Pakistan in Media

AT long last, the National Education Policy (NEP) is out. But many education NGOs which were part of the reform process are not pleased as a number of their suggestions have not been included. It appears that the policymakers decided to adopt the political approach and worked out the draft in a way that satisfied the various partners in government rather than the professionals. The NEP can still be retrieved if it is placed before the National Assembly for an honest debate to elicit public opinion. The media should also be encouraged to take up the issue. There is no reason why changes cannot be made even now. The policy’s analysis of the education scene in Pakistan is fine. It identifies most of the ills that beset this sector — inaccessibility, disparity, quality and so on. But it is a pity that it fails to find the right solutions. Political expediency appears to have won the day.
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The new education policy, which had been pending before the Cabinet since April this year, has finally been approved and unveiled. The ambitious policy envisages a dramatic increase in the literacy rate – and also lays out other measures. Among these is 'uniform' education in the private and public sector, the incorporation of grades XI and XII into schools, increased enrolment in higher education and better qualification for teachers. This all sounds good – at least on paper. Of course one must not be cynical, but experience makes it difficult to steer clear of this. Implementation of policies has been an immense problem in the past. One must hope though that this time the raise to seven per cent of GDP for education does happen. This alone would be a significant step in improving the situation and also raising education higher up the rung as a matter of official priority.

One of the problems we have encountered has also been frequent changes in policies. Each government that comes to office appears to find it necessary to tamper with whatever has happened before and sometimes usher in change only for the sake of change. This has proved immensely damaging in the past. The frequent alteration in when the school year is to start is just one example of this. There are many others, linked to curriculums, examination systems and strategies on madressahs. This lack of consistency has held back progress and only added to the basic issues linked to the standards of education imparted at schools. Only when this platform is set up sturdily can the improvements necessary at higher levels come about. The state of affairs Pakistan faces today makes it necessary for governments to think in terms of leaving behind legacies. Even small contributions would be remembered by people desperate for change. A system of education that can meet needs would be one legacy that would never be forgotten. This is something the government needs to keep in mind as it goes about the task of enforcing the policy it has laid out and taking it from paper to cities, towns and villages.
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ISLAMABAD: The long awaited National Education Policy (NEP) 2009, after facing many hiccups, has been finally approved by the cabinet and formally announced by Federal Education Minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani here on Wednesday.

The salient features of the policy, inter alia, are that seven per cent of GDP will be spent on the education and efforts are afoot to introduce modern curricula in Madaris. There will be uniform system of education.
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Dawn, Pakistan
By Dr Shahid Siddiqui
Monday, 08 Jun, 2009

THE launch of long-awaited and much-trumpeted education policy has been further deferred. The draft policy, presented in the cabinet committee, was sent to the provinces for further deliberations.

The planning of the educational policy started a long time ago. It was claimed that consultative meetings would be held to incorporate feedback from different sections of society. The process was made to look more democratic by putting the white paper on the net and asking for comments and feedback. From some quarters, however, objections were raised that the consultative process was selective and not representative of the stakeholders, including teachers and teaching organisations in the public sector.

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