Under the Prime Minister Education Reform Program (PMERP), work
on 100 schools is under way simultaneously to provide necessary facilities to
students. Project Director of the PMERP, Engr. Waqas called on the Minister of
State for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD), Dr. Tariq
Fazal Chaudhry and briefed the Minister about the current status of civil works
on the PMERP.
The Minister
will start inspection visits to the schools in rural areas from next week to
check the quality and pace of work. Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said that a sum of
Rs 2.74 billion is earmarked for the physical up-gradation and provision of
facilities in the 422 schools of CADD. The program will focus on the
establishment of new class rooms, libraries, laboratories, washroom blocks,
raising of boundary walls, provision of furniture for students and teachers,
security arrangements and other civil works.
The PMERP is
employing several strategies to revamp the public sector education institutions
in Islamabad by improving the overall standards of teaching and learning along
with providing access and creating conducive learning environment for the
students. These strategies include restructuring of Federal
Directorate of Education to improve governance to strengthen ICT Schools /
Colleges, quality interventions at ICT School with special focus on Area
Education Officers, Teachers and School Heads, up-gradation of physical
infrastructure of 422 educational institutions (including missing facilities)
and provision of 200 busses and engagement with development partners.
The Minister
elaborated upon the new initiatives undertaken by CADD under the PMERP for the
improvement of pedagogic skills among teachers. He said that new set of
technical training programs have been introduced to train teachers on modern
lines and new indicators have been set up to gauge their performance. He said,
not only the students will be rewarded for their exceptional scores in exams,
but their teachers and principals will also be recognized in various administrative
ways. He said that with the recent interventions of CADD, the quality of
education in the public educational institutions of Islamabad is getting better
by the day.
A project
Management Unit for the PMERP is established under CADD to carry out quality
interventions in all areas mainly focusing on academic development, capacity
building of existing and newly inducted teaching and non-teaching staff and
organizational development initiatives at FDE level to define proper reporting
lines and developing responsibility matrices.
