Federal Minister for Education Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani on Wednesday unveiled a consensus National Education Policy 2009 with gradual increase in the budgetary allocation for the sector from 2.5 to 7 percent of the GDP till 2015, laying more emphasis on governance reforms and policy implementation roadmap encompassing strong monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework.
Recognising the importance of Islamic cultural values, he said the policy interventions shall be within the parameters laid down in the constitution also taking into account the needs of minorities to get education of their own religion. He said that all the provinces were taken onboard while framing the policy and a score of meetings were held with the chief ministers to develop unanimity of views among the provinces and Centre.
Some suggestions were also floated by the stakeholders in today's meeting, which would be incorporated in the policy, minister said. All the primary schools should be upgraded in terms of teacher's education and training to bring them at par with the private sector educational institutions fleecing the poor masses in the name of better education, he maintained.
Investment to 20 percent of the education budget on higher education, he added. The policy discussed at length the issues of inter-tier responsibilities wherein roles of the federal, provincials and the district governments continue to be unclear. The confusion has been compounded by the devolution plan.
For implementation it has been recommended in the policy that Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference with the representations of all the federating units will be the highest body to see the progress in education sector.
The salient features of the policy are as under. Apart from due emphasis on governance issues and implementation framework, some distinct features of the policy are mentioned as under:
Policy Actions to Improve Access and Equity in Education:
-- Dakar EFA Goals and MDGs relating to education shall be achieved by 2015
-- Introduction of Early Childhood Education (3-5 years) and encouraging child-friendly education.
-- Primary education official age shall be 6 to 10 years.
-- Universal and Free Primary Education including all education related costs
-- Equity in Education (gender, geographical urban-rural areas) shall be promoted.
-- All primary schools shall be upgraded to middle level, where feasible.
-- Well-developed plans for expanding school basic facilities shall be prepared.
-- Grades 11 and 12 shall not be part of the college education and merged into the school education.
-- High priority shall be given to reduce dropout rates at all levels.
The governments shall establish "Apna Ghar' residential schools in each province to provide free high quality education facilities to poor students.
-- Every child, on admission in Grade I, shall be allotted a unique ID that will continue throughout his or her academic career.
-- The definition of "free education" shall include all education-related costs.
-- Access will be extended by ensuring availability of TVE at district and tehsil levels. Relevance to labour market shall be ensured
-- Enrolment in higher education sector shall be raised from existing 4.7 percent to 10 percent by 2015 and 15 percent by 2020.
Policy Actions to Improve Governance and Management in Education:
Planning, Management and Implementation Capacity in education sector at all levels shall be enhanced.
Sector Planning in Education shall be promoted and each Provincial! Area Education Department shall develop its sector/ sub-sector plan, with facilitation and coordination at federal level.
A system for donor harmonisation for aid-effectiveness and improved coordination between development partners and government shall be developed. Fragmented governance of education at federal and provincial levels including literacy shall be managed under one organisation. Separate academic & educational management cadres with specified training and qualification requirements shall be introduced.
In order to bridge Public-Private divide, governments shall take steps to bring harmony through common standards, quality and regulatory regimes. A common curriculum framework shall be applicable to both public & private educational institutions. Deeni Madaris shall be mainstreamed by introducing contemporary studies alongside the curricula of Deeni Madaris, to enhance prospects of their students to pursue higher studies, research and excellence and to ensure employment, recognition and equivalence of their degrees.
Minimum National Standards for educational inputs, processes and outcomes shall be established. Inter-Provincial Education Ministers' (IPEM) forum shall be institutionalised, with legal mandate to oversee implementation of NEP and making amendments in it, when required.
Policy Actions to Improve Quality and Relevance of Education:
A Bachelors degree, with a BEd shall be the requirement for teaching at the elementary level. PTC and CT shall be phased out through encouraging the present set of teachers to improve their qualifications, while new hiring shall be based on the advanced criteria.
Teacher training arrangements, accreditation and certification procedures shall be standardised and institutionalised. Governments shall take steps to ensure that teacher recruitment, professional development, promotions and postings are based on merit alone. Waiver of maximum age limit for recruitment of female teachers, wherever required.
Curriculum development shall be objective driven and outcome-based. The curriculum development and review process shall be standardised and institutionalised.
Professional Councils like Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) and Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) shall be involved for relevant curriculum development.
Use of Information Communication Technologies in Education shall be promoted. A well-regulated system of competitive publishing of textbooks and learning materials shall be introduced. Federal and Provincial I Area Governments shall increase investments in school libraries, provide supplementary reading materials and teacher guides.
District Education Boards to be established for managing schools:
Examinations systems shall be standardised to reduce differentials across students appearing in different boards of examinations. Basic standards for school facilities including playground shall be established by 2012 to improve school environment.
To create an order for excellence in the country, a "National Merit Programme" shall be introduced to award bright students. Career counselling at secondary and higher secondary level shall be initiated. Matric-Tech stream shall be re-introduced and scheme of studies revised accordingly.
A framework setting out the basic standards for school facilities and teaching aid materials shall be established by 2012 and shall form the basis for allocation of funds. NEP 2009 puts special emphasis on skill development and provision of quality Technical Vocational Education (TVE).
Matching with labour market, develop linkages with industry, innovation and promotion of research and development (R4D) culture are hail marks of NEP 2009 and make it distinct from previous policies.
The policy proposes National Qualifications Framework (NQF) with a changed program structure that encompasses all qualifications in the country, both academic and vocational/technical. TVE Curriculum will be revised to meet new challenges. Private sector will be encouraged to participate in promotion of skill development.
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