Absence of Research Culture

 

Human existence has been characterized by uncertainty from its inception. Paradoxically, suspicions and doubts have proven to be a blessing in disguise, driving humans to explore diverse problem-solving approaches. Research is a systematic methodology employed by humans to address their problems. The modern world utilizes research to enhance quality of life, develop materials, and generate new knowledge across various disciplines.

Regrettably, research remains underappreciated in government institutions in Pakistan. Despite occasional acknowledgments of research's significance by authorities, evaluation and research efforts in these institutions remain dormant. School Education Department (SED) Balochistan bears responsibility for provision of educational services in the province. So, as part of its standard practices, the SED initiates and implements programs to meet departmental requirements. However, once implemented, these programs are rarely evaluated to assess their functionality or impact.

The SED Balochistan introduced English language textbooks at the primary level, aligning with the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2009. The rationale behind introducing English from class one onwards was to enable government school students to read English from early classes, thereby bridging the gap with private school students. However, when introducing this program, the SED had not conducted any prior research or needs analysis in schools. Furthermore, most primary-level teachers at that time lacked adequate qualifications, with the majority holding only matriculation certificates, which hindered their ability to effectively teach English textbooks in their classrooms. Conversely, the SED failed to evaluate how primary teachers perceived the change or the challenges they encountered in delivering classroom instructions. Even if any individual or academic studies have been conducted in this regard, they may hold little or no importance for the department. Consequently, many senior teachers continue to struggle with teaching English books in their classrooms.

The introduction of the Balochistan Compulsory Education Act (2014) was a pivotal step towards bridging existing gaps and fostering cooperation between schools and communities. Furthermore, the Act facilitated decentralization by providing funds at the cluster level and empowering high school head teachers as Drawing and Disbursement Officers (DDOs). Nevertheless, subsequent to the empowerment of cluster heads and fund allocation to clusters, no comprehensive evaluation studies were undertaken to assess the initiative's impact or investigate the challenges and concerns faced by both cluster heads and school heads. The concerns of the stakeholders typically surface in educational workshops and seminars, where DDOs periodically express concerns regarding unequal fund allocation for their clusters on behalf of SED. Likewise; School heads commonly lament the lack of fair support from DDOs, citing inadequate resource provision for their schools.

Continuous Professional Development is a new program to be implemented by the SED through the Provincial Institute for Teacher Education (PITE. With the implementation of CPD, teachers of various categories will receive professional training and refresher courses on annual basis. It is expected that the SED will not consider and carry out CPD as a traditional routine practice. Rather, as CPD is an ongoing process, it should be accompanied by needs analysis and evaluations at various phases to meet the professional needs of school teachers in the province.

Regrettably, research is undervalued in our institutions, resulting in negligible funding allocations. Even when budgets are allocated, capacity constraints hinder utilization. To break this cycle, the SED must prioritize research by allocating sufficient funds and establishing research units in its sub-departments with qualified personnel. Investing in research will enable the SED to identify best practices, address systemic challenges, and inform policy reforms. Alternatively, the SED can leverage collaboration with the private sector and academia to evaluate the effectiveness of ongoing or future programmes. This collaborative approach will promote evidence-based decision-making, ultimately improving educational outcomes in the province.

 

 

Data informs wise decisions

 

In today's data-driven world, organizations rely on evidence to inform their decisions. Sufficient and relevant data enables authorities to make timely and informed decisions.

The School Education Department (SED) in Balochistan has made significant strides with its Education Management and Information System (EMIS), which collects and descriptively analyzes data from government schools against specific indicators, including school, child, and teacher metrics. EMIS serves as a vital resource for provincial educational authorities, providing easily accessible and regularly updated data through an annual census.  However, despite EMIS's capabilities, the current data falls short of providing a comprehensive picture of the education sector. To address this, incorporating additional data into the system is crucial for informed decision-making and enhanced management. By expanding EMIS's scope, educators and policymakers can make data-driven decisions, ultimately improving educational outcomes in Balochistan.

Pakistan faces a significant challenge with Out-of-School Children (OOSC), with an estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16 not attending school, representing 44% of the total population in this age group. The Balochistan province faces the critical challenge, with a staggering number of over three million children currently out of school. The School Education Department's lack of a mechanism for collecting data on OOSC makes it reliant on federal government organizations like Pakistan Social and Living Measurement Survey (PSLM) and private sector entities like UNICEF. However, differences exist in the data provided by these organizations. To address this issue, strengthening the Education Management and Information System (EMIS) is crucial for gathering data from madrassas and private schools and tracking OOSC. By doing this, EMIS can offer actionable insights into the education sector, enabling policymakers to make data-driven decisions regarding OOSC.

Transfer posting remains a perennial issue within the department, specifically for officers of grade 17 and above. Currently, no transparent mechanism governs transfer postings, rather, nepotism, political influence, and favoritism appearing to be the dominant factors. The lack of a standardized process and reliance on outdated record-keeping practices hinder accountability and efficiency. The department can address the issue by digitizing the transfer posting data and integrating this data with the existing EMIS. By adopting a digital solution, the department can modernize its transfer posting process and ensure fairness and efficiency.

Balochistan Textbook Board(BTBB) is responsible for developing and reviewing textbooks for provincial schools and maintaining records of developed and distributed materials. However, its review and feedback mechanism relies on traditional methods.  Despite soliciting feedback from teachers, parents, and educators on textbooks, the board's existing process inadvertently hinders educators from sharing their input. To genuinely value teacher and expert feedback, the board must replace outdated methods with a user-friendly online feedback system. In addition, the BTBB should link its data to EMIS. It is a usual practice that despite the BTBB’s efforts to provide sufficient textbooks to schools, complaints from school administrators about inadequate book provision persist. To address this issue, the BTBB and the Directorate of Education should make the book distribution records publicly accessible through the EMIS.

The School Education Department (SED) is responsible for ensuring quality education across the province through its diverse management unit. Balochistan Assessment and Examination Commission (BAEC) plays a critical role in evaluating education quality through diagnostic assessments. It's encouraging to note that BAEC leverages government teachers and other personnel for tool development and data collection. Additionally, the commission prepares and presents diagnostic assessment reports at various educational forums. However, there's still room for improvement The Balochistan Education Sector Plan (BESP 2020-2025) reasonably recommends integrating provincial diagnostic scores into the Education Management Information System (EMIS). Thus, the department should translate the proposal into practice. The linkage process may necessitate additional human and material resources, but it will ultimately prove crucial for measuring the quality of education and providing feedback for improvement of the education in the province.

Departmental actions driven by intuition and guesswork may yield short-term gains, but ultimately fail to deliver sustainable, long-term progress. Effective plans, policies, and decisions require robust data. Hence, digitizing departmental data and expanding the scope of the EMIS is imperative. This enhancement will enable authorities to make informed, data-driven decisions, ultimately leading to improved governance and management within the School Education Department.

 

 

 

 

Obsolete Homework practices in our schools

 

“Students, you must complete your science homework by writing down all the answers to the questions in the exercises in Chapter 2. If any of you come to school with incomplete homework tomorrow, you will not be allowed to sit in the classroom”.

The above instructions are part of the usual classroom practices in many traditional Pakistani schools, where teachers pressurize their students to complete their homework within a time limit. Homework is the task or an activity that students usually do at home. According to Merriam-Webster, homework is "an assignment given to a student to be completed outside the regular class period." Assigning of homework to students has been a continuous practice in the teaching-learning process in schools. Studies show varied impacts of homework on students' academic performance. For instance, Harris Cooper, an educational psychologist, and his colleagues found that homework had a strong association with students’ achievement. On the other hand, Alfie Kohn and Sara Bennett, in their book "The Homework Myth", describe that homework time has no association with students’ achievement.

According to Pakistan Economic Survey, 2023-24, we have a national literacy rate of 62.8 with significant regional disparities. In Balochistan, where literacy rate is only 52%, many parents lack understanding of the homework their children are assigned and its impact on their achievement. Even educated parents, unless they have a background in education, find it challenging to distinguish between meaningful homework and mere busywork. Consequently, they place their trust in teachers and schools; and their satisfaction comes from seeing their children busy in homework activities at home, assuming it's contributing to their learning.        

Majority of the government and private schools follow traditional homework methods, where teachers solve exercises on the board, students copy notes in class, and then rewrite them neatly in separate notebooks for each subject. This tedious process is repeated daily for 7-8 subjects at upper primary level, mainly at the start of the academic year when teachers are in a rush to outpace each other in completing the syllabus, often at the expense of students' understanding and engagement. This unnecessary practice leads to students carrying heavy bags (8-10 kg) filled with multiple notebooks, making it a burdensome exercise.

When asked about the negative impact of workload on students, a secondary-level teacher in a private school in Quetta replied, "Our goal is to keep students busy at home." Another teacher echoed a bit different sentiment, saying, "We're required to assign homework (notebook completion) to students, so we can't do anything about it." These responses suggest that teachers either lack professional training or assigning excessive homework is a deliberate policy in their schools. Notably, government schools, despite having trained teachers, also follow similar conventional homework methods, perpetuating the issue.

When students are burdened with excessive writing workload, they are forced to stay up till midnight, disrupting their sleep patterns. Additionally, they must rely on others, such as parents, siblings, or relatives, for assistance with completing their homework. For students who struggle to meet deadlines, skipping school or classes may seem like the only option. Moreover, the constant writing demands leave students with no leisure time, leading to frustration and potentially negatively impacting their overall well-being.

Despite being an outdated practice, notebook-writing practices persist in our institutions as homework assignments. In the past, when teachers were the sole source of guidance and the course books and notebooks were the primary source of knowledge, this practice may have been acceptable, albeit unproductive. However, in today's digital age, where information is readily available through various sources, including AI and online resources; and with numerous guidebooks accessible at bookstores the need for traditional homework has diminished.

Writing practices are beneficial in early classes, where developing children's writing skills is crucial. However, in higher-level classes, this time-consuming work yields little benefit beyond refining writing skills. The true purpose of homework should be to engage students in productive activities like problem-solving, comprehension, analytical and creative practices. Effective homework can be consolidated into a single notebook, reducing unnecessary workload. In today's digital age, where e-notebooks are becoming increasingly prevalent, it's counterintuitive to encumber students with a burdensome pile of physical notebooks.

Both government and private schools need to revamp their approach to homework. A crucial step is establishing a coordination mechanism in schools that enables teachers to share and discuss their homework plans, thereby reducing the burden on students. Furthermore, schools should abandon outdated notebook-completion practices and invest in training teachers on best practices. The Bureau of Curriculum & Extension Centre Balochistan, in collaboration with the Provincial Institute for Teacher Education (PITE), can develop innovative instructional guides and materials with a specific focus on modernizing homework practices that prioritize student learning and engagement.