Points to ponder for schools

Dear Sir,

I highly appreciate the work undertaken by Qatar’s Supreme Education Council (SEC).
I have just received the Qatar Comprehensive School Survey (QCSS) papers from a school. The survey includes a series of relevant questions. Very few Middle East countries are taking steps like Qatar to encourage and involve parents and students in the academic process in such a positive way.
I hope the SEC will also look into the following issues and make suitable decisions on them:
lWhy is a spring vacation required for schools following the Indian curriculum? The annual examinations follow after the spring break. And the new academic year begins soon after. One feels that the spring vacation may be done away with,  adding those days to the December winter vacation and the summer holidays. If the Indian schools follow this arrangement, continuity in studies will not suffer.
- No homework/projects/reading assignments are given to students for the vacation period. These should be given to at least in case of students who are in classes above the seventh grade.
- Reading habit should be promoted among students through a concerted campaign. All students should be told to make full use of the school library.
- Students should be encouraged to take part  in sports actively.
- There are too many scattered holidays in Indian schools. Because of these, study portions in higher grades cannot be completed often. There should be a review of these holidays.

Mrs Zarna P Bhatt. (e-mail address supplied)

Healthy measures
Dear Sir,

This is to commend the measures being taken by the Ministry of Public Health to ensure all food items imported into Qatar meet the necessary health standards.
According to a report, the ministry  last year returned or destroyed more than 5mn tonnes of foodstuff that did not meet the standards. That is a huge figure.
A total of 2.59bn tonnes of food items imported into the country were inspected by the ministry at various ports of entry during 2015, according to the report.
Many companies are known to use various chemical agents to prolong the shelf-life of the food items they sell. Some food items are also known to contain excess pesticides.
Strict food inspection by health inspectors is vital because of these factors.

Rajesh Nair, rajeshnair.it@gmail.com

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