IT is imperative to understand that the purpose of a curriculum is two-fold: one is to enhance employability, and the second is to promote citizenship. The 2017 National Education Policy draft called for a uniform curriculum in Pakistan. In this regard, two phases of single national curriculum (SNC) have been completed based on standardised minimum learning objectives for each grade and subject area, model textbooks, teacher training, and concept-based assessment framework.

However, SNC has faced criticism on account of numerous curriculum deficiencies. First and foremost, the National Curriculum Council (NCC) has no robust statistical regime. There is not a single tehsil in Pakistan for which we have accurate data regarding the number of educational institutions within its jurisdiction. Second, the model textbooks are of low quality, meaning sub-standard, with no supporting documents available.

This not only serves as a learning hurdle for the students, but also makes it difficult for teachers to facilitate.

Third, the proposed students learning outcomes-based examination policy promotes rote learning. Instead of promoting learning by doing, we are promoting doing by learning approach; hence, there is a need to reverse the trend so that we may develop critical thinkers.

Fourth, the compulsion of overflowing religious content has raised serious concerns. Excessive content related to any single subject is difficult for the students to absorb at a young age. Lastly, the SNC content is not enough to fulfil the learning objectives of private schools. In turn, this is affecting the performance of students associated with the Cambridge system.

Moving forward, we need to identify the end goal of our national curriculum. What kind of student do we want to shape? Some serious consideration in pursuit of an inclusive national curriculum would include the need of a robust list of schools at disaggregated level, incorporation of middle-tier curriculum stream, inclusion of heritage content covering local culture and traditions, and introduction of climate change as a core subject. Besides, the existing gap between curriculum development and publica-tion of textbooks should be reduced.

Bilal Aftab
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2023