Who made the school holiday announcement?
Holiday news was either confirmed by Sindh Education Department, nor the Governor House Education Secretariat
Karachi, Mar 11: The 'school holiday' announced late Sunday night by a section of
the media was confirmed neither by the Sindh Education Department, nor the
Governor House Education Secretariat. Meanwhile, government schools did
not open, and private schools had to close after they came to know about the
holiday. Authorities concerned, however, refused to accept if they had announced
the holiday. Additional Secretary Education Riaz Memon said that it was
none of his concern because he only dealt with matters of services. Additional
Secretary Education Academics and Training, Taj Muhammad Silero, said that
notifications of this kind were issued by the Chief Secretary and not the
Education Department. "I also came to know through the media that schools would
be closed on Monday," he said. Deputy Secretary Implementation and
Coordination to Chief Secretary Sindh Naukhaiz Anwar Siddiqi said, however, that
the announcement was made by the Sindh Education Department and not by their
office. He said that all holiday announcements about schools and
educational institutions were made by the Sindh Education Department. An
attendant from Governor House Education Secretariat Press Section also denied
that that the department had made the holiday announcement. Khalid Shah,
a representative of private schools, said that they had received
hundreds of phone calls from parents to ascertain whether the announcement was
correct. "If we had kept schools open against the announcement, it would also
have resulted in a show cause notice from the Private Schools Directorate," he
said. What is even more surprising is the fact that a staff member at the
Sindh Education Department was not aware of the late-hour development. "I also
had to send my children to school but their classes were suspended," he said.
"This is not the way to announce a school holiday when almost all children have
gone to bed." It is worth mentioning here that no media outlet quoted the
exact source as to who had made the announcement about the holiday, causing
hardship for thousands of school children and their parents. What was even more
disappointing was the fact that officers concerned in the Sindh Education
Department were least bothered to even question the authenticity of the holiday
announcement.
Unexpected holiday wastes hard work of hundreds of students
Karachi: The hard work of hundreds of students was wasted when the
government announced a holiday for Monday. The announcement, however, was made
late Sunday night. The exams of primary and secondary sections of schools
all over Karachi were postponed at the eleventh hour where students got a shock
because their whole preparation over the weekend was struck by a "surprise
Rabiul Awwal gift" from the government. "I was studying very hard over
the weekend for my Mathematics paper which was scheduled on Monday and then I
had the Tuesday off to study for my next paper. Sunday night when I was all set
to give the exam, I saw a news ticker saying that Monday is a holiday. Now my
Mathematics paper has been forwarded to the end of my final term exams and all
my preparation over the weekend ended up in waste," Hamza Ayaz a student of
class 8 said. Ahmad Shahzad a father of two said: "I
had to attend a wedding ceremony on Sunday night and my children had an exam on
Monday. I hurriedly went to the wedding and came back in an hour so that my kids
could sleep on time. This was when I got the news of holiday." He further added
that parents and children put so much energy into the exam preparations but
sudden paper postponements due to holidays de-motivate children and parents are
helpless in such cases. He urged the government to announce such holidays at
least a week in advance so that children's efforts do not go in
vain. "This part of the year is always the high time for schools all over
Karachi as we are having the final term exams. Examination schedules are made
well in advance so that students can prepare according to the date sheet. Sudden
holidays like the one on Monday, however, affect the examination schedule
badly," said Mrs Naila Asif Khan, an Urdu teacher at Bahria School. She
said that Karachi was always surrounded by holidays due to ethnic clashes and
strikes and schools could not finish courses on time. When baseless holidays are
added to this, schools have to postpone exams, she said, adding that as a
result, admissions for the next sessions were delayed. "The government
should realise the gravity of this issue and that such hasty decisions can
affect the education system because we are the ones who are answerable to the
parents and students not the government," she said. The News
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KU Chemistry practical examinations 2008
Karachi: The University of Karachi has announced that the Chemistry
practical examinations 2008 for left over candidates will be held on March 17
(practical-I General), March 18 (practical-II Physical), March 19 (practical-IV
Organic) and March 24 (practical-III Inorganic) for the students of first and
second year. Dawn
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