A flawed approach to education

Speaking at a briefing session on policy matters regarding education in Punjab, Education Minister Rana Mashood Ahmed noted that 70 percent of school teachers get promotion on seniority basis while 30 percent quota is fixed for direct induction in higher grade posts, which is unacceptable to those working under the seniority principle. The policy, he said, needs to be rectified by adopting a formula, based on academic performance of pupils and professional grooming of teachers. On the face of it, the proposal about performance-based promotions seems to make sense. It implies the teachers will have an incentive to work harder to produce better results, improving learning standards. But serious thinking suggests it is a simplistic and flawed approach to education.
First of all, barring the 9th and 10th grades level where outside examiners are involved, those teaching junior classes would feel encouraged to grant liberal marks to pupils not reflective of their actual potential. This could give the better students wrong ideas about their learning abilities and take away the incentive to work harder. Second and more important is the fact that learning abilities and performance in exams vary from person to person. Those who do well in exams, especially at the school level, are not always the brightest minds. Teachers whose career advancement depends on students' performance may want to get rid of poor performers, increasing the number of school drop outs. That surely cannot be the purpose of any new government policy. Already the school drop out rate is distressingly high. Just the other day provincial co-ordinator for the UN Education Initiative told a meeting, co-hosted by the Unicef and Punjab Schools Department, that 80 percent school-going boys and girls drop out without completing matriculation certificate, and that only 20 percent boys and 16 percent girls finish high school.
The 30 percent quota for induction in higher grade positions needs to be retained. It apparently is meant to attract well-qualified subject specialists. It is pertinent to recall here the Punjab Examination Commission's recent reports for class V to VIII results that showed particularly dismal performance by students in mathematics followed by science subjects. The reason, it turned out, was the practice of hiring general teachers rather than subject specialists for mathematics and sciences. Hopefully, lessons have been learnt from those reports, and the decision at the time to hire subject specialists remains unchanged. As for the others, seniority should get due recognition but educators must also stay abreast of new teaching techniques and trends through in-service training courses. The Directorate of Staff Development in Lahore is doing good work towards that end. A lot more needs to be done to improve standards and increase enrolment.