Organization of Education

Chapter 4: Organization of Education in Balochistan

Management of the education sector in Balochistan spreads across a number of organisations: The Department of Secondary Education, the Department of Higher Education, the Department of Social Welfare and the Balochistan Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (BTEVTA) (consisting of four departments). The 7 autonomous universities have not been included in the current sector plan although the ‘Situation Analysis’ report contains a discussion of the issues of these institutions.

In addition to institutions run by the above departments, the federal government and a number of other public sector organisations also own and manage schools. A growing private sector has become a significant stakeholder in education. Madrassas also contribute significantly to the education sector and need to be included in education reforms and management.

The Levels

4.1.	The Levels

Education in the province is divided into the school sector, the higher education, technical and vocational education and the literacy and non-formal sector. The school sector has the following levels:

Pre-primary

4.1.1.	Pre-primary

The pre-primary consists mostly of the ‘kachi’ class of unadmitted children. A few select public sector schools run the ‘reformed kachi’ classes which run these on the basis of the new national curriculum of ECE developed on the modern concepts of the Early Childhood Education.

Primary

4.1.2.	Primary

Primary section consists of grades 1 to 5. The bulk of these schools are exclusively primary while 955 of the 961 of the middle and 648 of the 663 high schools also have primary sections.

Middle

4.1.3.	Middle 

Middle schools consist of grades 6-8 and 660 of the 663 secondary schools include middle sections.

Secondary

4.1.4.	Secondary 

Secondary schools are up to grade 10 with grades 9 and 10 forming the secondary level. These are important years of career choice and progression for the students. At this level students opt for the arts and science streams and sit for public examinations which have a bearing on their future career options.

Higher Secondary

4.1.5.	Heigher Secondary

There is only one higher secondary school in the province run under the provincial Secondary Education department. Although the curriculum for the level is part of the overall school curriculum (traditionally prepared by the Federal Ministry of Education and now transferred to the provincial government) the majority of higher secondary classes are conducted in colleges run by the Higher Education Department. Additionally the higher secondary level also exist in the ‘elite public schools’ run by the Higher Education Department. These ‘elite public schools’ are divided into 3 Balochistan Residential Colleges (BRCs) and 4 Cadet Colleges.

Both these set of institutions have classes from grades 6 to 12, have English as the medium of instruction and provide residential facilities to students.

Higher Education

4.1.6.	Higher Education

Higher Education sector consists of a number of organisations: the Higher Education Commission of the Federal Government, the Higher Education Department with its colleges and the autonomous Universities. Additionally there are private colleges, as well as, universities.

Administratively universities are autonomous bodies chartered by the provincial assembly. Governor Balochistan is the chancellor for all public sector universities. Higher Education Commission (HEC) develops policy for the sector and provides the bulk of funds to the public sector universities. Private Universities receive the charter from Balochistan Assembly and are recognized by the HEC. Private Colleges are affiliated with the University of Balochistan. Colleges are administratively controlled by the Department of Higher Education of the Government of Balochistan. These include ‘Intermediate’ and ‘Degree’ colleges. The former only run higher secondary classes of grades 11 and 12 while the latter also teach undergraduate students (B.A and B.Sc).

The department is overseen by a Minister and headed by the Secretary Higher Education. Until recently, the sector was managed by a single education department that also looked after secondary education.

Curriculum for undergraduate classes in colleges is developed and prescribed by the University of Balochistan, which also conducts the external examinations. Intermediate follows the school curriculum (hitherto developed by the Ministry of Education) and the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) is the external examination body.

Higher Education Commission (HEC) has an important role in the sector. Formed in 2001 the Commission has made significant contribution to university improvement in the country, including Balochistan. HEC is responsible for national standards, provides grants to the universities and also guides policies on quality. Before the18th Constitutional Amendment the HEC was also responsible for curriculum development. The situation on curriculum remains unclear at present.

Technical and Vocational Education & Training

4.1.7.	Technical and Vocational Education & Training

Balochistan has the lowest labour productivity among all the provinces . While labour productivity is a function of general as well as specialized education and TVE plays an important role. There are 3 polytechnic colleges in the province and about 18 vocational training institutions.

Organizatrions

4.2.	Organisations

The central organization for each sector is the Secretariat which oversees the work of the various institutions attached to it. The Sector Plan includes three secretariats and the organisations functioning under them, the Department of Secondary Education, the Department for Higher Education and the Department for Social Welfare. In addition to these departments a number of autonomous bodies also undertake education service delivery. Their mandates have also been explained here.

Secondary Education Department

4.2.1.	Secondary Education Department

The Department has the responsibility for education of all school age children in the province and carries the burden of implementation of Article 25A on behalf of the state. It administers over 10, 000 schools and 48,000 teachers through its district formations under the Directorate of Secondary Education. In addition to the Directorate the department supervises the Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Centre (BOC & EC), Provincial Institute of Teacher Education (PITE) and the Balochistan Textbook Board (BTBB).

Directorate of schools

4.2.1.1.	Directorate of Schools

The Directorate of Schools (DoS) is responsible for all public sector schools and issue ancillary to this mandate. These include management of the teacher cadre and the administrative and financial matters related to them. It has field formations headed by district field officers. It is the executing arm of the Department and responsible for service delivery to the students and the community.

Balochistan Education Management Information System (BEMIS)

4.2.1.2.	Balochistan Education Management Information System (BEMIS)

BEMIS, based in DOS, is responsible for collection, collation and analysis of data on education. It conducts an annual school census of public schools under the provincial education department.

Provincial Institute for Teacher Education (PITE)

4.2.1.3.	Provincial Institute for Teacher Education (PITE)

Provincial Institute of Teacher Education is responsible for in service teacher training. Over the last few years it has focused mainly on the primary level teachers as the BOC &ES has taken over teacher training for middle and above level teachers. PITE normally have personnel from the teaching cadre as staff members.

Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Services (BOC & EC)

4.2.1.4.	Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Services (BOC & EC)

The Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Centre (BOC&EC) was created for research on curriculum in 1971. After curriculum became a federal subject in 1976 its mandate shifted to represent the provincial government in the curriculum review process. The Bureau under the rubric of the Extension Centre conducts teacher training as well. It is administratively responsible for the eleven public sector pre-service teacher education colleges in the province. BOC also houses the Provincial Education Assessment Centre (PEACE) responsible for diagnostic assessments of the sector. The Bureau has its own cadre of personnel.

Balochistan Textbook Board (BTBB)

4.2.1.5.	Balochistan Textbook Board (BTBB)

Balochistan Textbook Board was set up in 1977 to publish and print textbooks for school children of the province. It functions as an autonomous body under a special statute. The Board has its own cadre but officers from other branches of the provincial education set up are also posted in BTBB.

Policy Planning and Implementation Unit (PPIU)

4.2.1.6.	Policy Planning and Implementation Unit (PPIU)

Set up in 2009 this specialized unit has the role of coordination of the reforms in the sector. It is currently also involved in the management of the ‘Aghaz I Haqooq I Balochistan’ package .

Department of Higher Education

4.2.2.	Department of Higher Education

The Department of Higher Education administers public sector colleges in the province. These include one College of Technical Education, one Polytechnic Institute, one Commerce College, three Residential and four Cadet Colleges. The last two types mentioned have classes from grades 6 to 12. All colleges also have the intermediate level, grades 11 and 12. Substantive overlap exists between the secondary and higher education departments as they both depend on the services of the Balochistan Textbook Board, Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Services and the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education as all of these cover grades 1 to 12. While the former two organisations are under the Department of Secondary Education, the BISE falls under the administrative control of the Department for Higher Education. The BISE conducts examinations for grades 9 through 12. This forms the second overlap with Department of Secondary Education. Additional, potential overlaps exist in the teacher training department as the BOC controls pre-service education and the PITE has the mandate for in service training of teachers at the school level.

Directorate of Colleges (DOC)

4.2.2.1.	Directorate of Colleges (DOC)

Directorate of Colleges is responsible for day to day functioning of the public sector colleges in the province. Managed by personnel selected from the cadre of college teachers (known as the college cadre) it is responsible for administrative and financial decisions for the sector. It also represents the provincial government in the Examination board of the University of Balochistan.

Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE)

4.2.2.2.	Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE)

Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education is responsible for public examinations conducted at the secondary and post secondary levels. It has a core staff of its own but also borrows officers from other parts of the provincial education sector. It is heavily dependent on teachers who are selected as examiners and examination supervisors. Given the large size of the province and the difficult transport situation two new boards have been proposed to be setup.

Balochistan Academy for College Teachers |BACT)

4.2.2.3.	Balochistan Academy for College Teachers |BACT)

Balochistan Academy for College Teachers was set up in 2004 with the mandate of professional development of college teachers. It has imparted training to all the college teachers who have been appointed under the Aghaz I Haqooq Balochistan package, an intervention of the federal government. It has also undertaken the capacity building of college principal and vice principals besides training of college teachers in instructional techniques and service rules. It has minimal staff as it is still in the inception stage.

BTEVTA

4.2.3.	BTEVTA

BTEVTA was established under BTEVTA Ordinance, 2006 issued on 9th September, 2006 with the view to provide over all umbrella management, policy planning/ guidance, technical and financial assistance to streamline, upgrade and strengthen the TVET institutions of Balochistan, working under the aegis of below appearing Allied BTEVTA Departments and establish new institutes as per Technical Need Assessments (TNAs):

a)	The Labour and Manpower Department
b)	The Higher Education Department
c)	The Industries and Commerce Department 
d)	The Social Welfare and Women Development Department

The original concept envisaged that all TVET institutes of Balochistan would be placed under the administrative control of B-TEVTA. However, it was eventually decided that Secretary Labour and Manpower would coordinate with allied departments and ensure that the TVET institutes in Balochistan work in a coherent manner under a uniform set of nationally and internationally acceptable standards, while the respective Departments would continue to look after the administrative affairs / training activities of their respective centres under intimation to Secretary BTEVTA. An Act for BTEVTA has been passed by the Provincial Assembly in April, 2011.

Department of Social Welfare

4.2.4.	Department of Social Welfare 

The Department of Social Welfare has the mandate for Literacy and Non-formal Education, which it implements through its Directorate of Literacy and Non-Formal Education.

Directorate of Literacy

4.2.4.1.	Directorate of Literacy

Directorate of Literacy and Non-formal Education was established in Balochistan in 1991. Before this date the few literacy programmes in the province were administratively controlled by the Department of Education while the funding was received from the Federal Government. Initially the Directorate was set up through UNICEF’s support. The latter offered small funding for 1 year in shape of salaries, furniture and a centre of development (for females) in 3 districts namely Sibi, Quetta and Loralai. In 1993 the government approved it as a regular directorate. It has oscillated between the Department of Education and the Social Welfare Department over the last 10 years. Its main development activities have been funded by the Federal Education Sector Reform (ESR) since 2003 and continue to be dependent on this source of funding.

National Commission for Human Development (NCHD)

4.2.5.	National Commission for Human Development (NCHD)

The NCHD was formed under the last military government as a non government organization funded by the federal government. In Balochistan it played a critical role in setting up satellite schools in remote areas and literacy centres in all districts. Its monitoring processes supported the work of the Directorate of Literacy and ALP. After the 18th Constitutional Amendment the role of the organization has been questioned, specifically, the continuation of federal funding. While an interim solution has been reached through ad hoc funding by the federal government the final status remains unclear.

National Education Foundation (NEF)

4.2.6.	National Education Foundation (NEF)

Another federal government organization, the NEF, is responsible for setting up non formal schools in the province. Schools set up under the ALP prepare out of school children for return to regular institutions through a fast track primary programme. The main problem of NEF has been an absence of linkage with the formal province run sector and hence it has not been possible to gauge the impact of its work.

Balochistan Education Foundation (BEF)

4.2.7.	Balochistan Education Foundation (BEF)

The Balochistan Education Foundation (BEF) supports community and private schools through a ‘public private partnership’ process. BEF has opened 197 Fellowship schools with the assistance of the private sector and subsidizes another 500 schools that meet its criteria. The BEF has also developed community schools in areas with no schools. At present about 649 such schools function in the province .

The Private Sector

4.2.8.	The Private Sector

Private sector has increased its investment in education in the province over the last decade. The number of privately owned education institutions continues to grow, especially, in urban areas. The maximum growth is in the school sector but private institutions have been set up at all levels including University and vocational training.

At the school level the private sector cannot be viewed as a monolith. Very few of the schools (4 to 5 in Quetta only) can be categorized as elite institutions. The bulk of the remaining schools cater to families that can only afford low fees.

Other Public Sector

4.2.9.	Other Public Sector

The federal government, local governments and other public sector organisations also run schools in the province, although these are very few in numbers.

Madrassas

4.2.10.	Madrassas

According to data provided by Government of Balochistan’s Home Department a total of 1095 madrassas exist in the province with an enrolment of about 85,000 students . The madrassas have been further divided into sub sets based on sectarian affiliations. The largest number belongs to the ‘Deobandi’ School of Thought.