|
Studying William Shakespeare earlier in Schools
KARACHI, Sept 21: Studying William Shakespeare is no longer a task faced by final year
'O'-level students only. In an effort to familiarize students with English
literature, private schools have decided to introduce novels in the curriculum
of the seventh and eighth-grades.
"Our seventh-graders are studying 'A
Midsummer Night's Dream' and they have responded to it well," informs Tahira
Ahmed, a seventh-grade teacher at a local private school. The O level English
literature course includes poetry, plays and a novel. Usually, students begin
studying the course in grade 10 and sit for the exam at the end of grade
11.
One of the most popular subjects chosen by students is Business
management. "This is because the basics of business and management are very
beneficial no matter what field you eventually choose for your career," explains
Hayat Dastur, a Business management teacher.
According to British Council
representative, Sumaira, Law and Economics have been popular subjects in the
past few years. "Even though these fields are completely opposite to each other,
they help students in deciding whether they would be better suited for factual
or theoretical studies in the future," she says. A-level law is a three-part
course, comprising law of contract, law of tort and criminal law. "Students find
it interesting and easy since the concepts are very basic and it is easy to
score in this course," observes Sumaira. "Since the inception of the external
LLB degree, a large number of students take up this course yearly."
The
British Council informs that this year, students are also opting for graphic
design and art-related subjects, judging from the registrations coming in from
schools and private candidates.
"The curriculum for the lower secondary
classes is changed every year according to the weaker aspects in the previous
year's results," says Afshan Idrees, the headmistress of a small private
establishments that recently started O- and A-level programs. "This year, we
have taken up English since students tend to use a lot of slang and
computer-chat language in their writing. Throughout this school year, my staff
will try to correct this habit. My student body may be small but they are very
hardworking. Due to the time and effort put in by my staff, I have managed to
beat top results of schools like Lyceum, Avicenna and Bayview." Daily Times
|
