KARACHI: Federal Edu­cation Minister Shafqat Mehmood has said that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf is working to introduce a uniform education system in the country and at present the process of consultation is under way.

“There are no differences over introducing a uniform education system among the federation and the provinces as we want to work jointly to improving education standard in the country. However a final meeting of the four provinces is scheduled for November 12 regarding framing uniform syllabus and other educational affairs,” he added.

The federal minister, who was talking to media after paying homage to Father of the Nation Quaid-i-Azam at the mausoleum here on Friday, said there was a consensus on most of the matters on the subject with the Sindh government having uniform syllabus of five or six subjects and making regional language part of the curriculum.

He said at present there was different systems of education in private schools and the public-sector schools, but now the time had come to have a uniform education system across the country.

In this regard provincial governments will submit their recommendations in the meeting on Nov 12, he added. However, every province would have the authority to introduce regional or provincial languages in the curriculum.

Replying to a question, he said the PTI believed in the rule of law.

Responding to yet another question, the federal minister said that there was a lot of difference between the PTI sit-in and the present sit-in.

Earlier he told journalists that he got spiritual inspiration on the visit to the mausoleum of the Father of the Nation and the PTI government would build Pakistan as per dream of Quaid-i-Azam.

The government was making a plan to provide more facilities to visitors of the mausoleum and to further improve the museum at the mausoleum.

Meeting with Sindh governor

Shafqat Mehmood on Friday also had a meeting with Sindh Governor Imran Ismail at Governor House.

During the meeting they exchanged views on opportunities of higher education in the province, promotion of research-based education in universities, solution to problems of universities, role of the Higher Education Commission, introduction of a uniform education system across the country and other matters of mutual interest.

On the occasion Governor Ismail, who is also the chancellor of the universities, said students in Sindh were intelligent and being encouraged in research-based education.

“They are quite capable and by providing them right guidance, the country could get more benefit from their capabilities.”

He also said that the private-sector universities were playing prominent role in promotion of higher education.

Minister Mehmood said that the federal government was taking measures to introduce a uniform system of education across the country and wanted to work with the provincial governments to improve the quality of education.

He said a uniform curriculum of four to five subjects would be enforced for private and public sector institutions across the country while private institutions would be permitted to introduce three to four subjects of their choice under the new education policy.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2018