Minus Sindh’s vote: Education ministers approve curriculum council

Body to serve as unified platform to discuss educational issues with donor agencies .

ISLAMABAD:

After much deliberations and reluctance, the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) approved the formation of a National Curriculum Council without any decision from Sindh.

The third IPEMC meeting held on Tuesday at a local hotel in Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu Kashmir is part of the series of quarterly meetings of the body.



In its previous meeting in Islamabad on July 4, officials from Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa and Sindh raised objections to the working profile of the proposed council.

Provincial representatives had raised objections over the ‘sweeping powers’ the council would wield once it starts functioning.

Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training Balighur Rehman said IPEMC provides a platform to interact with donors and UN agencies for formulating a unison policy for investing in education.

“The synergy among education development partners helps us to avoid duplication of work and ensure the value of money,” said Rehman. The minister admitted that Pakistan had not achieved the Millennium Development Goal targets but is still trying to reach the targets.



While talking to The Express Tribune, Rehman claimed the council would set minimum standards for education in country. When asked about the abstention of Sindh from the decision and even non-appearance in the meeting, he said they had some reservations about the role and authority of the body but all provinces are free to be part of it.

K-P Minister for Secondary and Elementary Education Atif Khan was satisfied with the amended articles of the council. In the last meeting, he had objected to the tone and tenor of provisions stating that provinces would be bound to follow the recommendations of the body, including textbooks printing, etc.

“Now the controversial clauses have been removed and it will be taking decisions with 100 per cent consensus of all the provinces,” he said.

Except Rehman, K-P and AJK education ministers, senior officials of other provinces participated in the meeting with no minister from Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab.

After the decision to form the council, members agreed that at least one and maximum three members would be representatives from the federal territory, each province, Gilgit-Baltistan, AJK and Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Another official of the meeting said the decision by the council would not be binding on the provinces and they would be responsible for its implementation. “Terms of references and working procedure would be decided in next meeting in January 2015 and the secretariat, which is at the federal government, will facilitate them,” he added.

About the role of Sindh, the minister of state stated that his meetings with the provincial education minister and its secretary prior to Eid were encouraging. “The summary has been sent to the Sindh CM about the council and hopefully they will join us soon instead of pressing us to discuss the issue in the Council of Common Interests,” he concluded.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2014.