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The challenge of quality control in the education sector

Naeem Ahmed Qazi 01:21 PM | 19 Apr, 2018
The challenge of quality control in the education sector
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic.” - Arthur C. Clarke (Author)  

Addressing the perennial problem faced by our education sector - provision of quality education, infrastructure and facilities - is only possible through real-time monitoring of the public schools’ everyday functioning. The forthcoming annual budget must prioritize an authentic monitoring process, that includes monitoring the flow of funds and public schools’ all-around performance.

Radical measures can help bring about much-needed transformation faster. The biggest issues prevalent at the school level include poor attendance of teachers and students, ineffective utilization of time allocated to classes, infrastructural conditions, availability of facilities and the periodical assessments’ quality and frequency.

An efficient provincial or national web portal coupled with a mobile app providing assistance in all the major aspects from attendance to infrastructure will begin a new era of monitoring the everyday happenings at a public school. While allocating budget, sufficient funds should be allocated to introduce the modern technology, not only to keep a realistic check but also to collect authentic data for further improvement.

Monitoring the student turnover

The web portal must provide the space for registering students and marking their daily attendance. One of the issues faced by the teachers and parents is lack of frequent correspondence which hurts the education process as well as creates misunderstanding between faculty and parents. The web portal should be capable of saving parents’ contact numbers so that parents can be updated on their children’s attendance as soon as the attendance is marked. It will create a sense of responsibility for with every notification of absenteeism they will get involved in kids’ studies more than ever. Besides, these timely messages will help to keep parents informed in case of truancy.

The menace of rogue teachers

The dreaded performance of students in education thoroughly depends on the interest, punctuality and attendance of the teacher. Absenteeism means wastage of high-valued time that can never be compensated. Let’s calculate how much time will be wasted if a teacher doesn’t come to school on a day when s/he has four classes of 40 minutes:

Using web portal for teachers’ leave applications will bring better compliance and accountability. Teachers will also be facilitated, as they will forward leave application via a web portal or mobile app instead of presenting a handwritten request in person. This will, again, keep the data stored and updated, and this process will eliminate the risk of favouritism, allowing a sense of equality to prevail.Installing facial recognition system for the attendance of teachers will serve if directly connected to the district monitoring cell. Collection of authentic statistics depicting whether the teacher is regular and punctual or not is only possible with advanced technology. It’s true that Punjab has focused on the attendance of the teachers, but to avoid the favouritism hi-tech equipment’s introduction is compulsory.

Centralized assessments

Monthly assessment papers provided by the Federal education department shall be made available on the web portal in order to check the progress of the students. Centralized assessment marked by the optical reader will not only have a positive impact on the kids and teachers efforts but it will also portray an accurate picture of the performance of the school. There must be prizes for the best-performing students every month and for the most consistent teachers and schools annually. This appreciation will encourage the competitiveness among kids, teachers, schools and districts.

Identifying slow learners and kids otherwise will be realistic and easy by implementing monthly-centralized assessment system. This data will help teachers devise their lesson plans and they will be able to work exclusively on the slow learners. Even some meaningful efforts could be made to overcome the shortcomings of the kids who are lagging behind in studies.

 The depleting infrastructure 

Infrastructural conditions carry equal importance to the school’s learning conditions. The community level-monitoring cell will be assigned to capture snapshots of the facilities available at school twice a month and upload them to a centralized portal. It will compel the school administration to focus on infrastructure. Unfortunately, most schools have ample funds but the administration doesn’t spend that money, as they fear the audit system. They are afraid that if they develop or buy something new, the auditors will accuse them of being corrupt. Hence, they seldom try to bring changes in infrastructure. 

Pictorial depiction of classes’ conditions, playgrounds, water facility, toilets availability and conditions to be monitored and evaluated on monthly basis will help keep the infrastructure intact.

Technology not only brings authenticity but also provides a channel of direct reporting. Delivery of instantaneous information enables the monitoring cell to act promptly. The real-time data is forwarded to all the concerns simultaneously; as a result, multiple level reporting diminishes. It limits the errors to the minimal level, as standardized forms of data collection are available. 

Pakistan has a chance to meet the SDG4 if the policymakers introduce technology in the education sector. For many years, finances allocated to education sector haven’t been either used or have been lost somewhere in the conduit of corruption. Multiple level benefits can be obtained if we are able to implement the idea of the web portal in our schools. It will also put an end to the exhaustively debated issues of devising sustainable policies, overspending, underspending and effective monitoring.

Naeem Ahmed Qazi
Naeem Ahmed Qazi

Naeem Ahmed Qazi is committed to helping achieve SDGs through efficient practices for human development. As an educationist by training and social influencer by passion, he has a keen eye for current societal transformation. He ...

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Today's currency exchange rates in Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal rates on June 4, 2023

KARACHI - Following are the foreign currency exchange rates for US Dollar, Saudi Riyal, UK Pound Sterling, U.A.E. Dirham, European Euro, and other foreign currencies in Pakistan open market on June 4, 2023 (Sunday).

Source: Forex Association of Pakistan. (last update 09:00 AM)

Currency Symbol Buying Selling
US Dollar ‎USD 298.9 302.15
Euro EUR 321 325
UK Pound Sterling GBP 375.5 380
U.A.E Dirham AED 82 83
Saudi Riyal SAR 80 81.2
Australian Dollar AUD 202 204
Bahrain Dinar BHD 758.24 766.24
Canadian Dollar CAD 228 230
China Yuan CNY 40.18 40.58
Danish Krone DKK 41.16 41.56
Hong Kong Dollar HKD 36.39 36.74
Indian Rupee INR 3.45 3.56
Japanese Yen JPY 2 2.08
Kuwaiti Dinar KWD 927 936
Malaysian Ringgit MYR 61.94 62.54
New Zealand Dollar NZD 173.16 175.16
Norwegians Krone NOK 25.67 25.97
Omani Riyal OMR 740.5 748.5
Qatari Riyal ‎QAR 78.37 79.07
Singapore Dollar SGD 220 222
Swedish Korona SEK 26.36 26.66
Swiss Franc CHF 314.07 316.57
Thai Bhat THB 8.21 8.36

Today's gold rates in Pakistan | gold price in Pakistan – June 4, 2023

Gold Rate In Pakistan Today:

KARACHI – The price of a single tola of 24-karat gold in Pakistan is Rs 230,800 on Sunday. The price of 10 grams of 24k gold was recorded at Rs197,190.   

Likewise, 10 grams of 22k gold were being traded for Rs180,756 while a single tola of 22-karat gold was being sold at Rs 210,832.

Note: The gold rate in Pakistan is fluctuating according to the international market so the price is never been fixed. The below rates are provided by local gold markets and Sarafa Markets of different cities.

Gold Price in Pakistan: Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad

City Gold Silver
Lahore PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Karachi PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Islamabad PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Peshawar PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Quetta PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Sialkot PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Attock PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Gujranwala PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Jehlum PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Multan PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Bahawalpur PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Gujrat PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Nawabshah PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Chakwal PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Hyderabad PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Nowshehra PKR 230,800 PKR 2125
Sargodha PKR 232,500 PKR 2125
Faisalabad PKR 232,500 PKR 2125
Mirpur PKR 232,500 PKR 2125

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