In a move to improve education system, Sindh government has approved the policy of School Consolidation. Following this, Education and Literacy Department would introduce "financially and administratively autonomous campus schools" in various areas, Business Recorder learnt here on Monday.
Informed sources told this scribe that the policy envisaged rationalising of the education sector to enhance the quality of education while ensuring access of education to all communities. The Sindh Education and Literacy Department has issued a notification a few weeks back whose copy is available with Business Recorder, which stated that a Campus School would be main, functional school formed by merging adjoining embedded or nearby schools.
This type of campus schools would work under one Principal. The principal would be the administrator, instructional leader and manager of the merged schools. The school would have one SEMIS code. All merged schools would cease to have separate SEMIS codes and these would be surrendered to RSU-SEMIS, it stated.
There would be no surplus staff in this type of schools, all staff would be accommodated in the campus schools strategically. Existing SMC funds would be used with planning. The remaining funds in defunct SMCs would be managed and spent by the old SMCs with the support of Academic In charge, it stated.
Notification further mentioned that all teaching and non-teaching staff would report to Principal of the campus school. Teaching and non-teaching staff would maintain their separate cadre and seniority as per existing rules. If the schools merged had different medium of instructions, the campus school would be declared bi-lingual. Each medium of instruction would be assigned a different sect within the campus school.
In case merged schools have afternoon/evening shifts, the head teacher/headmaster of the merged schools would continue to act as 'Academic In charge" of afternoon shift. The Academic In charge would report to the Principal concerned. The merged schools would keep their 'gender characteristic', it added.
On the recommendation of District Education Officer, Director Schools is the authorised officer to form and notify campus schools. These schools would receive one time grant from the provincial government to carry out necessary spatial changes and repair and renovation, it mentioned.
Campus principal would be no less than BPS-17 officer. The appropriate grade for each campus school would be decided on case to case basis. Principal would have DDO powers. The principal office would be supported by an administrative section, comprising of Superintendent, Account Officer, Transport Officer, Nurse and Computer Operator(s)/Clerk(s). The Principal would have the powers to surrender nonperforming teachers after due diligence. Campus Principal will also have the powers to hire "academic interns" from pre-screened pool, notification concluded.
In this connection, a high level official of Education and Literacy Department told Business Recorder that initially, about 10 campus schools would be announced in some areas of Karachi, Hyderabad, Dadu, Benazirabad, Khairpur Mir's and Larkana. He said that officials concerned are working on the task and the schools would be functional from July 2012.