Revised curriculum tabled before ministry for consent

ISLAMABAD: A working group of education specialists, curriculum experts, teachers and government officials has finalised the revised curriculum for Early Childhood Care and Education and classes 1 to 5.

The group has put up the final draft of curriculum to the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training for approval, which is likely to come for formal notification by the end of the current month.

And once the notification is issued, the process for textbook preparation will begin. The new textbooks based on revised curriculum are expected to be developed by December this year.

Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training Engineer Balighur Rehman, who spearheaded the curriculum review process, told reporters that he had issued guidelines to the working group that the new curriculum concentrate on ethical values and civil conduct, and health and hygiene, civic sense and global citizenship, environmental protection and energy conservation, democratic culture, national harmony, tolerance and respect for diversity.

He said the government was placing great emphasis on improvement of the quality of education and research in the country and the curriculum review project was a step forward in that direction.

“Our ministry is undertaking curriculum review to match the modern international education standards,” he said.  The minister said the 10-member committee was responsible for curricula review and revision.

“The subject groups reviewed and revised ECCE (pre-primary education), languages (Urdu and English), General Science, General Knowledge, Social Studies, Mathematics and Islamic Studies,” he said.

Last month, the minister had launched the Curriculum for Accelerated Learning Programme which the Ministry of Federal Education had developed in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The curriculum under the ALP offers complete primary education equivalent of up to class 5 to out-of-school children in short time of less than three years (32 months). The programme particularly caters to the children, who have crossed the primary school going age and have missed their early years of schooling due to poor socioeconomic backgrounds, religious and ethnic compulsions, poor exam results, and physical or mental challenges.