Single national curriculum a step in right direction or a blunder?

1. Thesis statement
The incumbent government has set out to reform the education system of the
country in order to put the pakistan in a right direction. Single national
curriculum is a step in the direction of providing the system of education for all,
medium of instruction and a common platform of assessment so that all children have
a fair and equal opportunity to receive high quality of education. But it can be a
blunder if government is failed to deliver quality education in unequal society and
diverse nation.
2. What is a SNC and its key objectives ?
3. Comparison study of Pakistan education system with developed nations.
4. How Single national curriculum is a step in right Direction?
1. All children have a fair and equal opportunity to receive high quality
education.
2. Social Cohesion and National Integration.
3. Alleviation of disparities in education content across the multiple streams.
streams.
4. Equal opportunities for upward social mobility.
5. Holistic development of children in the light of emerging international trends
and local aspirations.
6. Smooth inter-provincial mobility of teachers and students.
7. Development of 21st century skills including Analytical, Critical and Creative
Thinking.
8. Use of Information & Communication Technology (ICT).
9. Move away from rote memorization & Focus on Project, Inquiry and Activity Based
Learning.
10. Promotion of meritocracy and fair distribution of talent.
11. By ending the educational apartheid to integrate the diverse nation.
12. Reducing disparities and marginalization by bringing madresh within the ambit
of formal schooling.
5. How single national curriculum can be a blunder ?
1. The inequality between 22 million out of school children and those enrolled
will not disappear just by adopting a new curriculum.
2. The inequality in quality of education will not end as there are inequalities in
teaching methods and evolution criteria between various academic institutions
across the country.
3. The quality of education will not improve just by adopting curriculum; a
reasonable increase in public expenditure on education is much needed.
4. Ongoing political polarisation and the 18th amendment in the face of
provincialism is a big challenge for SNC .
5. Presence of ethic communities.
7. Financial constraints for implementation.
8.lack of infrastructure and resources for implementation.
9. Stakeholders disharmony and divided public opinion on introduction of single
national curriculum.
8. Conclusion
Introducton
Since the inception of pkistan , it has been confronting myriad challenges and
education is one of them. Education plays an important part for the development of
any country. No nation can reach the hights of glory unless its generations are
not well educated .The innovation in the field of digital technology has changed
the world ,is the outcome of education. Education make a man able to understand
what is right and what is wrong for him. According to the constitution article 25-
A, it is the right of a child to get quality education and provide equal
opportunity for all and sundry. It is an unfortunate that the education system of
Pakistan is deteriorated core to the ground. Therefore ,the incumbent government
has set out to reform the education system of the country in order to put the
pakistan in a right direction. Single national curriculum is a step in the
direction of providing the system of education for all, medium of instruction and
a common platform of assessment so that all children have a fair and equal
opportunity to receive high quality of education.The current government is
determined to implement single national curriculum across the length and breath of
the country. Once implemented, all the existing tiers of education in pakistan
will be mainstreamed in the uniform curriculum and individuals from all these
classes of society would be able to obtain a uniform education. Religious
seminaries will be mainstreamed to the new education system. All the Contemporary
subjects would be taught in madarrass and their students would appear in the board
exams. According to the constitution development team, some 35000 seminaries will
get registered as school. Single national curriculum is a necessary tool to build
national international and social cohesion in a diverse nation like pakistan.
Single national curriculum sets certain minimum learning benchmarks. It aims at to
get quality of education irrespective of socio-economic conditions, free from the
rote memorization, development of critical ,analytical and creative thinking,
promotion of meritocracy and fair distribution of talent, use of Information and
communication technology , social cohesion and national integration, end the
educational apartheid to integrate the diverse nation are the chief characteristics
of single national curriculum. But it can be a blunder if government is failed to
deliver quality education in unequal society and diverse nation. The ongoing
political polarisation and the 18th amendment in the face of provincialism is a big
challenge for SNC. The quality of education will not improve just by adopting
curriculum , a reasonable increase in public expenditure on education is much
needed.
The education system of Pakistan does not meet to requirements of international
standards.Pakistan education system is divided into three tiers, public, private
and madarrass. This unequal division of education system in pakistan has created
chaos among the students in society. The standard of education in pakistan is
declining and failing down and has reached at the bottomless. According to the
UNESCO, pakistan stands 98 position in terms of quality of education while India
scored 37 position for providing standard of education. In addition, pakistan only
spends 2% percent for education which is pathetic. If Pakistan adopts single
national curriculum , it does not means that the standard of education will be
changed. Financial constraints are necessary for the implementation of one
nation ,one curriculum. Pakistan is a multilingual and ethic diverse nation which
is unequal divided among the ethic groups and identities. Pakistan is a federation
which consists of four provinces , two self governing administrative territories
and one unit of semi autonomous body. Through the passing of 18th amendment, each
province is free to make his own curriculum. The standard of education system in
Pakistan is considered very low in comparison with the developed nations.
Switzerland, a country of about six million people, has four state languages. In
the United States, each state has its own curriculum. In the UK, there are
different curriculums for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In China, there are
not only different curriculums but also different systems. In western China, there
is a completely Communist system in place while eastern China is a market economy.
Other countries in Europe, Africa, South America follow similar policies. In
neighbouring India, every state has its own responsibility for school curriculum,
etc. Never has a voice been raised for such a ludicrous demand as a uniform
curriculum to promote national unity. The idea of a uniform curriculum would not
cement ties amongst various ethnic groups but would deepen suspicions and generate
more disharmony in society. In addition it would be an unnatural means to impose a
state-controlled unity on ethnically divergent groups. It would come at the cost of
quality as there would be huge emphasis on language skills rather than on learning
core subjects. For children, this would be a nightmarish experience. Single
national curriculum is not the solution for unity in a diverse country. Unity can
be sought in dealing with issues like unemployment, human resource development,
removing income inequalities, ensuring transparency in appointments and better
supervision of projects, an institutionalised system of accountability, better
monitoring and dealing with the menace of corruption. Imposing a centralised
curriculum on provinces would generate more hatred and more acrimony.