It was refreshing to see Mr Nisar Ahmed Khuroo, Education Minister, taking action on a complaint against Dawood Public School where management abruptly changed the school timing from 1:40 pm to 2:20 Pm only for the extracurricular activities without getting consensus from the parents. His timely action served as the beacon of hope to majority of parents who don’t know where to seek help from in cases where schools’ management impose agendas without taking into consideration the impacts of these decisions on the students and parents.
His action should teach a lesson to the management of school which seems to be in a habit of introducing rules that contradict modern education systems being implemented in the western and developed world where they are reducing the burden from children’s minds while DPS is behaving in a manner of reinventing the wheel. The school management has also been blamed for raising the fee without any rationale, calling students on Saturdays, and introducing a zero period where only the principal makes a speech where the objective is something other than “education”.
This should also serve as the warning bell for schools where managements fail to understand that extended timings badly interfere with the daily routine of the children where they are unable to rest or do homework or indulge in play or learn Holy Quran.
HASEEB SHEIKH
Karachi