Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said on Tuesday that the federal government will hold a national summit on curriculum reforms.
Addressing the Decade of Learning conference, a two-day program organized by the British High Commission and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the minister said reforms in the examination system and teacher training needed to go hand in hand with curriculum reforms. All three aspects need to be aligned.
In his address, Iqbal suggested partnership with citizens in policy making so that policies are not affected when governments change. “This is very important so that, if there is a change in government, civil society will be able to force the new set-up to continue with policies that are in the public interest.”
He added that changes that are in the national interest should not be thrown out the window with political change as happened in Vision 2010 and 2025. condition
Commenting on the state of Pakistan’s education and health sectors, the minister said the biggest challenge was to develop an effective administrative structure at the district level.
“We need to further strengthen the social sector management system at the district level which is suffering from overstaffing,” he said.
Iqbal suggested inducting high-level professionals as chief executives of district education authorities on market-based salaries.
He said that the fourth industrial revolution poses major challenges for education and learning.
“Old models of learning are becoming obsolete and it is necessary to adopt new learning methods in education to foster creativity, innovation and critical thinking,” the minister said.
Iqbal, who is also the leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, appreciated the contribution of FCDO in improving the quality of education in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
He emphasized the fact that though Pakistan is good at planning, the real hurdle and the real challenge comes during the implementation of policies. The minister added that lack of policy implementation and poor management capacity lead to substandard performance in the public sector.