Naveed Ahmed

The School Education Department (SED) is using technology to launch the Student Performance Evaluation and Tracking System (SPETS), reports WealthPK. Aqif Nadeem, Public Information Officer (PIO) at the School Education Department (SED), told WealthPK that one million children will be one step closer to receiving high-quality education owing to SPETS, which strives to maximise profit from the country's youth bulge. Out of 4.2 million students in classes 6 through 10, only 50,000 have been registered into the database in the first phase of the SPETS. A high standard of education in the province will be ensured by the development of the tracking system. SPETS is already being used in South Punjab, according to the spokesman for the South Punjab School Education Department. She described SPETS's functionality and features as well as how these aspects improved the educational system.

Every student will have a unique ID and profile that parents and teachers can use to evaluate their progress. Using this method will help identify a student's areas of interest. She emphasised that rather than pushing every kid toward the stereotypical careers of doctors and engineers, if he/she excelled in a particular area, his/her mentors can assist. She claimed that some children manipulated their test results in order to hide them from their parents. Utilizing IT in education will improve the system's transparency and accountability. The effectiveness of teachers will also be assessed by parents and academic experts.

Although this is a great initiative by the School Education Department to improve the educational standards, experts also identify some room for improvement.Talking to WealthPK, Savvy School owner Muhammad Owais argued, "This concept has potential for improvement. For example, teachers are required to complete their performance evaluation forms by themselves. But what if their performance is not up to the mark, but they report it satisfactorily? In this case, nobody crosschecks it? Transparency will be damaged as a result. In addition, the teacher's workload will increase, leaving him with less time to focus on teaching. As a result, it is advised that a third party be established for evaluation operations to ensure accountability and transparency and lessen the burden on the teachers. Overall, the SED's initiative to raise the standard of the educational system in numerous areas is commendable." 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk