International Education Guide - Enterprise and Advanced Education ...

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION GUIDE for the assessment of education from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
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Table 6. School Day Schedule, 2006 Curriculum
Day of the Week Period Time
Normal Days Morning Assembly 08:00 a.m. – 08:10 a.m.
Physical Training
1st period
2nd period
3rd period
4th period
Recess
5th period
6th period
7th period
08:10 a.m. – 08:25 a.m.
08:30 a.m. – 09:10 a.m.
09:10 a.m. – 09:50 a.m.
09:50 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
10:30 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.
11:10 a.m. – 11:40 a.m.
11:40 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.
12:20 p.m. – 13:00 p.m.
13:00 p.m. – 13:40 p.m.
Friday Morning Assembly 08:00 a.m. – 08:10 a.m.
Physical Training
1st period
2nd period
3rd period
4th period
5th period
Grading Scales
08:10 a.m. – 08:25 a.m.
08:30 a.m. – 09:10 a.m.
09:10 a.m. – 09:50 a.m.
09:50 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
10:30 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.
11:10 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.
Percentage marks are predominantly used. The Pakistani
system is low marking, with 33 per cent as the common
minimum pass mark. Grading scales, which vary by
examining board and time period, are usually provided
on the Secondary School Certificates and Higher
Secondary School Certificates. Table 7 shows a grading
scale commonly used by the Boards of Intermediate and
Secondary Education.
Table 7.
Six-Level Grading Scale, Secondary and
Higher Secondary Education
Percentage (%) Mark
Letter
Grade
Descriptor
80 and above A One/A-1/A+ Outstanding/
Distinction/Exceptional
70 and above, but below 80 A Excellent
60 and above, but below 70 B Very Good
50 and above, but below 60 C Good
40 and above, but below 50 D Fair
33 and above, but below 40 E Satisfactory
For more information, refer to Grading Scales.
Preschool Education (Ages 3 to 5)
Preschool education, called pre-primary education or katchi,
is not compulsory. It is generally geared to children aged 3
to 5, and can be formal or informal, public or private. Before
2007, preschool education was not considered one of the
stages of the education system, and no national curriculum
existed; various kinds of teaching materials were developed by
different organizations. The 2006 national curriculum, which
began to be introduced in 2007, provides a scheme of studies
for early childhood education for children aged 4 to 5.
Pre-primary education was well-organized until the 1970s
but was discontinued in the 1980s. The National Education
Policy of 1998–2010 called for the reintroduction of
pre-primary education in primary schools, and the federal
government allocated specific funds for pre-primary
education for the very first time in 2001–02. Since then the
gross enrolment ratio of preschool education for children
aged 3 to 4 has increased from 36 per cent to 91 per cent in
2005–06.
Pre-primary education is available at some public schools
in either the “traditional” or an “improved” style. In the
traditional style, a preschool child sits in a mixed classroom
along with Grade 1 and Grade 2 students. In the improved
style, a separate classroom is provided for preschool
children, along with trained teachers and proper materials
and facilities. Less than one per cent of public primary
schools offer katchi classes under the improved style. The
educational qualification for teaching katchi classes in public
schools is the same as for teaching in primary school, that is,
a one-year Primary Teaching Certificate, with entry based
on possession of the Secondary School Certificate.
A few private, profit-making schools, mostly located in
urban areas, offer kindergarten, nursery, or Montessoristyle
education to children aged 2 to 5. They usually have
well-trained teachers and proper teaching materials.
Primary School Education
(Grades 1 to 5)
Primary education lasts five years (Grades 1 to 5) and
is geared to children aged 5 to 9. It is compulsory only
in certain parts of the country, such as the provinces of
Punjab and Sindh and the Islamabad Capital Territory. The
government of Pakistan aims to achieve free, compulsory
primary education by the year 2015.