After assuming power in August 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party, the Pakistan Tehreek e-Insaf (PTI), promised a series of educational reforms that would improve outcomes across Pakistani schools and bridge the gap between private and public educational institutions.
As part of this policy, his government proposed implementing a Single National Curriculum (SNC) that would establish a uniform system “in terms of curriculum, medium of instruction and a common platform of assessment so that all children have a fair and equal opportunity to receive high-quality education”.
Aside from Sindh, which has refused to adopt it citing the 18th Amendment according to which education is a provincial subject, the other provinces and the ICT also plan to introduce it as soon as possible.
The government’s vision
One system of Education for all, in terms of curriculum, medium of instruction and a common platform of assessment so that all children have a fair and equal opportunity to receive high-quality education.
According to the Ministry of Federal Education, the SNC will ensure
All children have a fair and equal opportunity
Social Cohesion and National Integration
Alleviation of disparities in education content across the multiple streams
Equal opportunities for upward social mobility Equity in education
Holistic development of children in the light of emerging international trends
Smooth inter-provincial mobility of teachers and students
What was the reason behind SNC?
The educational apartheid is said to be the reason behind the need for a uniform curriculum. The Pakistani education system is split along three broad lines: Expensive private schools; low-to-middle public/private schools; and madressah education.
The prime minister has been very passionately arguing against this apartheid, pointing out differentials in the competencies developed in each and hence the corresponding opportunities that open up before students graduating from each of the three systems. He emphasises that the students from elite schools have the best opportunities and graduates of madressahs have relatively much fewer.
Does the new syllabus accomplish the lofty goals?
Having the same educational opportunities will alleviate the sense of deprivation in many areas. It will also be a sigh of relief for the poor who cannot afford costly private education.
With regard to the syllabus, care must be taken to ensure that it is factually correct, promotes scientific research and represents the whole of Pakistan. However, what has been approved and notified is a uniform curriculum, not a system of uniform education.
Only a uniform education would ensure an end to the educational apartheid. But the government has not put forward any plan for uniform education yet.
