Mohali district, the “education hub” of Punjab, which shares its boundary with the City Beautiful, continued its poor show in the Class XII examinations conducted by the Punjab School Education Board.Despite having schools which boast of top infrastructure and “good teachers”, the district could produce only eight students in the overall merit list.The topper of the district, Jaspreet Kaur, got the 14th rank in the state. She is a student of a government school in Kharar. The remaining seven students are also from the periphery of Mohali town. Swati Kalia, who stood second in the district, and Manpreet Kaur, who bagged the third position in the district, are from Kurali. The other toppers whose names have figured in the merit list are Rupinder Kaur (Sohana), Aditi Kashyap (Kharar), Rajinder Singh (Buta Singh Wala village), Twinkle (Kurali) and Kirandeep Kaur (Sohana village).Mohali town, the “model town” of the state, could not produce even a single student in the overall merit list of 366 students.“This is shocking,” said a senior official of the Punjab Education Department on condition of anonymity.“Most teachers posted in schools in the district are connected with influential persons. These ‘VIP teachers’ are least bothered about performing their duties sincerely. Since the teachers are influential, nobody dares to question them. This is one of the main reasons behind the continuous poor show by Mohali schools,” said the official.Last year, the district had produced only three students in the overall merit list. All three were from the rural belt.According to official data, the total pass percentage of Mohali is 67.77. Last year, the pass percentage in Mohali district was 78.09. A dip of 10.32 in the total pass percentage clearly indicates the decreasing standards of education in the district.A total of 9,408 candidates appeared for the examination from the district, of whom 6,376 passed.As many as 366 candidates secured 80 per cent or above marks.With eight students in the overall merit list, Mohali district shared the 11th spot with Faridkot, Bathinda, Kapurthala and Moga in the district-wise performance of students. Last year, Mohali was at the 16th spot in the list, and shared this position with Ferozepur, Mansa, SBS Nagar and Pathankot.Ludhiana topped the list with 119 students on the list, followed by Hoshiarpur (38 students) and Muktsar and Sangrur (18 students each). Pathankot and Ferozepur districts are at the bottom with one student each in the list.Mohali dist placed at 11th positionWith eight students in the overall merit list, Mohali district shared the 11th spot with Faridkot, Bathinda, Kapurthala and Moga in the district-wise performance of students. Last year, Mohali was at the 16th spot in the list, and shared this position with Ferozepur, Mansa, SBS Nagar and Pathankot.‘Influential’ teachers to blame: OfficialMost teachers posted in schools in Mohali district are connected with influential persons. These ‘VIP teachers’ are least bothered about performing their duties sincerely. Since the teachers are influential, nobody dares to question them. This is one of the main reasons behind the continuous poor show by Mohali schools. — An official.
[“source-tribuneindia.com”]
