The government's failure to notify the Free and Compulsory Education Bill after its approval six years ago has resulted in an inordinate delay in formulation of the rules of business for its implementation.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government also kept the bill in the cold storage during the past almost two and a half years. Finally, in the recent session of the Punjab Assembly, 13 lawmakers from the PTI, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) jointly presented an amendment under private members' business to implement the bill.
Provincial School Education Minister Murad Raas opposed the amendment bill, but faced a defeat in voting on the issue. Not a single member of the assembly supported his stance and Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari referred the bill to the Standing Committee on School Education.
The committee will present a report in the House within two months, on the basis of which the legislative process on the matter will be completed.
PTI members Mian Shafi Mohammad, Sadia Sohail Rana, Sabrina Javed, Malik Wasiq Mazhar, Shahina Karim, Farah Agha and Shamim Aftab; PML-N's Kanwal Pervaiz Chaudhry, Raheela Naeem, Uzma Qadri, Haseena Begum and Aswa Aftab; and Sazia Abid of the PPP supported the bill.
An altercation took place between PTI MPA from Multan Malik Wasiq Mazhar and the minister. Mazhar said problems arose due to the attitude of Raas and it was also because of him that the teachers of Punjab recently went to Bani Gala to protest outside the home of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The Punjab Teachers Union had refused to hold talks with the provincial minister. Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Muhammad Basharat Raja held talks with representatives of teachers and persuaded them to put off their protest. Earlier, The Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board Amendment Bill 2020 was passed against the wishes of the minister for school education.
Senior PTI MPA Mian Shafi Mohammad said that under the 18th Amendment, Article 25A of the Constitution obliges the state to ensure free and compulsory education for children between the ages of five and 16 years. The law on free and compulsory education was passed in October 2014 but has not been implemented. "Our amendment demands that this law be notified and rules be made for its implementation."
The chief executive of an NGO active on parliamentary affairs, Ziaur Rehman, campaigned for the bill and persuaded lawmakers to legislate on the issue. He said that non-implementation of the law on free and compulsory education was unconstitutional.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 29th, 2020.
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