Chandigarh: Former minister and Congress MLA Pargat Singh on Friday criticised the Punjab govt’s claims of ushering in an “education revolution”, alleging major administrative and technical lapses in the conduct of board examinations by the Punjab School Education Board.Pargat alleged that 3 questions carrying 15 marks were missing from the Punjabi, Gurmukhi version of the Class VIII Science question paper, while the Hindi and English versions reportedly contained all 30 questions. He termed the issue a serious administrative lapse and demanded that responsibility be fixed.According to Pargat, the alleged error affected more than 300,000 Punjabi medium students, who he claimed lost nearly 19% of the total marks due to the omission. He said such mistakes could adversely impact students, and should not be treated lightly. Questioning the govt’s repeated references to an “education revolution”, Pargat said that if teachers lack adequate training, it reflects a systemic failure. Referring to remarks attributed to education minister Harjot Singh Bains during school inspections, Pargat claimed that the minister pointed to shortcomings in teaching standards. “If teachers are not adequately trained, it is the govt’s responsibility to address it,” he said, adding that the minister should not shift the blame onto govt school teachers. He further alleged that despite promises of reform after the Aam Aadmi Party formed the govt in Punjab under chief minister Bhagwant Mann, the ground reality in schools remains unchanged.He also alleged that govt schools were painted in colours associated with the ruling party, calling it an attempt to politicise educational institutions. The Congress leader demanded that vacant posts of principals, headmasters and teachers be filled on priority. MSID:: 128612196 413 |
