Pakistan's outdated education curriculum

Pakistan's outdated education curriculum


Experts say the whole process of learning the 'curriculum', which is planned by the educational institution, involves the guidance of the institution in learning, whether done in groups or individually. On, inside or out of school.

If we accept this definition of curriculum, it can be said that the curriculum does not only mean courses and books, but also includes what is learned in the educational environment. Simply put, the curriculum includes instructional books and courses, and the stage for teaching them. Therefore, the goals of a standardized curriculum include promoting students' physical and psychological development, and awareness.

Unfortunately, instead of making the learning phase in Pakistan a positive step in bringing out the hidden talent within children, governments have used the curriculum to instill specific ideas in children. And this work was most enthusiastically done during the reign of General Ziaul Haq.

This period included such materials as languages, Islamic sciences, social studies, even science, so that children could be excluded from the rest of the world. In addition, the content negated academic research, while four basic ideas were included in the curriculum.

First of all, exaggerate war and war heroes. Pick up a language or social studies book in primary and secondary schools, and you will find only a few heroes who are not known for their combat ability. Second, to make other religions, nations, countries, and races worse. Third, disqualify women from participating in the social, political, and educational fields. Fourth, to distort history, and to ignore the cultures and personalities here that were known for their intellectual, political and social achievements and abilities.

Then in later years, the content of the curriculum, the educational environment, and teaching methods have led to attitudes that refuse to accept 'others'. This attitude sets us apart from others, while not only increasing the tension between countries, but also increasing tensions on ethnic, linguistic, and religious grounds. Thus, the curriculum of Pakistani schools causes strained relations with our Afghanistan and India.

Several studies have repeatedly identified changes in the curriculum, recommending changes. The Education Sector Reform Committee, comprised of eminent scholars, academics, and psychologists from all four provinces, submitted its recommendations in 2006 to standardize and modify the curriculum.

When the policy, planning, governance, and curriculum issues were handed over to the provinces after the Eighteenth Amendment in 2010, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa followed only some recommendations, while deciding to introduce some changes over time. ۔

The changes that were emphasized did not include the removal of Islamic teachings from the curriculum, nor the removal of Pakistani cultural values ​​and stories of Muslim heroes. In fact, all that was done was to eliminate only repetition. But these minor changes were also opposed by religious circles.

These religious circles, the most prominent of which is the Jamaat-e-Islami, a party that has only eight seats in KP, have been opposing the standardization of the curriculum ever since. Due to these pressing movements, it seems that his senior partner in the Provincial Assembly, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, has become a minority in front of him, while the Jamaat-e-Islami is trying to impose its interpretation of Islam and culture on the majority. ۔

It seems that Jamaat-e-Islami is now in the process of completing the next part of the agenda for promoting extremism through General Zia ul Haq's curriculum in the 80s. As I said earlier, the curriculum was used to create hatred and intolerance for others. This environment provided fertile ground for militancy, which, among other factors, laid the foundation for Talibanization in Pakistan. The communalism that is already being consumed by the Pakistani state and society as a termite is a product of the same phase.

In 2006, when the Reform Committee presented its recommendations to the government, the media, and civil society, the United Nations Assembly was in power in KP, and the Jamaat-e-Islami was part of it. The MMA ruled the province from 2002 to 2007. Surprisingly, the Jamaat-e-Islami has not officially raised any controversial point, nor offered alternative alternatives; the protests are different.

It is important to know that curriculum development is a specialty skills department, which needs to be viewed from the academic point of view. It is important to understand the mental, physical, and psychological needs of primary and secondary level children before deciding on a curriculum, and teaching methodology.