SINGLE NATIONAL CURRICULUM
SINGLE NATIONAL CURRICULUM
INTRODUCTION
Education is the pillar of success for a country as it develops the thinking of people and broadens their vision. Education brings changes in the behavior and attitude of the human being. Education is the way of learning and increases knowledge about values, beliefs, skills, and
religion. Education provides a strong base for humanity and cultured society. Education in Pakistan is far less common due to poverty. The public prefers child labor over education. Now, single national curriculum is introduced modification in education system of Pakistan.
IMPORTANCE AND GOALS OF EDUCATION
Education is as important as food is required for life. Food maintains physical health while education maintains a mental health and refreshes the mind. It changes the society into a developed one which contains humanity and love for everyone. Education promotes
understanding, tolerance, and friendship. Students are interacted with teachers and learn from them. Therefore, a teacher must be well aware of his duties. It strengthens the individual to stand for his basic rights and become a responsible citizen of society. It favors freedom of thought.
DEFINITION OF CURRICULUM
The curriculum is defined as the planned learning of different study programs. It provides a framework to the educational institutes for subjects, learning outcomes, and learning objectives. The curriculum determines national goals and determines the process of learning. Four curriculums are followed in Pakistan these days. These curriculums include;
Private sector curriculum
Public sector curriculum
Religious institute’s curriculum
Informal education curriculum
FOUNDATION OF CURRICULUM
Pakistan does not have a specific national curriculum while most of the countries have their national curriculum framework. Foundations for curriculum development are discussed below;
Social factors
Cultural factors
Economic factors
Historical perspectives
Philosophical consideration
Psychological consideration
Single National Curriculum
OBJECTIVES OF CURRICULUM
Objectives of the curriculum of Pakistan are;
Awareness of basic human rights
Freedom of speech
Spreading knowledge about Islam as a state of religion
Information about necessities of life i.e. clothing, food, housing, and education
Motivate the public and strengthen their visions
Develop the ability of critical thinking and social skills
Support national, regional, and cultural languages
Develop social interaction and harmony among different regions, areas, and provinces of Pakistan
Enable the individuals to earn livelihood and contribute to the national economy
DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL CURRICULUM
A single national curriculum is developed by an experienced and educated sector of government. The main purpose of a single national curriculum is to keep the same course contents all over Pakistan-in all private and public sectors. It has introduced learning by doing the assessment. It explains the goals and objectives of education. It has preferred creative study and skills over cramming systems.
The development of a single national curriculum includes the following steps;
Review of existing content
Content analysis and assessment approach
Feedback from schools and teachers
Assessment surveys
Study of curricula of other countries
SELECTION AND ORGANISATION OF CONTENT
The content selected in a single national curriculum is student-friendly and creative to some extent. It will develop the approach of critical thinking in the students. The content of science subjects should be culturally friendly and religiously acceptable. This content supports curricular activities, experimentations, exercise, and out-of-school interactions.
Content is arranged based on their relationship either they are closely related or not.
Content is organized and systematic.
The content of a single national curriculum is textual.
ASSESSMENT OF CURRICULUM
It includes assessment of curriculum and evaluation of learner.
Assessment of curriculum refers to that either the given content is feasible to study or not. Either it is understandable or not. While evaluation of learner refers to how much students picked up the concept, to which extent students adopted the things and critical
thinking. In schools and colleges, examinations are conducted to evaluate the learning achievements of the students. The assessment evaluation of learners at the provincial and national levels is done by National Education Assessment System.
CHALLENGES OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN PAKISTAN
Challenges of curriculum development are listed below;
Understaffing
Lack of teachers training
Lack of teaching experience
Inadequate participation of students
Lack of field research
UNDERSTAFFING
The main challenge after the implementation of a single national curriculum is understaffing. The schools lack teaching staff and if they have complete teaching staff, then the teachers are not well educated and experienced.
LACK OF TEACHER TRAINING
The teachers need to be getting trained through training as the newly implemented content needs expert teachers who can teach well in student-centered classrooms.
LACK OF FIELD RESEARCH
Pakistan’s education system supports cramming and students are not forced to learn and think creatively which is now can be reduced by the implementation of a single national curriculum. In the beginning, it might be difficult to start innovative learning but soon it will be a convenient way of teaching and learning.
INADEQUATE PARTICIPATION OF STUDENTS
Due to no practical activity, students don’t have much interest in education and learning. Their participation in classroom work and exercises is much decreased. They just care for the grades and have no concept at all.
CONCLUSION
A single national curriculum is implemented all over the country to ensure that the same content is being taught in all public and private sectors. The only drawback of this single national curriculum is that it is developed in English while our national language is Urdu. Urdu is easy to understand and English is not a convenient medium. The single national curriculum will now be studied countrywide and it’ll surely sharp the student’s abilities while leaving a positive impact on the economy of the country.