Single National Curriculum draft revised: Provinces empowered to decide on mother languages.

Byline: Imran Gabol

LAHORE -- The National Curriculum Council (NCC) on Monday unanimously decided to revise the proposed draft of 'Single National Curriculum', empowering the provinces to include mother languages in school education if they desire so.

An NCC meeting was held at its secretariat in Islamabad to discuss the proposed draft of a uniform curriculum for schools across the country. Adviser to the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training Javed Jabbar presided over the meeting that was attended by representatives from the civil society, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochistan and the private sector, including Aga Khan Foundation, Lums, Beaconhouse group and others. Representatives from Punjab and Sindh were not present.

The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training's Technical Experts Committee on Curriculum and its sub-committee's first draft of a uniform curriculum for students of Grade Pre-I to XII had suggested English as a medium of instruction, not as a subject. It had suggested that technical subjects such as mathematics and science be taught in English from the beginning, as later the terminologies used in them could become difficult for students.

The first draft had ignored all mother languages, which had raised concerns among various stakeholders and members of the civil society and different cultural groups.

Mr Jabbar told Dawn that the meeting briefly discussed the concerns of the stakeholders over the first draft and reached a consensus that it would be revised. The participants gave their input and it was unanimously decided to include mother languages as mediums of instruction in schools from Grade Pre-I to V, he added.

He further said that all the discrepancies would be removed, adding that the provinces were authorised to include any language of their region as medium of instruction. Punjab, KP...