Wilful neglect: Education ministry’s letter unanswered
Chief ministers do not reply to the missive on setting up a curriculum commission.
Minister of State for Education Balighur Rehman. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
It seems a missive from the ministry of education has been lost as a letter to chief ministers of all the provinces, Azad Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, inviting recommendations on formation of a national curriculum commission has received no replies since it was sent in July 2013.
Minister of State for Education Balighur Rehman has reiterated the need for such a commission in order to develop ‘uniformity’ and ‘cohesion’ within the country’s curriculum.
Following the 18th constitutional amendment, passed in 2010, neither the ministry nor its orders are given weight by the federal or provincial governments after dozens of ministries were devolved to the provinces.
On November 25, 2011, the Supreme Court maintained that under Article 25-A of the Constitution, the federal government could not absolve itself of the responsibility of providing education.
The Council of Common Interests (CCI) renamed the education department the Ministry of Education, Trainings and Standards in Higher Education in June 2013, the third time the ministry’s name has been changed since its establishment in July 2011.
Legislators like the Pakistan Peoples Party’s Raza Rabbani and the Awami National Party’s Afrasiab Khattak – proponents of the 18th amendment – have opposed the existence of a ministry of education at the federal level.
“We’re just assisting the provinces but the ministry should stay within the federal government as it is unlikely that international donors will contact the provinces to make commitments within the education sector,” said an officer in the ministry, requesting anonymity.
The ministry has been sidelined by institutions such as the Establishment Division and the Prime Minister’s House as correspondence or requests with regards to the appointment of officials within educational bodies have gone unanswered. A summary outlining the ministry’s possession and control of educational institutes in the capital has yet to receive a response.
Currently, schools, colleges and other educational bodies in the capital lie within the jurisdiction of the Capital Administration and Development Division. Similarly, there has been no progress on the appointment of a chairperson for the Higher Education Commission (HEC) – the prime minister remains the authority on this appointment even as the HEC falls under the education ministry.
On January 2nd, the Islamabad High Court directed the federal government to inform it of steps taken to appoint a fulltime chairperson for the HEC, a post that has been vacant since August 26, 2012.
In November last year, the prime minister appointed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani as the acting chairperson of the institution. The prime minister has also been sent a shortlist of three names vetted for the position of chairman of the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Islamabad. A response to the list is yet to be received.
In September last year, a three-year National Plan of Action – a four-tier strategy to reintegrate 25 million out-of-school-children aged 5 to 16 across the country – in line with the Millenium Development Goals for 2015 was announced. However, there has been no progress on implementing this 188 billion rupee programme on a provincial or federal level.
An official in the ministry of education, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The Express Tribune that no substantial action had been taken within the ministry since the new government assumed power. “There are several reasons for this delay,” he said, “including the role of the ministry itself, which is yet to be clarified.”
A special committee set up to examine the process of devolution of ministries met on December 19 last year and discussed the ministry of education, spread over at least three departments. “Six months after they took power, they are still deciding who is who and what is what,” complained another ministry official. State Minister for Education Baleegh Ur Rehman told The Express Tribune that the ministry had not received a response from the provincial governments to reminders of pending business. These replies would enable the ministry to fully function, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 7th, 2014.
It seems a missive from the ministry of education has been lost as a letter to chief ministers of all the provinces, Azad Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, inviting recommendations on formation of a national curriculum commission has received no replies since it was sent in July 2013.
Minister of State for Education Balighur Rehman has reiterated the need for such a commission in order to develop ‘uniformity’ and ‘cohesion’ within the country’s curriculum.
Following the 18th constitutional amendment, passed in 2010, neither the ministry nor its orders are given weight by the federal or provincial governments after dozens of ministries were devolved to the provinces.
On November 25, 2011, the Supreme Court maintained that under Article 25-A of the Constitution, the federal government could not absolve itself of the responsibility of providing education.
The Council of Common Interests (CCI) renamed the education department the Ministry of Education, Trainings and Standards in Higher Education in June 2013, the third time the ministry’s name has been changed since its establishment in July 2011.
Legislators like the Pakistan Peoples Party’s Raza Rabbani and the Awami National Party’s Afrasiab Khattak – proponents of the 18th amendment – have opposed the existence of a ministry of education at the federal level.
“We’re just assisting the provinces but the ministry should stay within the federal government as it is unlikely that international donors will contact the provinces to make commitments within the education sector,” said an officer in the ministry, requesting anonymity.
The ministry has been sidelined by institutions such as the Establishment Division and the Prime Minister’s House as correspondence or requests with regards to the appointment of officials within educational bodies have gone unanswered. A summary outlining the ministry’s possession and control of educational institutes in the capital has yet to receive a response.
Currently, schools, colleges and other educational bodies in the capital lie within the jurisdiction of the Capital Administration and Development Division. Similarly, there has been no progress on the appointment of a chairperson for the Higher Education Commission (HEC) – the prime minister remains the authority on this appointment even as the HEC falls under the education ministry.
On January 2nd, the Islamabad High Court directed the federal government to inform it of steps taken to appoint a fulltime chairperson for the HEC, a post that has been vacant since August 26, 2012.
In November last year, the prime minister appointed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani as the acting chairperson of the institution. The prime minister has also been sent a shortlist of three names vetted for the position of chairman of the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Islamabad. A response to the list is yet to be received.
In September last year, a three-year National Plan of Action – a four-tier strategy to reintegrate 25 million out-of-school-children aged 5 to 16 across the country – in line with the Millenium Development Goals for 2015 was announced. However, there has been no progress on implementing this 188 billion rupee programme on a provincial or federal level.
An official in the ministry of education, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The Express Tribune that no substantial action had been taken within the ministry since the new government assumed power. “There are several reasons for this delay,” he said, “including the role of the ministry itself, which is yet to be clarified.”
A special committee set up to examine the process of devolution of ministries met on December 19 last year and discussed the ministry of education, spread over at least three departments. “Six months after they took power, they are still deciding who is who and what is what,” complained another ministry official. State Minister for Education Baleegh Ur Rehman told The Express Tribune that the ministry had not received a response from the provincial governments to reminders of pending business. These replies would enable the ministry to fully function, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 7th, 2014.