‘Highly objectionable’: Senators protest against O Level Sociology book chapter

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Rana Tanveer Hussain assured the Senate on Tuesday a letter is being written to Cambridge to remove the highly objectionable content (Same Sex Family chapter) from the O Level sociology book.

The minister was responding to a calling attention notice moved by senators Mohsin Aziz and Faisal Saleem Rehman. The senators had raised alarm bells terming the content being contrary to Islamic and cultural teachings and values of Pakistani society. “We are immediately writing to Cambridge to either delete the related chapter or we shall not allow such books here. The government will also write to the provinces to take necessary measures in this connection,” the minister said. The minister endorsed the views earlier expressed by the movers of the notice and asserted the content had nothing to do with Pakistan and its values and culture.

About the national curriculum, he explained, unlike the previous government when barring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the other three provinces had reservations over the PTI government’s curriculum, and the incumbent government has evolved a consensus. Now, all four provinces are signatories to the new national curriculum, he said. Tanveer Hussain claimed the previous curriculum was such that the then federal minister for education and professional training had not agreed to it. Several countries, including Hong Kong, which previously, were associated with Cambridge, have now opted for Pakistan’s federal exam system following reforms, he added. Senator Mohsin Aziz said the chapter on “Same-Sex Family” could not be even discussed in the family system here in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. “What kind of education is being imparted to a child, hardly 14, 15 and 16 years old”, he asked. He also read out some portions of the content. He regretted the terms lesbian and gays used in the chapter and wondered how such things were looked at by the authorities.