ISLAMABAD, April 13: Federal Minister for Education Lt-Gen (retired) Javed Ashraf Qazi on Thursday briefed the National Assembly standing committee on education about the rational behind changes in the curriculum of various classes.

The standing committee met under the chairmanship of MNA Tehmina Dasti at the Parliament House to discuss the policy regarding changes in the curriculum.

The education minister informed the committee that the revision had become essential to make the curriculum more vibrant and responsive to the modern socio-economic, professional and labour market needs of the country, and to make it comparable with the international standards.

He further said that under the new curriculum policy, sports would be compulsory. He said efforts were being made to increase the salaries of the teachers to bring these to the level of Rs45,000 per month rather than Rs3,000 per month.

The committee appreciated the performance of the education ministry, however, it emphasized that the committee must be taken into confidence before introducing new polices to change syllabus. It also directed the ministry to introduce job training skills at school level as well.

The committee chairperson, Tehmina Dasti, stressed that the education system was a major thrust area of the country and needed all-out efforts not only to enhance the literacy rate but also the educational standards.

She appreciated the efforts made by the ministry for bringing special reforms in the field of education. She also stressed upon the need to introduce more ethics and moral topics in the syllabus of various classes as it is essential for character building.

The meeting was attended by the federal education minister and MNAs Zeb Gohar Ayub, Mohammad Akhtar Khan Kanju, Prof Asiya Azeem, Haji Khuda Bux Nizamani, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Maulana Syed Nek Zaman, Aisha Munawar, Dr Farida Ahmad, Nafisa Munawar Raja, Shakeela Khanum Rashid and Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho.