Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The progress and development of any country rely upon the quality of its education system. The
nation that compromises on its educational standards can never keep pace with the contemporary
advancing world. The founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, has categorically warned the
newborn nation about the importance of education, saying “Education is a matter of life and death to
our nation. The world is moving so fast that if we do not educate ourselves we will not only be left
behind but also be no more.” As education had never been made a priority, thus, Pakistan is falling a
long way behind different nations in all the development indicators. However, the introduction of the
Single National Curriculum in Pakistan to revive the flawed education system is heartening. Moreover,
the uniform education system will also eradicate a number of social evils.
Content
1 The Structure of the Education System of Pakistan
2 Single National Curriculum (SNC)
2.1 Objectives of the ‘Single National Curriculum’
3 Challenges in the Implementation of the Single National Curriculum
3.1 Little or No choice for Minorities
3.2 The Dearth of Trained Teachers
3.3 Budgetary Constraints
3.4 Possible Central-Provincial Disharmony
3.5 Way Forward
3.6 Bottom Line
Another structural challenge that comes with the implementation of a uniform curriculum is that
the students belonging to the minorities would also be dealing with Islamiat subject (not by
choice, but by compulsion) at the primary level, on the grounds that a lion’s share of schools in
Pakistan does not provide course choices. Ultimately, it would negate Pakistan’s commitment to
the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention on
the Rights of the Child.
Way Forward
For the ‘Single National Curriculum’ to become viable, the government must work on structural
shortcomings like making choices of subjects available at all levels for minorities, training the
teachers, bringing all the out-of-school children to school, etc. In this regard, special attention must
be paid to female education. The societal obstructions placed in the way to education for girls must
be removed. Moreover, more budgets should be allocated to the educational sector. Also, corrupt
practices or white-collar crimes must be curbed to make SNC viable. The religious parties and
religious scholars of the country must be brought on one page for reforms in madrassahs.
Bottom Line
The introduction of the ‘Single National Curriculum’ by the government is a welcomed step. For a
society like Pakistan, it will prove to be a panacea for all socio-economic problems. It is heartening to
see that the long-neglected education sector has finally caught the attention of the authorities. With
the reformed education system and the resulted classless society; Pakistan would soon start making
strides towards betterment, development, and progress.