By: Javed Khan
Private educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have rejected the government’s proposed policy for 5th and 8th board exams, terming it unworkable and detrimental to the future of students. In a statement, Provincial President of Private Education Network (PEN) Saleem Khan has demanded the Chief Secretary and Chief Minister to review the decision.Saleem Khan said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is already lagging behind in the field of education while more than five million children in the province are out of school. In such a situation, if students of 8th or 9th grade move to other provinces with their parents, their academic year is at risk. He said, “The sad thing is that the commission mafia has turned a sacred sector like education into a laboratory and playing with the future of children has become the norm.”He added that changes in education policies should not be made based on any experience or personal interest but after serious and comprehensive consultation. “Unilateral decisions without considering the education policies of other provinces of the country, especially Punjab and the federation, not only affect the quality of education but also ignore the ground realities,”Saleem Khan criticized the performance of the provincial government and said that on the one hand, the government does not have funds to print textbooks, while on the other hand, the process of publishing books in Punjab and the federation has been completed.The provincial president of PEN has appealed to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Chief Secretary to review the proposed board examination policy and take private educational institutions into confidence and formulate a plan that is in the interest of students and helps reduce the educational backwardness of the province.
