Highlights of Single National Curriculum for Schools in Pakistan - Educational Roundup

As students and parents prepare for new educational sessions in Pakistan amidst the settling of Covid-19, there is another hype of the new Single National Curriculum (SNC) introduced by Federal Government. The vision of SNC is to provide ‘one system of Education for all’ with single curriculum, medium of instruction and assessment format. The main objectives to be achieved under SNC, as per government, include the following:

Equal and high standard of education for all public schools, madrassahs and low fee private schools.
Social Cohesion and National Integration.
Developing personality of students in a wholesome manner to rise to the international trends and local objectives.
Maintain standards across Pakistan for smooth transition of students and teachers from one province to another.

Currently, the Single National Curriculum and its related textbooks have been in development process with completion of SNC and its textbooks for Preschool to Fifth Grade in March 2021 while for Middle School and Grade IX – XII, completion is targeted by 2022 and 2023.
The National Curriculum development has been in progress since 2006 when a new curriculum was designed by Federal Government to raise standard of education for public schools in Pakistan. However, its implementation was still pending till date. The current government, under its agenda to provide quality education opportunities across the country, has yet again taken the initiative and has been successful in completing the upgradation and enforcement of single curriculum across the country.
The new curriculum is designed based on following key considerations.

Applying National Standards, Policies and Aspirations across the country.
Matching the curriculum to international trends in pedagogy, learning techniques and assessments.
Reflecting Vision of Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal in the curriculum.
Inculcating teachings of Quran and Sunnah related to mannerism, human rights and ethical perspectives.
Include Constitutional Framework in the learning material.
Implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-4) by United Nations that Pakistan, as member country, adopted for equal opportunity for quality education for all.
Include elements of respect for all religions and cultures.
Shift learning goals from Rote Memorization to Activity-Based Learning and Project-Based Learning.
Promotion of Creative Thinking and Critical Analysis.
Inculcate material that promotes social, emotional and physical development of students.
Focus on STEM education including Mathematics, Science, IT and Engineering Projects. A pilot project is already underway for public schools in this regard.

Stakeholders Involved in Creation of SNC

For creation of SNC, representatives from all provinces including Gilgit Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir participated to create a non-controversial and practical curriculum for schools in Pakistan. The main stakeholders in creation of SNC include the following:

All Federating Units
Public Sector Representatives
Private Sector Representatives
Cambridge University for STEM subjects
Cantts and Garrisons under Federal Government
Madrassahs
LUMS
Agha Khan University – IED

Salient Features of Single National Curriculum

Some of the key features of SNC include the following:

Unlike national curriculum designed in 2006, the SNC has included benchmarks and outcome based approach for all subjects.
Mathematics and Science subjects for all grades are designed based on TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) where assessments will be conducted for monitoring performance of students by International board time to time.
Islamiyat will be taught as a separate subject from Grade I onwards instead of Grade III onwards.
Religious Education will be started as a new subject from Grade I onwards with options for study of 5 minority religions for non-Muslims students.
Static teacher-centric approach to pedagogy is abolished in SNC with focus on project and activity-based learning methods.
ICT is made essential part of curriculum instead of separate IT sessions.
The focus of new religious and ethics content in SNC are attributes pertaining to social skills, ethics, morality, tolerance, peace towards other races, religions and cultures, environmental awareness, global citizenship, personal hygiene and care, physical and mental growth.