Moulding young minds: Sindh govt plans to revise curricula to promote harmony

Aims to improve quality of education until grade-12


Hasnaat Malik March 14, 2015
Aims to improve quality of education until grade-12. STOCK IMAGE

ISLAMABAD:


The Sindh government has informed the Supreme Court that it will revise school curricula in a bid to promote the cause of religious harmony in the province.


A report regarding implementation of the apex court’s decision announced on June 19 last year was submitted in court.

Sajjad Saleem Hotiana, the recently replaced Sindh chief secretary, stated in the report that the provincial education and literacy department had taken steps to maintain the standard of education in schools and supervise the curricula and textbooks assessment process for improving the quality of education until grade-12.

“Every visionary initiative has been taken for the first time in our history,” states the report, “to address the fact that the mindset of an average Pakistani is influenced and moulded from the very young age of five years, laying the foundation for intolerance and leaving a lasting impression on innocent minds.”

The Sindh government plans to revise textbooks of classes 1 to 5 to include coexistence, interfaith harmony and social values in their courses.

The report said the issue of the Hindu Gymkhana was pending in the Sindh High Court, while the provincial authorities had directed the police department to come up with a concrete plan to form a special police force to protect the minorities.

The Sindh government has ensured that it would not tolerate any negligence as regards registering criminal cases against those involved in desecration of the minorities’ places of worship.

The report said the provincial information department would scrutinise all recruitment advertisements with regard to reserved quota and would not approve any advertisements for publication that do not mention the quota.

Pakistan Hindu Council patron-in-chief Dr Ramesh Kumar appreciated the Sindh government’s decision to revise school curricula to promote religious harmony.

Dr Kumar said the two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, had also directed the other provincial governments to revise school curricula in their respective provinces to promote religious harmony.

The bench also sought all the provincial governments to devise a security plan to protect the minorities’ places of worship before the next hearing, scheduled for April 16, is conducted.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14th, 2015.

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