ABSTRACT
The quality of education in the public schools of Pakistan is very low. The focus of the policymakers has always been on the quantity of education and not the quality. The students studying in public schools cannot think critically. They do not have reasoning skills. Many factors lead to low quality education in these schools. Education is being provided free in public schools but of very low quality. I have analyzed the different elements that lead to low-quality education. The issues faced by the teachers and students in these public schools are also examined in this study. A quality education focuses on the whole child—the social, emotional, mental, physical, and cognitive development of each student. It prepares the students for life and not just for testing. A student who gained quality education can imagine things, make judgments and think on his own. The students of the public schools of Islamabad are just good at learning by rote. They cannot think and write on their own. The teachers are teaching by using medieval teaching techniques. The Federal Board of Education remains unable to make policies that ensure quality education in these schools. The system of evaluation followed is obsolete. This study used a qualitative approach to explain the factors responsible for the public schools of Islamabad. The students, who participated in this study, are selected using purposive and convenience sampling techniques. The semi-structured interview technique is used for conducting the interviews of the participants. The methodology used for this research includes interviews with 60 participants from two different public schools in Islamabad city. Field notes were also collected during the course of data collection. The data which is collected through the interviews and field notes are used to make themes. In public schools of Islamabad, the major factors behind the low quality of education are huge class sizes, the obsolete pattern of examination, medieval teaching methodologies, ineffective administration, rote learning, lack of concept building, lack of critical thinking, and incompetent teachers.
