Transparent, inclusive development of national curriculum urged
Grave concerns were also expressed by the speakers over various other issues
PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Academics and education policy experts have advised the government to make the consultation process on developing a single national curriculum more transparent and inclusive by engaging more stakeholders.
This was suggested by experts during deliberations in a day-long seminar on ‘Uniform Education System: From Conception to Implementation’, as part of the Educational Dialogue Forum 2020 (EDF2020) organised by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS).
The seminar was addressed by the former federal education secretary Sajid Hasan, Riphah International University (RIU) Vice-Chancellor Dr Anis Ahmad, National Curriculum Council (NCC) Joint Educational Adviser Rafique Tahir, IPS Executive President Khalid Rahman, Dr Mian Muhammad Akram, Dr Waqar Masood, Prof Rao Jalil Ahmed, Muhammad Hussain Malik, Dr Arshad Saeed Khan, Dr Muhammad Salim, Prof Mehr Saeed Akhtar, Dr Ameer Nawaz Khan and Dr Muhammad Sharif Nizami, among others.
Speakers were of the view that the government's efforts for developing a uniform national curriculum are a step in the right direction for the country. However, this should be done with the proper backing of the Constitution while strengthening the legal foundations of the process, taking input from more stakeholders and addressing the processes and responsibilities involved with more clarity.
The panellists also suggested that any work for the development of a single national curriculum should be preceded by the development of a comprehensive educational policy, outlining the aims of objectives of the curriculum in line with needs and requirements of the nation, also incorporating the medium of instruction, textbooks, teacher training and teaching methodology at length.
They stressed that there was a constitutional obligation that Urdu should be promoted as a primary teaching tool as it will be far more effective for the cognitive learning of children, giving them a better opportunity to understand and excel. Many developing countries have experimented with and applied curricula in their national languages, which has proved to be to their advantage, they said.
However, it was warned that certain elements could attempt to put hurdles in the way of this initiative, most prominently those who think the national curriculum strengthens local culture, history, values, and inhibits popularization of ‘secular’ thoughts. In this regard, one hurdle is the elite, who want their children to have an edge over children from other social classes, those who receive foreign funding and want the Western culture to dominate the social and political arena of Pakistan, as well as commercial interest groups.
The speakers were of the view that private schools operate per a corporate nature and their interests were a major obstacle in the implementation of a single education system.
They maintained that in the past, many policies were formulated but never implemented due to several factors, including the availability of funds. Hence, powerful political commitment across the board was essential to implement a single national curriculum across the country.
They said that good governance has always been a weakness, so policymakers will do well to consider what was desirable and what was doable while setting educational goals.
However, they emphasised that there should be no compromise on the quality of the single national curriculum, textbooks and teachers.
They further warned the government to be wary of elements who think a single national curriculum will strengthen local culture, history, values, and inhibit the popularization of ‘secular’ thoughts.
Grave concerns were also expressed by the speakers over various other issues as well including malpractices and negative role played by private publishers, the rile of equivalence of A-levels as intermediate without compulsory subjects of Urdu, Islamiyat and Pakistan Studies, and lack of any government body to regulate books of these boards currently being taught in Pakistan.
Earlier, draft recommendations for revision and further upgrading of the old curriculum were discussed and approved by all stakeholders during a national conference on Single National Curriculum (grade pre, I-IV) organised from February 11-14 by the National Curriculum Council to develop a single national curriculum.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 17th, 2020.
Academics and education policy experts have advised the government to make the consultation process on developing a single national curriculum more transparent and inclusive by engaging more stakeholders.
This was suggested by experts during deliberations in a day-long seminar on ‘Uniform Education System: From Conception to Implementation’, as part of the Educational Dialogue Forum 2020 (EDF2020) organised by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS).
The seminar was addressed by the former federal education secretary Sajid Hasan, Riphah International University (RIU) Vice-Chancellor Dr Anis Ahmad, National Curriculum Council (NCC) Joint Educational Adviser Rafique Tahir, IPS Executive President Khalid Rahman, Dr Mian Muhammad Akram, Dr Waqar Masood, Prof Rao Jalil Ahmed, Muhammad Hussain Malik, Dr Arshad Saeed Khan, Dr Muhammad Salim, Prof Mehr Saeed Akhtar, Dr Ameer Nawaz Khan and Dr Muhammad Sharif Nizami, among others.
Speakers were of the view that the government's efforts for developing a uniform national curriculum are a step in the right direction for the country. However, this should be done with the proper backing of the Constitution while strengthening the legal foundations of the process, taking input from more stakeholders and addressing the processes and responsibilities involved with more clarity.
The panellists also suggested that any work for the development of a single national curriculum should be preceded by the development of a comprehensive educational policy, outlining the aims of objectives of the curriculum in line with needs and requirements of the nation, also incorporating the medium of instruction, textbooks, teacher training and teaching methodology at length.
They stressed that there was a constitutional obligation that Urdu should be promoted as a primary teaching tool as it will be far more effective for the cognitive learning of children, giving them a better opportunity to understand and excel. Many developing countries have experimented with and applied curricula in their national languages, which has proved to be to their advantage, they said.
However, it was warned that certain elements could attempt to put hurdles in the way of this initiative, most prominently those who think the national curriculum strengthens local culture, history, values, and inhibits popularization of ‘secular’ thoughts. In this regard, one hurdle is the elite, who want their children to have an edge over children from other social classes, those who receive foreign funding and want the Western culture to dominate the social and political arena of Pakistan, as well as commercial interest groups.
The speakers were of the view that private schools operate per a corporate nature and their interests were a major obstacle in the implementation of a single education system.
They maintained that in the past, many policies were formulated but never implemented due to several factors, including the availability of funds. Hence, powerful political commitment across the board was essential to implement a single national curriculum across the country.
They said that good governance has always been a weakness, so policymakers will do well to consider what was desirable and what was doable while setting educational goals.
However, they emphasised that there should be no compromise on the quality of the single national curriculum, textbooks and teachers.
They further warned the government to be wary of elements who think a single national curriculum will strengthen local culture, history, values, and inhibit the popularization of ‘secular’ thoughts.
Grave concerns were also expressed by the speakers over various other issues as well including malpractices and negative role played by private publishers, the rile of equivalence of A-levels as intermediate without compulsory subjects of Urdu, Islamiyat and Pakistan Studies, and lack of any government body to regulate books of these boards currently being taught in Pakistan.
Earlier, draft recommendations for revision and further upgrading of the old curriculum were discussed and approved by all stakeholders during a national conference on Single National Curriculum (grade pre, I-IV) organised from February 11-14 by the National Curriculum Council to develop a single national curriculum.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 17th, 2020.