SNC to cement nation, minimise discord: Shafqat Mehmood

Current curriculums fostering mindsets that ‘fractured psyche of the nation’, the minister said

ISLAMABAD:

The Single National Curriculum (SNC) has been formulated with a special focus on the practical aspects of the life of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), which includes taking care of the planet, water conservation, rights of elderly, respect for religious and cultural diversity, Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood said on Sunday.

Speaking to APP, the minister said the new curriculum aim at linking Pakistan's constitutional framework and national policies with sustainable development goals. He said that the curriculum would also highlight the features of the kind of Pakistan founding-fathers had envisaged.

"It pays extensive attention to the value of diversity in cultures and religions and the development of 21st century skills, including analytical, critical, and creative thinking."

The first phase of SNC for grades pre-1 to 5 to be introduced in the current academic year, had been developed under the prime minister's vision of "One Nation-One Curriculum", Shafqat Mehmood informed APP.

Whereas, in second and the third phases, the curriculum will be implemented from grades 6 to 8 in 2022-23 and grades 9 to 12 in 2023-24 respectively.

He said the national curriculum had been launched in all public-private schools and Madaris of Punjab, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir; however, the consultations would be made with the Sindh government as well for its implementation.

The new SNC, he said, had been developed by the National Curriculum Council, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training in consultation and collaboration with education departments of all federating units of the country.

Explaining the mode of language of new curriculum, he said that subjects such as Mathematics, English and Science were developed in English while other subjects are in Urdu.

Elaborating the key features of new SNC, he said that the practical aspects of Seerat as the blessed life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) have a special focus in the new curriculum, particularly in terms of how they apply to the lives of our young generation.

In response to a question, Shafqat said that, "we were bringing a system of test for class five and eight to check the implementation of the curriculum in all educational institutions".

The model textbooks based on the SNC besides the teacher training modules have also been developed for grades Pre-1 to 5.

These have been shared with all federating units to support timely implementation of the SNC on the ground. Under SNC, English will be taught as a language with a focus on skills. In Islamiat, new themes of "Muamilaat" and "Islam aur Daur e Hazir ke Taqazay" have been added. To ensure intra-faith harmony, the SNC focuses on what is common between schools of thought and avoids promoting religious differences, Shafqat remarked.

For students from minority faiths, a separate curriculum with the title Religious Education has been developed.

Shafqat Mahmood believed the Single National Curriculum would prove to be an important milestone in transforming the nation into a "unified entity, rooted in common morals and ethos".

"Introduction of a uniform curriculum will help minimise disparity in our education system which consists of three incongruent styles of systems, namely, public, private and religious," the minister lamented.

He said that these systems were poles apart and fostered mindsets that "fractured psyche of the nation".