The 12th Inter-Provincial Education Minister's conference has halted any change in academic year in the country and announced that academic year would continued to be started from August and September. Caretaker Federal Education Minister Shams Qasim Lakha announced this after the conference at Sindh Secretariat on Monday.
He directed provincial education departments to go through in-depth scientific study in four weeks to ascertain whether there was a need of a change in academic year or not. The federal minister said it would be better that the elected government decided whether to bring a change in academic year or not.
"We have 14 days left, we would leave consideration for coming elected government," he said, while complimenting the Sindh education department for raising the matter of academic year in the conference.
"The steering committee of the Sindh education department had proposed to start academic year from April, but the government did not notify the decision," he said, adding that there had been no enough evidence to make any change in academic year this time.
He said if we announced to change academic year now, 47 days of study would be lost and the books approved in new scheme of study would not be ready for students. "We are proceeding with new scheme of studies, textbooks are under preparation and only few issues are left, but the books would be ready by new academic year," he said.
To a question, he said that education is not merely provincial subject, but is in Concurrent List and there has been consensus on Monday's decision from all four provincial education departments, examination boards, National Institute of Science and Technology, education officials of Azad Jammu Kashmir, Fata, and Northern Areas.
On matter of text-books being not available to students especially in Sindh, the federal minister said the matter was provincial government's concern. He, however, said the Sindh education department must give timely approval so the books get ready by time.
Interim Sindh Education Minster Shujaat Ali Baig denied allegations relating commission being demanded from publishers. On the matter of 8,000 schools being non-functional in the province, he said he has given deadline to EDOs of related district to make these schools functional within a month. About transfers and postings in the Sindh education department, the minister said he is unaware of any such happening.
About question of two parallel education systems running in the country, Federal Education Secretary Dr Muhammad Jahangir Bashar said that unless country's education standard improves there is need of 'A' and 'O' levels in the country. Punjab Education Minister Professor Dr Mera Phalbus, Sindh Education Minister Shujaat Ali Baig, Balochistan Education Minister Amjad Rasheed, NWFP Education Minister Ms Meraj H. Khan, AJK education secretary, and others attended the conference.