The Government of Punjab aims to consolidate three departments — the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB), Quaid-i-Azam Academy for Educational Development (QAED) and Punjab Examination Commission (PEC) — into a single entity to enhance the quality of education. However, there is apprehension among the staff regarding potential widespread job cuts.
A five-member committee has been established by the School Education Department (SED) Punjab to oversee the integration process. The committee, outlined in a notification dated April 26 and obtained by Dawn, is chaired by the SED special secretary and includes the managing director of PCTB, director general of QAED, CEO of PEC, and any additional members deemed necessary.
The committee has been tasked with delineating the roles and responsibilities of PEC, PCTB, and QAED, identifying redundancies among the departments, restructuring roles and responsibilities, consulting stakeholders, examining international best practices for potential adoption, proposing integration methods, and presenting the advantages and disadvantages of each, along with recommending next steps and timelines.
Furthermore, the committee is directed to propose new legislation or amendments, address human resource requirements for the integrated organization while safeguarding the rights of existing employees. The committee has been instructed to begin work immediately and complete the assignment within 30 days.
An organizational chart for the integrated entity, featuring the Chief Minister as chairperson, Minister for School Education as vice chair, and CEO heading the organization with three managing directors overseeing operations, academics, and inspectorate, has also been provided.
An anonymous department head expressed concerns to Dawn, stating that PCTB manages curriculum formulation, textbook development, and printing with a budget of Rs3 billion, while PEC oversees examination systems up to elementary education, and QAED handles teacher training. The government’s merger plan, purportedly aimed at enhancing educational quality, lacks consensus from the affected departments and poses a significant risk to hundreds of employees without clear benefits for education quality improvement.
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