Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training through National Curriculum Council (NCC) had conducted a comparative analysis of Pakistan’s current curricula with Singapore, Cambridge and other countries’ education system for improving syllabus being imparted at national educational institutions.
According to the official document, the NCC had shared the existing Quality of Education Standards document with the Cambridge education system for their comments and guidance. New draft will incorporate comments from national and international experts, it said. Furthermore, a review of medium of instruction of policies in China, India, Canada, Germany, US was also made to learn from their experiences, the document added.
The document further highlighted that NCC has decided to develop the Single National Curriculum (SNC) in three phases. The development of single national curriculum and textbooks for Pre classes (1-5) would be completed by end March 2020. While, under phase-II, the development of single national curriculum and textbooks for grade six to eight (6-8) would be prepared by October 2020.
However, the development of single national curriculum and textbooks for grade nine to ten (9-10) by December 2021 and grade 11 to 12 would be finalized by December 2022, the document said. When contacted, Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood on Tuesday said the country had three parallel streams of curriculum in Pakistan including private, public and religious seminaries which not only hurts national integration but also widen the gap in employment.
Therefore; National Curriculum Council had been established with a sole aim to bring uniformity in curriculum, he added. He said that National Curriculum Council by holding three meetings had made substantial progress for bringing uniformity in education system.
The NCC, he said, had a diverse representation which includes curriculum experts, academicians, social activists, representatives of private schools, and Madrassas as well as the most important representation by the ministers of all provinces and areas.
Technical experts committees had also been notified with two immediate tasks to determine with consensus on medium of instruction for schools and final the core subjects in various grade levels, he maintained.
Commenting on the new education policy, the minister said the major objective of the development in education sector was to shape an education system for the country that delivers quality and equitable outcomes for all children and young people. He said the government inherited a system that was flawed, marred by inefficiencies and had created an education apartheid in the country.
The ministry while recognizing the urgency to move forward and transform the education system had developed a National Education Policy Framework setting priority goals and policy actions for implementation, he remarked. We also forged collaboration with the provinces through the Interprovincial Education Minister’s Conference (IPEMC) to ensure key policy actions have full ownership across the country, he concluded.—INP
