The government is all set to bring the out of school children to education institutions and introduce uniform education syllabus across the country, and recommendations in this regard will be presented to Prime Minister Imran Khan soon.
This was stated by Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood while addressing a press conference here on Monday.
Mehmood stressed the need for a uniform education system while saying it was the only solution to end divide between different classes of the society. The government is striving for introducing uniform syllabus in the country, said the minister, adding that a National Curriculum Committee would be formed for this purpose.
The education minister said that his team has been mulling over the issues of the education system for the last two months, which concluded that education-related problems are alike in all provinces.
The minister said that the country's education system is facing a number of challenges. The biggest one is 25 million children are not going to school. Some of the children have not gone to school at all while some left school after the 8th grade. The first step towards change is bringing the 28,000 to 30,000 children to school, he added.
The minister called the different systems of education a shortcoming in the education system. First, there are government schools which are Urdu medium, then there are seminaries that have a completely different degree and then comes the private English-medium schools, which are for upper class, he said.
The minister said that a National Curriculum Committee will be formed to ensure uniform syllabus across rural and urban areas. He said that there are a number of questions when it comes to the uniform system of education, like which language should be the medium of instruction and so on.
He said that there is a lot to improve in the quality of education. In the majority of schools, the education quality of 6th grade is actually that of 4th grade. That is why students complete their degrees but are unable to find jobs, he said.
Mehmood said that skill-based education needs to be introduced in every province. He also underlined the insufficiency of buildings and said that additional shifts will be started in the same school buildings. While talking about the problems in the education sector, he said that there is a huge gap between educational institutions and job market linkage. People with PhD degrees are unable to find a job, he added.
He said that his ministry will seek approval to launch an education volunteer programme from the Prime Minister and also present the recommendations for the uniform system of education before him. University students, when free, will help in teaching the other kids. He outlined that the education budget is insufficient and it needs to be increased.
The minister also stressed for the need of enhancing budget for the education sector, saying that for the progress and prosperity of the country, every children has to be enrolled in the school.
Mehmood further said the government is also utilising the technology to address the shortage of the teachers in order to provide better literacy facilities to the upcoming generations to make them compete in the modern era. The country's future lies in providing marketable skills to youth and enabling them to earn respectable livelihood.
He said students will be equipped with technical education in the schools in their respective fields of interest. Talking about political differences amongst the parties, the minister said that all stakeholders are on the same page for uplifting standards of the education in the country.
Mehmood said the plan to bring the out of school children to education institutions will initially be launched in Islamabad as a pilot project. The project to be expanded countrywide, if it achieves the desired goals, he added.
He further said they will introduce such systems on the style of successful models of developed countries, which will not only improve the quality of education but will also enhance the standards and provision of skills.
The minister emphasised on improving standard of education, linking the education with the job market and promotion of skill development in the country.
Mehmood said the plan to bring the out of school children to education institutions will initially be launched in Islamabad as a pilot project.
Earlier, the federal minister chaired Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) which was attended by provincial education ministers.
Joint Education Advisor, Rafique Tahir presented the mandate, objectives and progress/achievements of IPEMC. Mehmood made presentation on 'Education Priorities and Future Roadmap' to address education challenges. Syed Javed Hassan, member National Task Force made a presentation on Skill' Development for All/ National TVET Policy.'