to the time of exams. This is more of a concern for teenaged students.

The teaching fraternity has also expressed their reservations on this issue. Time scheduling of subjects during class nine and 10, process of revision, provisions of course revisions and the overall preparation of students for the board examination shall require a drastic overhaul. Whereas well-equipped schools may be able to adjust, a sizable number of ill-managed and understaffed schools will find themselves at the ultimate losing end. It is also feared that students who can make a choice would switch over to the Cambridge system of examination and the local education system would be unnecessarily discredited.

The federal government must rethink this decision in the greater interest of secondary school education. The provincial governments must be asked to consider and adopt their own course of action. It may be noted that there are scores of pressing issues that require the attention of the federal government. Support for provinces in the form of teacher training, strategic financial assistance, research into educational sector and liaison with international stakeholders are some avenues. Through an inter-provincial liaison, the federal government can also establish quantitative and qualitative targets for the concerned to follow. In short, unnecessary obstinacy in support of a procedural matter such as combined examination is likely to cause greater harm than good.

At best, such deviations from established norms must be initiated through consultation and an informed decision-making approach. What may work for province A may not be suitable for province B. One way to deal with this is through an optional approach at a pilot scale to test its validity and usefulness on a mass scale. Only then can one hope that students will actually learn something instead of memorising what they are taught without understanding it.

The writer is a freelance contributor