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       LAHORE: The Punjab School Education Department (SED) is going to introduce new subject groups for the matriculation students from the upcoming academic year in the province, expanding their choices beyond traditional science and arts streams.

       The SED is introducing four new groups – health sciences, agriculture, information technology (IT), and entrepreneurship – for the matriculation students, who will select from these subject groups at the beginning of the ninth grade and may continue with their chosen fields throughout their secondary education.

       The new groups are aimed to align the curriculum with international standards and offer students more practical and career-oriented options.

       Earlier, SED Secretary Khalid Naeem Wattoo told a private TV channel, “We have introduced four new groups: agriculture, IT, fashion designing, and health sciences. Students will also be imparted practical education, with 35 marks allocated for theory and 40 for practicals.”

       While answering a query about hiring teachers for the new groups, he said it will not require the additional recruitment as current teachers will be trained in the new curriculum.

       Mr Wattoo says there are teachers who are engineers, and the computer teachers have already been recruited in the department. “We will train our current staff to meet the demands of these new subjects,” he adds.

       He says the total marks for matriculation examinations will remain 1,100 and the new subjects have been integrated within the existing framework.

       SED spokesperson Noorul Huda confirmed to Dawn that four new subjects groups have been included in the curriculum to align it with international standards.

       Educationist Rana Liaqat told Dawn that introduction of the new subject groups would bring diversity, that is good for the students.

       He said the government should also provide facilities for upgrading the science and IT laboratories in schools to benefit the students.

       He said the previous government of the PTI had also introduced ‘Tech groups’ for matriculation students, suggesting that the current administration should review the policy and check whether it will bring any good or not. The previous government had also provided labs to schools, which are not operational, he regretted.

       He said the science group labs were not fully operating in the schools, depriving the students of practical knowledge.

       He stressed the need for appointing teachers for the agriculture, fashion design and textile subject groups.

       Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2024