Students in the evening school at the Pakistan International School (PIS).
As many as 128 over-aged students from different nationalities are enrolled in evening classes at the Pakistan International School (PIS).
Most of the students in the evening classes are those who could not join schools at the appropriate age for various reasons or lagged behind due to repeated failure in exams and hence were not able to get admissions in regular morning classes.
The evening school has been specially designed for students who are adults or over-aged for morning classes. The timing of the school is from 4 pm to 8 pm while the syllabus has been slightly trimmed down.
A period is of a duration of 35 minutes, and students have a recess of 30 minutes for refreshments and prayers.
Nargis Raza Otho, PIS Principal, told The Peninsula: “We started this initiative in April 2015, especially for the betterment of society. I am overwhelmed to share that we started with seven students and now the number has swelled to 128.”
She said that the evening school was a regular school with all activities like food festivals, educational trips etc. “Over-aged students are mature and a few of them who never attended any school in childhood show great enthusiasm for learning and they are high achievers,” she added.
Rifat Tahir, an English teacher of PIS Girls Wing, said: “I have been teaching for nine years but I still face a new challenge everyday to make students understand English language. Teaching students how to write, read and speak is challenging. I remember an Afghani student asking me the meaning of the word ‘cloud’ which prompted me to learn what it was called in her language and I was able to explain to her accordingly.”
She said that improving students’ English language skills was very important as the evening classes like the ones held in the mornings were English-medium. “A keen interest of these students makes me work harder. They have the will to get education,” she noted.
The evening school is separate for girls and boys. The activities and classroom decorum is maintained as per the school’s rules and regulations. The classes offered are from kindergarten to grade nine. The age limit for evening classes is not more than eight-years older than the actual age required to sit in the class. Mostly, Pakistani students are enrolled in the school while some Afghan students are also registered there. The evening school starts with an assembly in the same way as the morning school.
An Afghan student told The Peninsula: “In passport, my age is four years more than my actual age. At present, I am 15-year-old and due to my passport age I couldn't get admission in a morning school.”
Another student of sixth grade said: “We were on a visit visa due to which I couldn't take admission in any school and my age crossed the age-limit criteria. When we came to know about this opportunity, we rushed and got admission.” In comparison with the morning school, the attendance of the students is 90 percent and according to school faculty, “these students are more active and attentive”.
“Best teachers from the school’s faculty are selected to teach the students in evening classes and each class has a strength of ten students,” said an official of the school, adding that the fee structure was uniform and no extra charges were applicable. Transportation is also provided.
