Baku, Azerbaijan | 307 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL Of ACADEMIC RESEARCH Vol. 3. No. 2. March, 2011, Part I COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THE STUDENTS OF HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES AT INTERMEDIATE LEVEL Dr. Ishtiaq Hussain 1 , Dr. Riasat Ali 2 , Maqsood Ahmed 3 , Dr. Falak Naz 4 , Zulfiqar Ali Cheema 5 1 Director, IER, Kohat University (KUST), 2 Director, IER, Bannu University (UST Bannu), 3 M Phil (Education) Scholar, IER, Kohat University (KUST) 4 Ph.D (Education) Scholar, Preston University. (PAKISTAN) E-mails: dr.ishtiaqhussain@yahoo.com, author@host.com, maqsood517@yahoo.com ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to identify the performance of Higher Secondary Schools and Colleges and to find out the factors affecting the performance of the students of Higher Secondary Schools and Colleges. All the higher secondary schools and colleges in District Kohat constituted the Population of the study.4 higher secondary schools (2 male and 2 female) and 4 colleges (2 male and female) were taken as sample of the study. To achieve the objectives of the study two questionnaires were developed one for principals and one for teachers including the personal information of the respondents. Data were collected and analyzed by using T –Test. Conclusions were made in the light of the objectives and recommendations were given. Key words: Performance, terminal stage, tiers, Subject Specialists 1. INTRODUCTION Education is the best investment in the national development. The return in this investment is to produce the (human) capital suited to the needs of society which is acquired after a long time. Primary education is considered necessary for the developing countries of the world. The endeavour to make it compulsory helps in increasing the literacy rate, the secondary education is, in a away, a terminal stage at which the economy starts getting its consumptions in many sectors (Iqbal, 1993). Secondary education holds a key position and is the terminal stage for majority of students. The largest number of educated man power in Pakistan is available at this stage. The Economists consider the secondary education as a backbone of the national economy, while the Sociologists consider it an effective weapon of social reforms. It can be said without any fear of refutation, that secondary education is closely related with the economic development and social development and social welfare of the country (Rasul, 1998). The educational system was organized in a way that its basic tiers are strong enough to provide a sound basis for the higher levels .In the same way, the present educational structure of Pakistan secondary education played a very vital role. It is both a terminal stage for majority of students and is also a significant determinant of quality of higher and professional education. It is necessary to improve the working of our secondary schools so that they can really respond to changing needs of the society (Ghaffar, 2003). In Pakistan Higher Secondary Schools were established in 1954-55. But only after one year these were transformed into Intermediate Colleges. The education Policy of 1979 introduced very vital changes in the infra structure of our educational system. The policy statement is as "The present four tier system of education namely primary, secondary, college and university will be replaced by a three tier system of elementary, secondary and university education in a phased manner. Class XI and XII will be added to selected high schools". Keeping in view the recommendation of 1979 policy, the second tier i.e. "The Secondary Education", was carried forward and the scheme of higher secondary school was restarted in 1985-86. Class XI- XII was introduced in the selected high schools. Now after 13 years since the Higher Secondary Schools were established, there is a need to know how far they are effective in promoting the secondary education, as compared to the colleges having with class XI and XII. This idea moved the researcher to make a study in this area (Govt.of Pakistan, 2000). 2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE The education policy (1979) introduced a 3- tier system of education, namely elementary, secondary and university education. Under this system, all the schools were to be upgraded to higher secondary schools having classes XI-XII. Classes IX and X would be added to all intermediate colleges while classes XI and XII would be added to selected high schools. Middle sections of high schools were to be linked with primary schools. This system has had limited success. (Govt.of Pakistan, 1979) Now-a-days education system in Pakistan comprises the following levels: primary from class (I-V); secondary (VI-X); college (XI-XIV); and higher education (XI and onward). Primary education is the foundation of secondary and higher education. Secondary is a bridge which connects primary and higher education. It prepares