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Unit 4 Recommendations of Education Policy 1970

Educational Policy:
• Educational polity refers to the collection of laws and rules that govern the education system; or
• An education policy is a past or up-to-date statement(s) which explain, recommend or exclude a course of actions in the system
of education.
• Education occurs in many forms, for many purposes, through many institutions. Examples include early childhood education,
kindergarten to 12th grade, two and four years colleges or universities, graduate and professional education, adult education
and job training.
• Therefore, education policy can directly people engage in at all ages.

NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY 1970:

INTRODUCTION:
• The President (Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan) announced that Government would give greater emphasis on the social sectors
and would attach high priority to the educational problem.
• A set of proposals of a new education policy were formulated.
• In the light of public comments, the original proposals were reviewed.
• The Cabinet considered the revised proposals and appointed a committee to examine them in detail.
• The revised proposals were reviewed by the committee of the Cabinet in the light of implications of the announcement by the
President in his address to the nation on November 28, 1969.
• The new Education Policy was finally adopted by the Cabinet on March 26, 1970.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE POLICY:

• Emphasis was given on ideological orientation/values, principles.
• Islamiat should be taught as a compulsory subject upto secondary level (in 1959, it was proposed to be compulsory upto class 8)
• Emphasis was given on science and technology education.
• Decentralization of educational administration.
• The Policy aimed at free education up to Class-V by 1980, with particular stress on girl's education.
• Policy also identified that there were about 100 million illiterates in Pakistan of whom 90 percent belonged to rural areas.
• It also stressed on the establishment of a National Education Counsel.
• It emphasized on the eradication of illiteracy.

PRIMARY EDUCATION
• It was considered as the basic principle in the government policy.
• It was recommended to make common the primary education upto 5th class by 1980 and then raised to the level of class eight.
• Girls’ education was encouraged.
• By the end of 1970, about 10.5 million children will be enrolled in primary (6.3 million in East Pakistan and 4.2 in West Pakistan).
• 2400 primary schools will be opened in East Pakistan and 5000 in West Pakistan
• Raising the enrolment percentage of primary age group from 55% to 67% in East Pakistan and from 46% to 65% in West
Pakistan.
• In West Pakistan, 15000 primary schools will be improved under the development program by providing equipment and
teaching aids.
SECONDARY EDUCATION
• Scientific, technical and professional education has been stressed at secondary level.
• A target of education of 430,000 students has been fixed in the plan of 1970
• Achieving an enrolment ratio of 40:60 between arts and the scientific, technical and vocational program
• 71,000 trained teachers will be produced.
HIGHER EDUCATION
• Curriculum was stressed to be reorganized to improve the level and scope of higher education.
• New colleges be opened for science education
• Centers for excellence be opened in the universities where research work be done.
• University Grant Commission was stressed to be effective and efficient to coordinate the work and standard of universities.
• New university will be established in Balochistan (upgrading Government Degree College, Quetta or taking the building of
institute of Mineral Technology, Quetta)
• A small university will be developed in one of Government college of Multan or Sargodha
ADULT EDUCATION
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• In the education policy of 1970, adult education had been stressed much and the setting of Education Corp had also been
recommended.
• About 5 million adults will be provided education by the end of 1975.
• Armed Forces of Pakistan will play an essential role in adult education.
RE-ORGANIZATION OF CURRICULUM
• Curriculum Research Committee Centers at provincial level should be set up.
• Each province should have a permanent Curriculum Bureau.
• Devising curriculum & coordinating with provincial textbook boards & teachers training institutions.
• Scientific and technical education should be included at every stage.
• In addition, education as a subject should be included in the curriculum as an optional subject.
EXAMINATION SYSTEM
• The existing system of examination had been thought in the report as ‘unsatisfactory’ because it did not measure the ability of
the students effectively.
• It, therefore, needs to be reformed and restructured.
TEACHER TRAINING
• It has been recommended in the report that 38, 000 teachers be given fresh training.
• 50, 000 be trained during services
• Emergency training program of the duration of 2 to 6 months in teachers training colleges, general colleges and technical
institutions will be launched.
• Introduction of pedagogy as a subject at the Intermediate and Degree levels; and institutions were considered as a means of
meeting the demand for additional teachers.
• These training programs were intended to supplement the facilities of training.
NATIONAL LANGUAGE AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION
• It has been recommended in the report that a commission should be setup to make the national language as medium of
instruction.
• Textbooks should also be published in Urdu language.
IMPLEMENTATION
• The policy was never implemented on account of the war with India, secession of East Pakistan, and the collapse of the military
government.
• Another problem was less resources
• Economically, the condition of the country was very much weak.
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