Sindh’s Saeed Ghani opposes Single National Curriculum

• Sindh minister says curriculum preparation is provincial subject.
• Saeed Ghani says provincial government is not bound to implement Single National Curriculum (SNC).
• Centre cannot pressurise provinces to follow the SNC.

KARACHI: Former Sindh education minister Saeed Ghani has said that curriculum preparation provincial governments' responsibility and that the Centre does not have the authority to do so.

Talking to Geo Pakistan, Saeed Ghani said he had told Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood that Sindh is not bound to implement the Single National Curriculum (SNC).

The SNC has been designed on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan and is currently being implemented in Punjab.

The purpose of the uniform curriculum, according to the ruling party, is to end the disparity in the education system in Pakistan.

While answering a question, Saeed Ghani said the curriculum is a provincial subject and the Federal Government can not pressurise the provinces to implement it.

“Parents should be given an option to choose between English or Urdu medium,” he added.

“How can you say that the curriculum being taught in provinces is not correct?”

He suggested the federal education ministry should share the curriculum with other stakeholders.

What is the single national curriculum?

The idea behind the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) single curriculum for all schools, including public, private and even religious seminaries, is to ensure that “all children have a fair and equal opportunity to receive high quality education,” according to the website of the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training.

The website adds that the SNC aims to promote the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah, the vision of the Quaid and help students move away from rote learning to critical and creative thinking.

Students enrolled in classes 1 to 5 have to now study seven subjects: English, General Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, General Knowledge and Urdu. Non-Muslim students have the option to choose Religious Education instead of Islamiyat.

The new curriculum will be rolled out in three phases. This year in August, it has been implemented for classes 1-5. Next year, the SNC will be expanded to classes 6-8 , and the year after that to classes 9-12. So far, only Punjab has approved the SNC and implemented it.