KARACHI, Aug 20: The current government is in the process of reviewing the national education policy (NEP) since it has failed to achieve desired results, particularly in the rate of access to education, and the quality and equity of educational opportunities, Dawn has learnt from authoritative sources.

Once the reviewing process has been completed, the existing NEP 1998-2010 will be known as the NEP-2008 and is expected to be announced well before the year ends. The sources said all four provinces are currently carrying out detailed exercises in this regard and will soon furnish recommendations to the federal education ministry for perusal and incorporation into the NEP-2008.

Formulated in 1998, the existing policy framework was designed to cover 12 years. However, the ministry of education decided to review the policies two years before its expiry since the current NEP framework had been found to constitute an unsatisfactory guide and failed to provide the desired results. Furthermore, the education sector’s performance has been found wanting in several spheres, particularly in access rates, and the quality and equity of educational opportunities.

Moreover, said the sources, fresh international challenges such as the Millennium Development Goals and UNESCO’s Education for All – Dakar Framework for Action had gained great momentum in the years since the NEP was formulated, and demanded a re-consideration of educational policies. “These challenges are triggered by globalisation and the nation’s quest to become a knowledge society,” they pointed out. “In addition, compelling domestic circumstances such as the devolution of power, economic development and demographic transformations necessitate a renewed commitment to quality education for all.”

Consultation-based process

Sources said that city governments are, for the first time, being considered in terms of playing a role in the implementation of policy vis-à-vis education and in the action plan under preparation.

The revised policy will recognise the centrality of the provinces/city governments in the realisation of a national educational vision, and therefore envisions the provinces and city governments as the developers and executers of strategic and implementation plans. The federal ministry of education’s role will be that of a facilitator and coordinator that will ensure sector-specific and geographic uniformity in national education goals.

The sources informed Dawn that at all levels of government, it is now felt that deficiencies in the education sector pose a long-term risk to the country’s quest for modernisation, and that the issues being faced by the educational sector are such that they demand a fundamental reorientation of the system, the details of which are to be spelt out.

Reportedly, the NEP-2008 is based on a lengthy process of consultation that was initiated in 2005, in line with a roadmap endorsed by the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers’ conference. The review exercise was undertaken in close cooperation with stakeholders, particularly provincial and city district governments, and several detailed research studies were commissioned to feed into the process.

With the purpose of stimulating focussed discussion, a series of 23 green papers was prepared on different topics by the NEP review team and disseminated widely to garner feedback, explained the sources. “The process included field visits to 31 representative districts, one national and seven provincial/area education conferences, ten issue-based group discussions and extensive consultations with educationists from all over the country,” they said.

After further consultations, the results were summarised in a pre-policy ‘white paper’ and circulated for comments, while the final policy document draws upon a further round of comments from all stakeholders, including provincial and city governments. The findings and recommendations constitute the consensus that emerged from the process of consultation, and are said to represent the national view.

“The purpose of the policy is, in fact, to chart out a national strategy for guiding the development of Pakistan’s education sector,” commented the sources, adding that some of the reforms outlined have already been initiated, notably in the areas of curriculum development, textbooks and learning materials’ policy, and the provision of missing facilities. These on-going reforms are taken into account and integrated into the NEP-2008’s comprehensive set of recommendations.