National Curriculum: Murad seeks clarification from centre regarding implementation

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has urged the Federal government's Ministry of Education & Professional Training to provide necessary clarification whether it is an adoption of the whole national curriculum or only core subjects of Single National Curriculum.

"The Sindh government may adopt Single National Curriculum containing only core curriculum subjects with the minimum standards and further enrich it followed by the development of provincial curriculum of the remaining subjects such as languages, social studies etc."

This he said while presiding over a meeting to discuss the 'Single National Curriculum Plan' of the federal government here at the CM House. The meeting was attended by Minister Education Saeed Ghani, Advisor law Murtaza Wahab, PSCM Sajid Jamal Abro, Secretaries, School Education and Colleges, Law and other concerned officers and experts.

Minister of Education Saeed Ghani briefing the chief minister said that a meeting was held on Single National Curriculum (SNC) by the National Curriculum Council (NCC) under Federal Minister in September, 2019. In order to implement the Single National Curriculum, it was decided that SNC developed by the Ministry of Federal Education, should be taken into consideration with the provinces through holding review workshops at provincial level. Once approved by the provinces, this SNC will be implemented nationally, Saeed Ghani told the CM.

The chief minister said that in view of the 18th Amendment, education portfolio was delegated as a provincial subject and since then the Sindh government has worked on curriculum as part of its provincial mandate and adapted the national curriculum 2006 and revised the curriculum on the international models.

Saeed Ghani said that in 2015, the Sindh government enacted the landmark legislation 'The Sindh School Education Standards and Curriculum Act' passed by the Sindh Assembly. He added that under the law, the Sindh Curriculum Council was established and the Bureau of Curriculum was reconstituted as Directorate of Curriculum Assessment and Research (DCAR). The approach and strategies employed by the department for review, design, and development of standards, curriculum, textbooks and resources are underpinned by the strict quality principles which are the cornerstone of its policy, education minister said and added the Post 18th Amendment accomplishments in the field of Curriculum and Textbooks by education dept includes, reviewed and tailor the National Curriculum and develop assessment policy and procedures for examination.

He said the policy is Sindh Education Student Learning Outcome and Assessment Framework (SESLOAF) notified in 2015. Designed a curriculum for Social Studies for Class VI through VIII using an integrated approach for all four aspects - History, Civics, Economics, Geography. They are as follows:

Development of ECCE Standards, Curriculum and its resources; redesigned and revising of English curriculum from pre-school to Grade XII. Revised and redesigned the languages curriculum: Sindhi & Urdu from Grade I to V. The province has successfully revised all the textbooks from grade I to VIII, national curriculum 2006 for all the subjects from class I to X has been reviewed and curriculum for grade XI & XII is under review.

The Education dept has developed packages A, B & C for non-formal education, which is equivalent to grade I-V.

Chief Minister Murad Ali said that under the 18th constitutional amendment, education was the provincial subject and provinces could decide on their respective curriculums. In view of the above, a summary was moved to Chief Minister, Sindh for further directions.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020