Uniform curriculum

This refers to the announcement by Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood about the national curriculum being completed in March next year so as to introduce a uniform education system in the country. This is a very proactive measure, for it will remove many objectionable gaps between public and private schools. Students from government schools are no less competent than those from prestigious private schools in the country, provided that the former are granted opportunities at par. Much of the difference arises from the textbooks and the medium of instruction. However, with a uniform education system, students will have competitively equal advantage. Though private schools do co-exist with government schools in the developed Western countries, the difference remains negligible there.

Once the uniform curriculum is implemented all across the country, it will also save many low-income parents from the ordeal of sending their children to substandard private schools just to vie with the upper crust, complacent that their children are also enrolled in private schools. The uniform education system will equally break the back of the mercenary mafia that has been doing business in the name of education. With its implementation, one can hope that a positive change will be seen in our education system.

Riaz Mahar

Sukkur