End of road for low-scoring students in Punjab's Daanish Schools

LAHORE: The Punjab Education Department has decided to transfer some of the students enrolled at Daanish Schools to state-run schools, Geo News learnt on Saturday.

Daanish Schools, established in 2010 by the Punjab government, have a clear vision to fight poverty through educating the gifted children who belong to underprivileged families. 

108 students, who scored less than sixty percent in recently held exams, will be transferred from the schools, the Punjab Education Minister Rana Mashhood said, adding that students currently enrolled in government schools will instead be given an opportunity to study at the Daanish Schools.

"Those primary and middle school students with scores in the highest percentiles will be given an opportunity to study at Daanish schools," Mashhood announced.

The decision was taken at a conference of the Punjab Education Department today, where the performance review of Daanish schools was discussed. 

Passed in February 2010, the Punjab Daanish Schools and Centers of Excellence Authority Act, 2010 provides for unambiguous criteria for merit-based selection from within the group of the “destitute, most deprived and marginalized students”. 

The educational authority is headed by the Chief Minister of Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif and includes a body of legislative members, renowned educationists, and members of the international community, as well as related bureaucracy.