Perception of teachers and students towards the functionality of semester system at university level in the context of Pakistani social and administrative set-ups

The present research was conducted to find out the functionality and compatibility of the semester system at University level in the light of perceptions of Teachers and students with the existing specific Pakistani social norms and administrative structure. Pakistani educational institutions have been operating annual and composite systems for a long time, and these are still in operation in various universities especially for private students. The prevailing majority of teachers and administrative personnel studied under the annual system and were not formally trained to run semester system. HEC directed Universities to introduce semester system almost a decade ago. This system is quite different in its philosophy, composition and implementation strategy. Semester system gives more freedom and flexibility to the teachers in deciding teaching-leaning activities ranging from designing the curriculum to the evaluation of the performance of students. The data showed that teachers used this freedom to gain more authoritative control, take less number of lectures and manipulate their biases. The academic and administrative priorities are different, and many compromises have to be made to counter the external and internal pressures and to cover the inefficiencies of the system. Irregularities in the academic calendar are due to lack of planning, inappropriate monitoring system, political instability and strikes. However, a 73.7% of students were satisfied with the fairness of the teachers in evaluating students' performance. Almost same percentages of teachers and students showed their satisfaction with the standard and knowledge structure of the students. The findings of the research showed a strong need for revamping the system according to its natural trends and to countering the negatively affecting social and administrative norms.