Public sector educational institutions: Stakeholders should make joint efforts to provide basic facilities: minister

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Federal Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Madad Ali Sindhi on Wednesday while stressing the need for improving and providing basic facilities in public sector educational institutions has said all the stakeholders should make joint efforts in this connection.

Addressing the National Curriculum Summit jointly organised by the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and Development here, he said that curriculum reform cannot be effective until basic facilities in all public schools across Pakistan are provided.

The minister lauded the efforts of the National Curriculum Council (NCC) towards its role of coordination among the federating units. He expressed satisfaction with the completed tasks of the National Curriculum of Pakistan (NCP).

The minister praised the role of provincial governments’ stakeholders in upholding the cause of quality education for all children of the nation by championing international standards in curriculum reforms.

He further said the caretaker government would take all possible steps to improve education in the country.

The minister also said that the NCP should be a comprehensive exercise, covering all four aspects of a quality curriculum, which include standards, textbooks, teachers’ training, and examination reforms.

“The word ‘single’ caused confusion and excluded the diversity education that is an asset to our country’s rich heritage. We are now ready to get back on track,” he said.

The minister stressed that the new reforms will spearhead examination reforms. “Our children must move away from rote memorization in exams to concept-based understanding,” he added.

The summit was attended by several educationists from across Pakistan. Education experts from public, private, non-government, and development sectors participated in the summit. Sindhi assured that the initiatives regarding the development of the curriculum standards for a range of elective subjects and streamlining technical education across the country will continue in coordination with the stakeholders across the country.

Along with different panel discussions, presentations were also given by the experts on different aspects of the curriculum reforms. During the summit, four different panel discussions were held on curriculum reforms, textbooks, teachers, and assessments.

The experts in the field shared their experiences and valuable suggestions for improvement of the education scenario of Pakistan.

Director NCC Secretariat Dr Mariam Chughtai gave a presentation on different aspects of the National Curriculum of Pakistan. She termed the summit an important part of the open dialogue, and continuation of the discourse.

Federal Secretary Waseem Ajmal Chaudhry marked the summit “a great success”. He informed the audience that for the first time in the country's history, a core curriculum from Grades 1-12 and Early Years has been signed off by subject experts from all provinces.

He acknowledged the invaluable support and coordination from the provincial education departments, without which this collaborative journey would not have been possible.

He also paid gratitude to the private sector, civil society, academics, and minority voices who remained actively engaged in this process, ensuring that all stakeholders were heard and represented.

Other participants speaking on the occasion said that the country needs an even greater re-evaluation, modern practices and learning processes. They said that taking into account the lives of young learners at present, and how they will look in the very near future, policy-makers need to identify the skills and attributes that will help them be successful and face any challenges that come their way.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023