December 08, 2008	Monday	Zilhaj 9, 1429

KARACHI, Dec 7: The curriculum from Class-I onwards will include English (as a subject), Urdu, one regional language and mathematics along with an integrated subject in the revised National Education Policy 1998-2010, which is currently being reviewed by the federal education ministry to make it more comprehensive to achieve desired results, it has been learnt.

Regarding the medium of instruction, the officials who have been assigned the task of reviewing the NEP 1998-2010 have said that although according to the guidelines provided to them, the choice of selecting the medium of instruction up to Class V will be of provincial and area education departments’, English shall be employed as the medium of instruction for sciences and mathematics from Class IV onwards.

They said that for five years provinces would have the option to teach mathematics and science in English or Urdu/official regional language, but after five years the teaching of these subjects must be in English only.

In this regard, the sources said that the federal ministry of education, in consultation with the provincial and area education departments, relevant professional bodies and the wider public, would develop a comprehensive plan of action for implementing the English language policy in the shortest possible time. Special attention would be given to disadvantaged groups and areas, besides which opportunities would be provided to children from low socio-economic strata for English learning.

They said that the recognition of the importance of English in the modern world had been manifested in education policies of most countries and many countries were reviewing their policies for improving the proficiency of their students in English.

“Our country’s policy is also based on the perception of increased use of English language because it has been felt that the education sector, with the exception of a few elite schools, has failed to produce the requisite proficiency and this has led to social exclusion of those who cannot afford these elite schools,” the sources said, adding that there was also an impression that the deficiency in English had affected Pakistan’s potential to attract investment and benefit from globalisation.

Moreover, in Pakistan the best jobs, whether in the public or the private sectors, were beyond the reach of those who lack proficiency in English, they said.

Emphasising the need for overcoming structural divides, the sources pointed out that the country’s education system had parallel systems of public and private provision and within the private sector there was an English medium provision. These systems, they added, were largely divided on the basis of income status of parents and language of medium of instruction.

“Within the private sector are English medium schools, generally of better quality, but expensive and not well-regulated,” the sources said, while admitting that these divisions were in large measure a failure of governance of the system and altogether they were sowing the seeds of long run fissures that bode ill for both the economic growth and social cohesion of the nation in the future.

It my be pointed out that though the existing NEP 1998-2010 was meant for 12 years, it was being reviewed by the government as it had failed to achieve the desired results, particularly in the rate of access to education, and the quality and equity of educational opportunities.

A detailed exercise aimed at revising the NEP is currently under way in all four provinces and after being given final shape will be presented to the federal education ministry for approval and its announcement in early 2009.

The revised policy, which will now be called NEP-2009, was earlier scheduled to be announced by the end of 2008.