O Level at KIMS
A 2-year Programme
CI has designed syllabi on the assumption that candidates have about 130 guided learning hours per subject over the duration of the course for O Level, and 360 guided learning hours per subject for A Level. According to this, O Level requires only one-third of the time required for A Level, but in most local schools following the traditional 3-year O Level programme, approximately 50% more time is given to O Level than A level. Students doing O Level in 3 years would be one year behind international standards. Unlike those educational institutions, O Level at KIMS takes only two years for completion and provides students an excellent opportunity to save one precious academic year.
Whereas other institutions follow a lecture based system, learning at KIMS is achieved through a subtle concoction of lecture and activity based learning. Class time is devoted to healthy discussions where students brainstorm ideas, question notions of the past and experiment with new methods and techniques to solve problems assigned to them. Class work, home assignments and extra worksheets/handouts are provided to students to give them a thorough understanding of various concepts. The need for a highly qualified, experienced and dedicated faculty cannot be emphasized enough here. KIMS takes great pride in introducing a well knit family of such devoted teachers who are available for and welcome students approaching them with problems. Apart from building their experience, the fact that teacher turnover is extremely low brings an added advantage of strong bonding between teachers and students at KIMS.
In order to develop a certain degree of regularity, students are taught almost all subjects every day and assigned various unseen exercises to practice at home. Summer vacations are condensed to allow maximum utilization of time and remedial classes for various subjects are arranged all the year round, with special emphasis on English and Mathematics.
In order to lessen the burden of coursework, KIMS has made special arrangements to help students cover the syllabus of Urdu in one academic year and appear for its final Cambridge exam at the end of OI. Please note that students are not allowed to sit for the Cambridge Exams of any of the remaining seven subjects before the end of OII. This is because these O Level subjects normally take three years to prepare and students cannot have a thorough understanding of any of them in less than two years. Any student appearing for Cambridge Exams without the school's consent may be forced to discontinue studies at KIMS as his/her presence in class will be extremely counterproductive for the others. Such students cannot be allowed to skip classes either, as that would increase the chances of unnecessary intermingling between O and A Level students. We hope that O Level students and their parents understand that our examination policy is in the best interest of students and hence, expect them to co-operate with us rather than press for alternative arrangements.