Pre-school Education in Bahawalpur: A Situational Analysis of Private and Government Schools

Pre-school education prepares students for next stages. Therefore, parents consider certain factors before choosing schools for their children. A trend to prefer private schools than government schools for children has grown up rapidly in Bahawalpur. This has attracted researchers to study the factors behind the success of private in comparison to government schools. The present study aims to analyze the current position of pre-school education in government and private schools of Bahawalpur. This study was completed by a survey method. Questionnaire for teachers and a checklist for school heads were the tools of this study. The sample of this study was 298 school heads and 298 pre-school teachers teaching to the nursery, prep and Kindergarten classes. The results of the study indicated that all schools had not an ideal situation for quality pre-school education.Teacher-student ratio was not appropriate in government and private schools according to the requirements of effective pre-school education. Classrooms were overcrowded in both government and private schools. Majority of schools had more than 25 students in a section. A maximum number of students observed in a section was 50 in private and 70 in government schools. Results indicated that government schools had more qualified teachers in comparison to private schools. But these schools were found weak in comparison to private schools about classroom out/look, parents’ involvement, planning, monitoring, pedagogical techniques applied in schools, co-curricular activities and motivation of teachers.A major weakness in private schools was observed that majority of teachers had no training in teaching. So, this study has suggested the authorities to take actions to improve the pre-school level education.