The shaping of education policies in Pakistan is overseen by the Federal Ministry of Education that supports curriculum development and then the provincial governments. Since the independence of Pakistan, more than eight education policies have been announced.
In 1947 after the partition, Quaid-e-Azam, the founder of Pakistan immediately called for a national education conference that was held in Karachi. At this conference, three aspects of education were laid down by the Education Minister which were spiritual, vocational & social aspects. Moreover, several committees were formed such as the Primary and Secondary Education Committee, University Education Committee, Women’s Education Committee, etc. The major suggestions put forward at this conference were first that Pakistan should provide free education to its nationals and make the attainment of education an obligation. Secondly, there should be an alignment between education and Islamic values and thirdly, importance shall be given to science and technical education.
However, this plan did not work out for several reasons which mainly was that Pakistan was just formed and there was an improper administrative system in the very beginning when the number of immigrants in the country was increasing as well as the British colonial system still prevailed.
In 1959 the National Commission of Education, which was supervised by General Ayub Khan, made education a compulsion including religious education as well for people up till ten years of age. It was also suggested that both genders should be equally educated. The major suggestions put forward by this commission were that primary education should be directed towards science and technical education and this should be made obligatory.
Focus should be made towards reducing illiteracy, the medium of education shall be the national language of the country, a 3-year degree program shall be introduced and a university grants commission shall be formulated, there shall be both internal and external levels for assessments and lastly religious education should be compulsory in the beginning stages and only an option at the secondary stage. The suggestions put forward by this commission were very valuable and beneficial but could not be implemented because of the unavailability of the adequate number of resources as well as the current situation of the country.
In 1970 The New Education Policy was implemented by the Cabinet that was focused on scientific and technological part of education, reorganization of educational administration and removing centralization in this department, illuminating illiteracy and focusing on an ideological angle. However, this policy could also not be executed because of the hostile conditions and war with India that led to the parting of East Pakistan as well as the downfall of the military government.
During 1972 Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto declared a National Education Policy which comprised of equality in education for both genders, worldwide need for education leading to personality and character development, the educational institutes to be nationalized, free of cost education for both genders up to grade 10, concern and involvement of the parents, the students and the instructors in the matters relevant to education. This was a very good method for the betterment of the country, but it had several downsides because of which it could not be implemented properly.
In 1979 the National Education Policy was announced to the Cabinet in the national Educational Conference, the objective of which was to the formation of the Muslim Ummah, advancement of scientific and technical education, equivalent chances for everyone and nurturing devotion towards Islam. The approach toward accomplishing these objectives was a reconsideration of the syllabus, the national language to be used as a medium of education, discrete set up for both genders, active involvement and contribution of public towards educational planning and programs, and integration of old-style of education and madrassas. Unfortunately, this method could also not be applied due to a deficiency in planning and inadequate resources.
During 1992 in a National Conference of the Education Committees under the supervision of the Federal Education Minister, education policy was declared. This policy was directed towards focusing on the betterment of education for women, advancing of Islamic teachings, mandating a well-balanced syllabus orientation, improvement in duration of graduation and post-graduation. However, this policy could not be applied because of the alteration of the political situation of Pakistan.
In 1998 as proposed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, an amended framework was presented to the Cabinet and then a new education policy was announced. The main agenda of this policy was to integrate the teachings of Islam in the education system, to provide the basic education to every national, equal chance of attaining a higher level of education, focus on a broadened perspective and repeatedly revising the syllabus. In order to achieve these objectives, it was advised to start with several numbers of textbooks, variations and diversification in the syllabus, introduction on National Testing Services, training programs for instructors and monitoring systems, and increasing focus of technical and scientific education. Again, this technique could not be executed due to inadequate training of the instructors and poor quality of education.
In order to share the perspective of various stakeholders, various meetings were held. Early Childhood Education has been talked about in the National Education Policy for 2009-2015. Under this policy, the Early Childhood Education group shall be considered for three to five years of age. Minimum one-year primary education shall be the responsibility of the State. Also, under this policy, it is suggested that Non-Formal Education shall be provided by the government schools for the child labourers for up to level five and increased further as required. Consideration shall be made for educational stipends that can be provided to the child labourers. This policy focuses on mainly the syllabus, the textbooks, examination, evaluation and assessments, instructors and their training where the quality of the teaching is given the highest level on priority.
The National Education Policy of 2017 to 2025 was declared by the Ministry of Federal Education of Pakistan. This policy mainly considers ways of creating community colleges in underprivileged locations in order to have skilled labour, start new science and technology universities, enable the set-up of new universities in the private sector, create more ways of providing education at doorsteps in the form of virtual universities for both genders equally. Proposals for libraries were made to encourage a reading environment, provide a better quality of library services, provide the latest and advanced resources such as internet facility, mobile library service, etc.
The core requirements recommended are creating a curriculum for level one to five, providing training to instructors and teachers for physical education, annual sports week and sports competitions at the provincial level. Moreover, access for education to be given to children in special need with the latest facility, learning aids, transportation facilities, training and management of special children educational institutions.
