National education policy: Govt will not rush consultations: Baligh

Two-day review of draft policy begins as minister assures all stakeholders will be taken on board

ISLAMABAD: The government will not rush consultations on a new national education policy, and public input from all stakeholders would be sought.

This was stated by Minister of State for Federal Education Engineer Balighur Rehman on Tuesday as he chaired the opening session of a two-day consultative meeting to review the draft National Education Policy in Islamabad.

“We would never violate the constitution. This policy will be finalised after seeking suggestions and recommendations from all the stakeholders including provinces, education departments, and academicians,” Rehman said, adding that due consultations were imperative when formulating such a policy.

Highlighting aspects of the draft policy, Rehman said that it includes chapters on Islamic Education, early childhood education and care (ECEC), non-formal education including literacy and adult literacy, tertiary education, information technology, library and documentation, and physical education and sports.

Further, the draft includes chapters on private sector education, special and inclusive education, seminaries, national testing system and assessments, character building, career counselling, guidance, Girl Guides and Boy Scouts, and financing of education.

Rehman said that all of these subjects were important for a sound education policy.

“The National Education policy 2009 was a consensus document, but there is always room for improvement. Revisiting the national education policy will incorporate all the latest trends in education,” stated the minister.

Presenting an example of this, he pointed out that they had recently found books with glaring errors.

“We recently came across some misprinted science textbooks along with the outdated computer science books,” he remarked. “We took quick and serious action against it and to avoid such situation in future we have already started working on the new national curriculum in National Curriculum Council.”

The minister further said, “We have already registered for Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 with our own resources for an international assessment of the education system.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2017.