National Education Policy 2009 Curriculum review

Curriculum review to be completed by year-end
Islamabad, Aug 21: The process of curriculum review is scheduled to end by December this year under which different subjects of grade 1 to 12 are being revised in order to overcome their deficiencies and translate them into meaningful knowledge.

According to the draft of National Education Policy 2009, a comprehensive review of school curricula was initiated in 2005. The Curriculum Wing of Ministry of Education, strengthened by professionals from the field, reviewed the scheme of studies in the first phase, while in the second phase, the revised curricula for 25 core subjects (Grade 1 to 12) were notified in 2007. The review of the remaining subjects, as listed in the scheme of studies, is in progress and will continue till December 2009.

According to an official source in the Curriculum Wing of the Education Ministry, the sixth chapter of the National Education Policy 2009 draft also stresses the need for curriculum development within which the comparison of the current curriculum with the curricula of different countries; consultations with teachers, administrators, educationists, curriculum experts and students; field visits to collect feedback from teachers and stakeholders; identification and training of working teams through workshops and seminars; review of drafts by subject experts and working teachers leading to further revision and refinement of contents; and preparation of a uniform curriculum format consisting of standards, benchmarks and learning outcomes are vital parts of the curriculum development process.

Currently, the curriculum also does not cater to the diverse conditions in the education sector itself including multi-grade classes as well as variations within the geographical breadth of the country, as Pakistan is blessed with a multitude of cultures and topographies that fail to be adequately recognised and assimilated by the education system.

The document highlights that in basic primary education, the most important missing element is the diffused focus on the local context. However, efforts have been made to overcome the deficiencies in curriculum development and its translation into meaningful knowledge.

According to the upcoming education policy, curriculum development shall be objective-driven and outcome-based; focus on learning the outcomes rather than the content; closely reflect important social issues; provide more room for developing the capacity for self-directed learning, spirit of inquiry, critical thinking, problem-solving and team work.

It states that the curriculum development and review process as well as the textbooks review shall be standardised and institutionalised within the framework of the Federal Supervision of Curricula, Textbooks & Maintenance of Standards of Education Act 1976. It also states that professional councils such as Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PM&DC) and Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) shall be involved in consultations for relevant curriculum development.

The policy also highlights the importance of fundamental rights, stating that the curriculum shall emphasise the fundamental rights guaranteed to the citizens of Pakistan, so that each individual shall develop within himself/herself and the society at large a civic culture strong enough to withstand any extra constitutional interference, which threatens those rights.

The need for environmental education is also stressed while the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in education shall be promoted in line with the Ministry of Education's 'National Information & Communication Technology Strategy for Education in Pakistan'.

It also says that the ICTs shall be utilised creatively to assist teachers and students with a wide range of abilities and from varied socio-economic backgrounds, and shall be used to strengthen the quality of teaching and educational management.

The document also focuses on tackling emerging trends and concepts such as school health, prevention education against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, life skills based education, environmental education, population and development education, human rights education, school safety and disaster & risk management, peace education and inter-faith harmony, detection and prevention of child abuse, etc, that shall be infused in the curricula, and awareness and training materials shall be developed for students and teachers in this context, keeping in view the cultural values and sensitivities.

Moreover, school health education and school safety shall be infused within the curricula and learning materials with a focus on improving school environment, enriching the health education content, instituting regular mechanisms for health screening and health services of students, and nutritional support to needy children, in coordination with the departments of health, environment and population at federal, provincial and district levels.

It also states that entrepreneurial studies shall be introduced to develop entrepreneurial and business skills in students of general education to make them productive and self-oriented citizens.

The policy stresses the need for ongoing feedback and evaluation mechanism, so that a continuous improvement process is institutionalised. Feedback should flow from the primary providers of education to the curriculum development process with full involvement of all intermediary players.

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Private schools ignore vacation extension notice
Islamabad: In sheer violation of a notification issued by the Punjab government, almost all private academic institutions in the city reopened on August 15 after summer vacation.

The District Education Department failed to stop managements of private academic institutions from reopening their schools after summer break.

The Punjab government had notified that all schools would reopen on September 1 instead of August 15 because of extremely hot and humid weather.

Parents as well as students are annoyed over the reopening of private schools and colleges, as according to them, they should follow rules and regulations of the government.

Shabbir Ahmed said: "Private schools and colleges have their own rules and policies. In this hot weather, students are reluctant to go to schools."

Kanwal Hameed, a mother, said: "It is not possible for young children to go to schools in such a hot weather, but the school administration is not ready to extend the vacation."

Hayat Mughal, principal of a private school, said: "We have to cover long courses. During these 15 days, we will try to cover maximum syllabus and check homework of students."

Meanwhile, all schools and colleges in Rawalpindi affiliated with the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education are open as the notification is only for Punjab government schools and colleges.

District Officer (Colleges) Ulfat Mehmood Janjua said: "We had issued the notification to all colleges situated in the jurisdiction of Rawalpindi, but managements of private colleges are not ready to follow rules and regulations of the government." The notification was issued on the demand of parents and students, he added. The news

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Youth prove more open-minded than politicians
Islamabad: Pakistan's deepening energy crisis and its growing dependency on the United States were the obvious focus of the concluding session of Pakistan Young Leaders Conference (PYLC) here on Thursday.

The Global System of Integrated Studies (GSIS) and the National Union of Pakistani Students and Alumni (NUPSA), a student-run body connecting Pakistan societies of major universities across the United Kingdom, organised the conference which was attended by seasoned politicians like Jehangir Badar.

The interactive discussion focused on suggesting solutions to Pakistan's problems, thus inculcating the spirit of problem solving among the young generation.

On Thursday, resolutions were presented by the delegates from five different committees – education, water and power, finance, interior affairs, and foreign relations.

Speaking about the seriousness of the energy and water crises, the water and power committee suggested that if the Kalabagh Dam project was not possible, the financial focus should be diverted to Akhori Dam, which according to the experts was as fruitful as Kalabagh.

The young leaders said politicians should learn from their mistakes and should leave the technical decisions to the technocrats.

Besides discussing the alternative energy resources, they showed their disappointment over non-utilisation of the second-largest coal reserves in the world which Pakistan possessed.

The foreign affairs committee focused on Pakistan's relations with the United States, China, Afghanistan and India.

The key point of this committee was to gradually reduce dependency on the US and engage with other friends of Pakistan which included Saudi Arabia, China and European states.

The youth also proposed that Pakistan should rely on internal resources to finance its economy, instead of depending on foreign aid.

They also stressed on development of the Gwadar Port to improve relations with China.

Similarly, the committees on finance and interior affairs also gave useful recommendations.

The objective of the conference was to provide a forum to the youth to discuss the challenges confronting the country.

The programme gave the participants a greater understanding of their role as national ambassadors. Dawn

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