Monitoring, evaluation of higher edu launched

LAHORE - The Punjab Education Department has launched monitoring and evaluation of higher education in the province for improving quality of education at undergraduate level.
The monitoring teams comprising officials of the higher education wing and DPI (colleges) paid surprise visit to the colleges to check attendance of students and teachers in the classrooms according to the timetable, security arrangements, uniform and ID cards display by the students. The visits are usually conducted in the early periods starting from 8:00am. The absenteeism of teachers is recorded in their ACRs. Similarly, the result of colleges in the Intermediate Boards and the University is also monitored and evaluated. Principals of colleges, which show below 8 per cent result, are punished. Recently the department has suspended as many as 36 principals for showing zero or below 8 per cent result in BA, BSc exams 2009 of the Punjab University.
The monitoring and inspection teams also checked the development projects and on-going schemes under the Punjab Education Sector Reforms Programme (PRSP) to provide missing facilities in colleges including furniture, shortage of classrooms, laboratories, libraries, drinking water facilities and lavatories.
Sources in the Education Department said the work on boundary walls was in progress at dozens of colleges while the principals had been allowed to use college funds for provision of security equipments.
In the light of experiences during the inspection, one window operation has been introduced at the Civil Secretariat headed by a deputy secretary to redress the grievances of college teachers like their re-imbursement cases, leave applications, GP fund, posting, transfers and promotions. The teachers need not to go pillar to post for the redress of their applications. Thus the teachers’ precious time is saved enabling them to concentrate on classroom instructions. .....LINK