Prime Minister Imran Khan has launched the first phase of the Single National Curriculum. The SNC scheme aims at bringing about a revolution in education in the country. It main goals are elimination of the duality in the education system and promoting moral values in line with the teaching of Islam, taking due care of the followers of other religions, and to link it up with the demands of modern times by focusing on the teaching of science and technology subjects and on vocational and technical training. Since the SNC will encourage inculcation of morals, based on religious teachings, it will foster tolerance and help achieve national cohesion.
The inclusion of the vision of the Father of the Nation, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, will further cement national unity. By doing away with the dichotomy caused by the hitherto different curriculums being taught in English-medium and Urdu-medium schools, the SNC is expected to remove disadvantages faced by those receiving instructions in Urdu and the inferiority complex that the dual system induces in the latter category of students. Now English will be taught from Grade-1 in all schools and seminaries. The SNC will help towards attaining social justice.
Sindh, however, has some reservations on the issue. Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah insists that the curriculum in Sindh is good enough and there is no need for adopting the unified educational curriculum. The province’s concerns need to be addressed.
Read More: Sindh education dept sees Rs5b development hike
Meanwhile, in his speech at the launch of the scheme, the PM pointed out a bitter reality that Pakistan is the only country in the world that has different syllabuses for private schools, government schools and seminaries. He said at present there were 800,000 pupils in English-medium schools while 30 million were in public schools and 2.5 million in religious schools. This shows the level of disparity in the education system.
The PM is upbeat about the scheme’s success, saying “the process that has been started is irreversible.” We have long been imparting an education largely based on Macaulay’s model, to produce only an army of pen pushers and clerks, and the need for dumping this has long been felt. The introduction of English in all schools will need the appointment of thousands of teachers thus opening up vast job opportunities. As for detractors, the government should take only constructive criticism.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 19th, 2021.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ