‘Curriculum authorities can work for uniformity but won’t relinquish control’. PHOTO: FILE
The federal and provincial governments have been in talks regarding uniform curricula for all provinces, but the Punjab government says that while it is prepared to discuss uniformity, it will not give up its authority on the matter.
The authority to develop a curriculum was devolved to provinces under the 18th Amendment. The Punjab Curriculum authority (PCA) was established for this in May 2013.
Last year in December, Federal Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination Riaz Hussain Peerzada said that the federal government wanted the provinces to forgo the authority. He said centralisation of curriculum development was necessary to ensure uniformity.
The federal government has been engaged with provincial governments on this for three months.
The latest meeting took place last week.
Officials at the PCA say it is too early to draw conclusions on the fate of the authority. The PCA insists that the provincial curriculum is developed in line with provisions of the National Curriculum 2006. PCA Chairman Saleem Akhtar Kayani said, “The mechanism of these authorities may differ across provinces but as of now, they are responsible for structuring the curriculum for each province.”
Kayani said the authority was not aware of any decision in this regard. He reiterated that the PCA had the constitutional authority to develop the curriculum for the Punjab.
Education Department officials said that reverting the development of the curriculum to the federal government would require at least a lengthy legislative exercise. They say while the provincial government might agree to a mechanism to ensure greater uniformity of curriculum, it was not willing to let go of its authority entirely.
Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan said the provincial government would not give up its authority on the subject. He told The Express Tribune that the fact of the matter is it lies in the ambit of the provincial government...“we have legislation in this regard and there can be no denying its Constitutionality,” he said.
Khan said the federal government was pushing to ensure greater “uniformity”. He said all provincial education authorities were deliberating on the subject. But there should be no confusion between ensuring greater uniformity and keeping curriculum as a provincial subject. “The only consensus that can be developed is regarding the uniformity of curriculum among all educational institutions in the country.”
Published in The Express Tribune, March 14th, 2014.
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