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Thursday March 28, 2024

‘Consensus between Sindh, Centre on need for uniform education system’

By Our Correspondent
November 03, 2018

The Sindh government and Centre have reached a consensus on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led federal government’s vision to implement a uniform education system nationwide.

This was stated by Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood on Friday while talking to reporters after visiting the mausoleum of founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Earlier in the day, Mahmood held a meeting with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah at the CM House. CM Shah briefed the federal education minister on the steps taken by his government to enrol a large number of out-of-school children, introduce reforms and upgrade government-run schools, and promote skills-based and technical education in the province.

Mahmood told reporters that progress had been made on a number of issues concerning the requirement to implement a uniform education system in the country.

According to him, a consensus of opinion had emerged that the curricula of five to six subjects should be made uniform across the country. He said a consultative session would be held on November 12 to hold consultations with the provinces on the proposal of a uniform curriculum and related educational issues of the country.

The federal minister said that there was no difference of opinion between the Centre and provincial governments on the need of a uniform education system. “We will work together for improvement of the education system,” he said.

Different sets of educational systems exist in government-run and private schools and finally the time has come to have a uniform education system and curriculum in the country, he said.

He added that during the November 12 session, the provincial governments would present their respective sets of recommendations as every province had the right to include their own regional and provincial languages in the proposed school curriculum.

Responding to a query regarding countrywide protests in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s acquittal of Asia Bibi, Mahmood said: “There is a difference between the present sit-ins and our sit-ins [PTI’s 2014 long march] as we will now ensure rule of law.”

Mahmood said the federal interior minister had been trying to resolve the present situation through negotiations and efforts were being made to resolve the matter within the domain of the Supreme Court.

He further said that he experiences spiritual bliss every time he visits the Quaid’ mausoleum. “We will materialise the dream of the Founder of the Nation for progress of Pakistan and the country will be made prosperous,” he said.

He added a plan was under way to provide more facilities to the visitors of Mazar-e-Quaid and he would hold a meeting with the management of the mausoleum in this regard.

Meeting with governor

Meanwhile, in a meeting with Governor Imran Ismail, the federal education minister gave the assurance that the federal Higher Education Commission would continue to provide support to the public sector universities of Sindh to resolve their issues.

Mahmood met the governor who is also the chancellor of public universities at the Sindh Governor House and said that the federal government would work with the provincial governments for improvement of the education system.

Governor Ismail informed the federal minister that the culture of research-based education was being promoted in Sindh’s public sector universities. He added students were highly talented and their talent could be best utilised by providing them the best guidance.

The governor said public sector universities of Sindh could be made more functional after overcoming their financial issues.

The meeting between Sindh governor and the federal education minister also took into consideration issues related to prospects of higher education in the province and steps required to increase them, promotion of culture of research-based education in universities, the role of the Higher Education Commission, the government’s vision to introduce a uniform education system and other issues of mutual interest.