Falak Sher
Mardan
The Private Schools Network (PEN) of Mardan district has strongly reacted against the cluster system introduced by the education boards and termed it as very unfortunate and unacceptable for parents, students and educational institutions.
Addressing an emergency press conference at Mardan Press Club, PEN officials Nadeem Shah, Naseer Khan Afridi, Tufail Khan Mayar and Hashim Khan said that repeated new experiences in the education system have caused severe mental stress to the students which cannot be tolerated in any case.
He clarified that the private schools network is strongly against duplication and the board is ready for all possible cooperation with the administration in this regard, but the implementation of the cluster system has exacerbated the problems instead of reducing them. Expressing concern over the difficulties faced by female students in particular, the officials said that remote examination centres, security concerns and travel issues have created severe anxiety among parents.
He raised the question that who will take responsibility for the protection of female students? He said that in many areas, examination centers have been established 10, 10 km away from students’ homes, due to which parents are facing severe difficulties, besides security issues, lockdown-like situation and electricity load shedding have worsened the examination environment, which is having negative effects on the future of students. Addressing the press conference, he demanded to take immediate notice of this important problem faced by the government, authorities, educational institutions, parents and students and said that the cluster system is not only unconstitutional but also promotes mistrust in the education system. He also appealed to the elected public representatives to immediately address the concerns of the parents and ensure a review of the system so as to provide a peaceful and conducive learning environment to the students.
