President All Pakistan Private Schools Federation Kashif Mirza has said that private schools welcome and appreciate PM’s vision, one Nation One Curriculum is a great but hollow slogan, It’s not single nor National.
He said that slogan that elimination of educational discrimination is commendable, but what is adopted is not a uniform national curriculum, nor a uniform education system, as new books of Single National Cricket SNC are not available nationwide in the market.
He added that the national curriculum is incomplete; as Pre-nursery, nursery and prep curriculum is not ready. The Single National Curriculum is superficial, serves an agenda, with fake consensus, that Cambridge O-A levels and International Baccalaureate will not be touched by the hallow Single National Curriculum (SNC). Exemption is given to elite schools and Madaras.
According to Kashif Mirza, the real meaning of the national curriculum is to get a standard education in all the private, government schools or madaras. Not only should the curriculum be the same, the facilities and standards should be the same without any discrimination.
He noted, “Indeed PTI curriculum is a near-perfect copy of Gen Musharraf’s 2006 curriculum, in a new dress. Unfortunately what has been approved and notified is a uniform curriculum, not a system of uniform education. The latter would also imply equal educational facilities for all — rich and poor, rural and urban, boys and girls.”
President APPSF went on to say that provinces are not ready to adopt and also have the right to adopt their own curriculum after the 18th Amendment. The provincial governments have full authority to implement, the provinces also have the right to education in Urdu or their mother tongue, he said adding that so far, the government’s plan for a uniform national curriculum is nothing more than the fulfilment of a political or election slogan:
He added that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government started its tenure with an Education Policy Framework, highlighting reforms in four priority areas in education. These were: Putting all the out-of-school children in schools, as required by Article 25 A-of the Constitution; eliminating apartheid in education by introducing a uniform curriculum; enhancing the quality of education, and emphasising technical and vocational education.
Mirza observed, according to Article 25A, the Education Policy Framework in four priority areas is to bring in all schools outside the schools, to eliminate educational discrimination from uniform curriculum, to increase quality education and promote technical and vocational education.
he explained that preparation of SNC is only second priority of framework, no progress in other three priorities. The other three priorities require huge funds, introducing a new curriculum is a free process. Although the medium of instruction for the new uniform curriculum unveiled by the federal government recently will be the national language of Urdu, but not in practice.
There was a continuous process in the curriculum and education system, which included capacity building as per the time and requirements, increase in schools, out-of-school classroom education and important issues in teacher training.
For all Pakistani children should not go for cheap shots like a single national curriculum. Instead, it must develop what every modern education system needs: school infrastructure, a proper student assessment and examination system, trained teachers who can teach the designed syllabus, and good textbooks.
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