Teachers demand fixing of minimum 7pc budget for education

Islamabad: Pakistan Teachers Association on Monday demanded to the government to fix seven per cent as minimum budget out of total for the education sector in the country.

While talking to APP, the Senior Leadership of the Association urged the government to implement Uniform Education System properly and it should be according to the Ideology of Pakistan.

They also called for bringing a proper constitutional amendment under which the power for preparation of curriculum and formulation of educational policies should be handed over to the federation instead of provinces.

These views were expressed by the Central President of Pakistan Teachers Association Dr Mian Muhammad Akram, President Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Akheer Ullah, Central Nazim Department of Education Misbah Ul Islam.

Dr Mian Muhammad Akram said that 2.1 of total budget was being spent on education in the country which was lesser than other regional countries. By fixing the seven per cent out of total budget for education, the establishment of new educational institutions, upgradation of laboratories and improvement of infrastructure need to be ensured, he added.

We were not against the private sector but unfortunately it had become a business. The private sector schools had been commercialised, instead of making it a welfare sector. He said the involvement of foreign NGOs in formulation of educational policies and in training programs of teachers should be stopped.

He commended the government’s policy of introducing uniform education system and added that Islamic civilization should also be promoted. He said the deduction of budget of Higher Education Commission (HEC) would create problems in research and development sector.

He urged that the universities should be allowed to generate budget at their own. Akheer Ullah demanded the equal educational opportunities for the students at country level, adding that the implementation of uniform education system from Gilgit to Karachi must be ensured.

Appreciating the efforts of Prime Minister Imran Khan for bringing uniformity in educational curriculum, he said this step would forge unity among nation. Misbah Ul Islam called for discouraging the trend of nepotism in the educational institutions and proposed separate educational institutions for the female students.

He said that separate universities campuses for females should be established at district and divisional level so that the parents could provide education to their daughters without any hesitation.