Education policy: ‘Children don’t get the attention they deserve’

Consultative meeting held on National Education Policy 2016

LAHORE:

Punjab School Education Department National Education Policy 2016 Focal Person Shakeel Ahmed stressed the need to ensure that the National Education Policy 2016 was formulated in line with international standards.

Ahmed was speaking at a consultative meeting organised on the policy by the Idara-i-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) and the Pakistan Alliance of Independent Schools (PAIS) at the Punjab University’s Institute of Education and Research (IER). Ahmed said this was crucial as it would allow students to position themselves better in a global economy. He said shortcomings in the previous policy and its planning and implementation ought to be identified to ensure that they were addressed in connection with the formulation of the new policy.

IER Department of Secondary Education Chairman Abid Hussain said selecting a medium of instruction was a great challenge, especially with regard to primary education. He said the lack of teachers’ proficiency in a foreign language marred their ability to clearly communicate concepts to students. “Educators have to master the language themselves before they teach it to students,” Hussain remarked. He called for use of mother tongue as the medium of instruction in primary education institutes. IER Department of Secondary Education Assistant Professor Tariq Mehmood emphasised the paucity of counselling services for students in connection with identifying courses that complemented their aptitude and interests.

PAIS advisory committee chairman Jamil Najam said ensuring the provision of textbooks was one of the most formidable challenges with regard to policy implementation.  He said a mafia within the publishing industry was always trying to prevent the revision of textbooks in line with education policies and identified needs. Najam said this exacerbated the difficulty in realising results.

ITA Programmes Director Baela Raza Jamil stressed importance of involving representatives province-wide in connection with the policy’s formulation. Jamil said this would ensure that a comprehensive policy was devised. She said this would also facilitate across the board ownership and inclusivity. Jamil also urged the young to raise their voice on the issue as it was innately linked to their future.

Basarat Kazim of the Book Bus Alif Laila Society said the issue was more about policy implementation than shortcomings. She called for the inclusion of independent learning and creativity in the education policy. “We still haven’t given our children the attention they deserve…We have fettered their ability to think. They should be in a position to take to the skies,” Kazim said.

Student Saeedur Rehman said disregard of merit in academic training in academia and research had resulted in a dearth of visionary professionals. “The general view is that anyone who fails to secure a foothold in any other department falls into education and research. How can such individuals benefit the education sector in the long run?” Rehman said. Student Ibtesar called for the formulation of a mechanism that would facilitate the creation of disciplines in academic training that carried weight in the practical field.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22^nd, 2015.