A STUDY OF THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOLS, KARACHI Aftab Ahmed Shaikh, Dr. Syed Abdul Aziz and Dr. Nasir Sulman ABSTRACT Karachi is called a “mini Pakistan” due to its unique socio-political chemistry, diversity of cultures and huge population. Happenings in Karachi greatly influence the whole of the country. Quality of education, particularly in government secondary schools of Karachi dropped during the last few decades that ultimately impacted on local & countrywide levels in several ways. The present research was all about to know the pedagogical factors that challenge the academic achievements of government secondary schools. The present investigation has been carried out in two phases. At one hand, data were collected by serving separate questionnaires to teachers, parents and students and result of the Examination Board of the same 144 selected schools was analysed on the other. Data were then correlated with the 25 raters‟ findings on 18 pedagogical characteristics of the same schools. After the discussion and statistical analysis, it has been concluded that Government school education in the country, particularly in Karachi is in real trouble, due to various major and minor, directly and indirectly linked interconnected factors. The identified 18 situational factors found to be correlating and affecting the performance of government schools. Concrete planning and its committed implementation, e.g. Uplifting socioeconomic status of backward class, reviewing the weak areas of education policy and management system; are the prime remedies of the problem. Moreover, improving the public education system in Karachi is not possible through any miracle or with merely emotional commitments and unsteady planning. It needs extraordinary political commitment, effective leadership, capacity building, proactive involvement (society, media and public and private sectors) uplifting the socio economic standard of parents, exercising the policies of merit and professional competencies to exert effort to make a change in overall national behaviour towards the significance of education; particularly at the leadership level. The study stressed need not only to attend the weak areas of highlighted correlating factors with the leading recommendations i.e.: 1. Establishing Provincial Think Tank for Education replacing the bureaucratic approach, 2. Decentralization of Powers, 3. Education Group of Services in A Study of the Factors affecting the academic Achievements Provincial and National Civil Services of Pakistan, 4. Pilot Programs for Subsidizing and Privatization of Unsuccessful Schools, 5. Programs for Creating Educational Leadership, 6. Declaring Emergency in Education, 7. Effective Monitoring and Inspection System, 8. Whole Campus Development Program for Selected Schools in each District. 9. Skill Development Trainings for Students and Parents, 10. Parents Awareness and Empowerment of School Management Committees Program. The study also suggested to initiate change in the mindset towards education and educationists, through mass mobilization. Keywords: Factors Affecting Academic Achievements, Government Secondary Schools, Karachi, Aftab Ahmed Shaikh, Government of Sindh ts. Hence, the contextual research INTRODUCTION is directed towards an explora- ―Education‖, is commonly defi- tion of factors that influence the ned as delivery of knowledge, academic achievements of stud- skills and information from tea- ents enrolled at Government chers to students. “After all, what Secondary Schools of Karachi. is education, but a process by which The study may give an inter- a person begins to learn how to pretable picture of the secondary learn?” (Ustinov, 2011). Further- school‘s strengths and weaken- more, ―Education is a fundamental sses and invite the stakeholders building block of human deve- to take appropriate measures, lopment and is one of the strongest accordingly. instruments for reducing poverty, improving health, gender equality, Karachi is the largest city of peace, and stability.‖(Zoellic 2010) Pakistan; it is equally important Hence it is an agent that counter- due to its ethnic diversities and weights to social and economic is, therefore, known as mini mobility imposed by cultural and Pakistan thus the result obtained historical biases. in the study are vital and can be implied throughout the country Secondary education is a mul- to some extent. tifaceted process that has to be studied from various angles The quality of School Edu- within an integrated approach cation in Government Secondary from various sociological, finan- Schools of Karachi has declined cial, familial and political aspec- quite rapidly in the past two 70 The Shield (ISSN-1991-8410) Vol. 11, 2016 decades, which is apparently severely affect the ability of a observed through low annual child to learn properly, resulting enrolment and academic results in under achievement, loss of (Asim, Salman 2013). Thus, the opportunity for further educa- results of this study on the sele- tion, self-confidence and loss of cted group of schools in Karachi, that individual (Crocker 2004), will expectedly represent a gen- (Knight and Becker 2000) quoted eral scenario elsewhere in the by Page (2010). Hence, an effe- province. ctive and positive secondary education is essential to build a 1. Literature Review congenial, cooperative, progre- On the whole, Pakistan has ssive, moderate and judicious been struggling against low lite- society. racy and poor quality of edu- cation, but in Sindh the quality Relevant literature was revie- education is going from bad to wed in perspective of: Governm- worse as compared to that of ent Policies and Secondary Edu- private schools (Siddiqui 2009). cation, Secondary Education and Private schools are, no doubt, Scholastic Factors, Home Environ- performing better than public ment, Parents, Social Influence and schools (Ravish Amjad 2012). Secondary Education, Socioecono- However, they are not much mic Factors and Secondary Educa- easily accessible to very low tion, Impact of Parents‟ Socioecono- income households due to mic Status on Children‟s Achieve- various reasons. ment and Education in Karachi Region. Secondary Schooling occupies a central place as it relates to the Literature review is summarized critical age of a child i.e. 11-16 as follows: years, the period when the child i. Secondary education throu- undergoes many psychological ghout the country needs and physiological changes to special attention; where, in participate in future decisions. spite of different improved Thus, positive schooling at this versions of national education stage really matters, whereas def- policies; the real productive iciencies in the education process implementation could not be 71 A Study of the Factors affecting the academic Achievements made due to which HDI and due to ad-hoc policies and GCI are at low level and experimentalism particularly MDGs have not been yet during the devolution of the satisfactorily achieved. This plan (SLGO) and haphazard could be attributed to low rolling back of it, low level of investment or implementa- ownership and leadership at tion gaps due to various management level, lack of eff- factors. The leading challen- ective use of resources, poor ges are low literacy ratio, infrastructure of schools, law dropout and low quality of and order situation and poli- secondary education. tical involvement. ii. In the perspective of schola- v. According to Wikipedia on stic factors, teachers‘ role as ―Karachi‖ (2014), each year professional, their relations there is an influx of many with students, educational thousands 5% of the popula- environment, curriculum, tea- tion or 45,000 per month) of chers‘ expertise, text book‘s people belonging to lower quality, implementation and and middle classes from all follow up, student-teacher over Pakistan; who migrate to affinity, counselling and mot- Karachi to earn their liveli- ivation, examination system hood. Later on their families and cost of education are are settled with their children. significant.. Government schools, mostly iii. There is significant influence cater middle and lower mid- of socioeconomic factors on dle including the said mig- secondary education particu- rants. lar parents‘ socioeconomic vi. After the devolution of power status. Social status of the stu- plan (SGLO 2001), the educa- dent, home environment, the tional setup was drastically role of parents and peers, changed due to the unclear social influence, and societal responsibilities, multiple rep- approach are notable. orting channels, personnel iv. Secondary school education issues, structural issues, capa- in Karachi (the biggest city of city problems, etc. According the country and the Sindh to Paracha, (2007) overall ad- province), facing challenges ministration is the weakest 72 The Shield (ISSN-1991-8410) Vol. 11, 2016 part of the new system, The students; the quality of new provincial governments education is critical. In spite 2008-13 reverted back to the of the availability of school previous system under the related statistics, reliability of administration of Education the data is debated. and Literacy Department (E & LD), Govt. of Sindh. A new Significance of the Study management cadre has also been introduced by the Edu- With its estimated population cation Department. However, of 201 million, Pakistan is the 6th due to the acts of rapid exper- populous country enjoying an imentalism, the public school important political and geog- system has