Renowned educationist Nargis Alavi has called government’s single curriculum initiative “not enough” to overcome issues and problems of educational sector. Speaking at Shura Hamdard meeting presided by Speaker Justice (retd) Haziq-ul-Khairi titled “Single National Curriculum – Concerns & Expectations” at Hamdard Corporate Head Office on 9th October. She said “Even though single national curriculum is a good move but it could further undermine the performance of reputable educational institutions if imposed without paying much thought.” She said the medium language for teaching should be Urdu as it will be easy for teachers to convey their message to children. Dr. Rizwana Ansari highlighted that country’s educational infrastructure is dilapidated to such extent that it could not even provide basic facilities such as toilets, school building, furniture and books to 23 million school-going children. “Apparently we have no planning for the remaining 22.8 million children who do not go to school, how are we going to provide them education if we have no infrastructure?” She also said it was not wise to introduce children to religiosity from very young age. “Madaris teach children about afterlife only whilst children should be taught about how to make this world a better place. We have to make our children realize their responsibility toward their country, their surroundings,” she added. Justice (retd) Zia Pervez stressed upon the importance of developing an effective teachers’ workforce. Cdre.(retd) Sadeed Anwar Malik said government should collaborate with private sector to build and expand educational infrastructure all over Pakistan. He also called for teaching tolerance and diversity to children in young age. Musarat Akram said “We have to set our priorities first; we have to build a nation comprised on people of different cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds. For that we need a comprehensive curriculum based on Pakistan. She also urged government to construct more cities like Madinat-al-Hikmah in Pakistan.Shakeel Farooqi called for strict reforms in education sector. He showed his disappointment at the corporate approach adopted by private schools for making education a profitable profession. Col (retd) Mukhtar Ahmed Butt said that after the 18th Amendment, education is now a provincial subject. He said federal government should show sincerity in their approach by first repealing the 18th Amendment. Prof. Dr. Shaheen Habib raised concerns over below quality education that schools were providing to children via online in Covid-19 pandemic. She said teachers were least concerned whether children had learned or not. Ibn-ul-Hasan Rizvi emphasized upon vocational training in schools to make them more appealing to poor and low income households. He said “if parents see that their children are learning valuable skills in schools and after that they will be able to support their family, parents are likely to send their children to schools instead of Madaris.” Syed Amjad Ali calls for inclusing of great Pakistani achievement to motivate young minds.
