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Ministry Education and Professional Training identifies four key focus areas
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Minister says uniform education system to be introduced with a uniform syllabus
The PTI-led government launched the National Education Policy Framework 2018 on Tuesday as part of its first 100 days plan, identifying four key focus areas that the authorities will work on reforming.
These areas of focus will be improvement in the quality of education, improving enrolment of out-of-school children, introducing a uniform education system, and helping youth develop skills.
At the launch ceremony in Islamabad, Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood expressed the resolve to diligently work for bringing improvements in the identified segments in the next five years. He added that National Task Force had already been established to identify key areas of focus for developing the education sector.
“We consulted with donors, NGOs, and experts in the formulation of the framework,” the minister said, adding that an Inter-Provincial Ministers Conference had also been arranged that discussed the policy framework with provincial representatives. Mahmood said the PTI government would strive to bring all out-of-school children back to schools, a number that hovers close to the 23 million mark at present.
Uniformity
The minister said there were three parallel systems of education operational in the country, public schooling, madrassah schooling and English-medium or private schooling. “A uniform education system will be introduced with a uniform syllabus under the new education policy to bring unity among the nation,” he said.
The minister said the government would make efforts to improve the quality of education as well. He said market-oriented education would be provided to students so that they could find employment with ease.
But Mahmood also stressed on the importance of developing skills among the youth, saying it was only way for socioeconomic development of the country.
He said the country faced a shortfall of middle schools that forced students to discontinue studies after completing primary education. To get around the problem, the minister said middle school classes would be held in primary schools in shifts so that the shortage of middle schools could be countered.
Mahmood said the government also planned on launching a Smart Schools System under which online lectures would be delivered in schools that had limited teaching staff. Moreover, an Educational Volunteer Programme would also be initiated to fulfil the demand for teachers, he said, adding that under the programme, educated youth would be given the opportunity to extend their services voluntarily to teach children.
The education minister said the government will also increase the number of non-formal schools to achieve the task of maximum enrolment.
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