The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the report of Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training pertaining to uniform curriculum and directed the education secretary to appear before the court on next date of hearing. A three-member Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi heard the case. During the proceedings, the court rejected the report of the Ministry of Education and declared unsatisfactory. The court observed that no concrete steps had been taken for a uniform curriculum over the period of 73 years after independence, yet the ministry had not been able to resolve the issue of curriculum. The court ordered the education secretary to resolve the matter of uniform curriculum in one month. Before assuming power in August 2018, PTI leaders were vocal about their slogan to introduce a uniform education system (Yuksaan Taleemi Nizam) in Pakistan under their manifesto of one nation one system. The slogan was attractive, and all segments of the society well come the government’s move to eliminate or reduce the discrimination in various education systems imparting educations between government schools, private sector, and other. The government setup a committee under the leadership of Federal Minister for Education and Training Dr. Shafqat Mahmood which presented a Single National Curriculum (SNC) for school education in the country. The SNC triggered a heated discussion and criticism in academia, political, and social circles of the country. In fact, each faction of the society has its own interests in kind of its business, race, religion, sect, community, geography, language, or other distinctions. Everyone wants to accumulate its version in the curriculum of the country. The government must try to make an inclusive, pluralistic, broad based education curriculum while protecting our religious and cultural principles. ` The curriculum should aim at promoting religious harmony, national cohesion, practicability, and tolerance while fulfilling the demands of the 21st century. Pakistan history and two nations theory provide foundation of our society, it must be given special emphasis in particular subjects. While achieving the goal of uniform curriculum, efforts must be made to bring the below standard government and religious schools equal to the international standard of education and for that end gradual transformation plan needs to be devised.
