Leaving schools: Board fee structure linked to dropout rate

Teachers say students from poor backgrounds can’t pay exam fees


Fawad Ali December 20, 2014

RAWALPINDI: Among other factors, the ‘heavy’ fee structures of examination boards may also be linked to the dropout rates at high and higher secondary level.

The heads of numerous schools which were served notices for poor performance and high dropout rates have claimed that the fee structure of the Rawalpindi Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (RBISE) was among the reasons that students from poor backgrounds quit school.

They said that if funds were provided to the board by the government to bear examination expenses, checking of answer sheets and other expenses, the dropout could be reduced significantly.



Some of the teachers even claimed that course work at the higher secondary level was “too tough” and many students could not pass the course. They added that it becomes difficult for poor students to reappear in exams if they fail.

RBISE Spokesperson Arsalan Ali Cheema said, each student must pay Rs800 as registration fee after admission in secondary schools.

“Besides the registration fee, a student also has to pay Rs650 if he fails one paper or the whole exam,” said a head teacher who was issued a notice for the high dropout rate at his school.

If a student, after failing an exam, wants readmission in the same class, he has to pay Rs1,000 as readmission fee, Rs650 as exam fee and Rs500 certificate processing fee, the head teacher said while requesting anonymity.

Cheema said, “We have to conduct exams, print papers, pay teachers for marking papers, and meet transportation cost from the fees.

The headmasters said that on one hand, the government claims to provide free education up to matriculation, while on the other, students are still forced to pay various fees.

An RBISE official said it was left with no option but to charge fees from students to meet its expenses.

Meanwhile, Executive District Officer Qazi Zahoorul Haq held teachers and head teachers solely responsible for the dropouts. “Why are we not competing with private schools despite the fact that the government school teachers are paid well and get numerous other perks and privileges?”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2014.

 

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