MESSAGE FROM SECRETARY MINISTRY OF FEDERAL EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
It is indeed the primary responsibility of any civilized nation to provide its children with a balanced and well-rounded education, develop them to their full potential, and nurture them into good citizens, conscious of their responsibilities to family, society and country. This right of the citizens of Pakistan is protected under Article 25-A of the constitution. After the 18th Constitutional Amendment the MoFE&PT is directly responsible for provision of education services only to the extent of Islamabad Capital Territory. However, the Ministry is playing it’s role of coordination amongst the federating units. The Inter Provincial Education Ministers’ Conference has been very actively playing its role in this regard. This fact was amply demonstrated during the COVID 19 pandemic, in which the MoFE&PT played a leadership role and spearheaded the response. Within a fortnight Teleschool and other interventions were launched in order to mitigate the learning losses suffered due to prolonged school closures. The Ministry is aggressively working to end the education apartheid which has plagued our country for many years. This can only be achieved if we raise the quality of education in the public sector institutions as well as those private institutions which cater to the disadvantaged section of our society. Development of the Single National Curriculum is a major pillar of this strategy. Other initiatives include introduction of Ed Tech and latest interventions in schools located in ICT, which would be a replicable model for the Provinces and Area Governments. It is high time that we re-shape our education service delivery and structure all initiatives that allow our learners to compete and thrive in the face of new realities. Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training (MoFE&PT) along with all its associated entities, provincial education and training departments, is striving to develop and implement effective educational plans and strategies for rectifying learning losses, sustainable student retention mechanisms to ensure no child is left behind. Few of the recent flagship initiatives include:
- Re-envisioning the ‘Pakistan Education Policy 2021’; focusing on improving education at all levels; transformation of distant and non-formal education, engaging out-of-school children in education process and imparting relevant skills,
- Developing ‘Single National Curriculum’ so that all children have fair and equal opportunity to receive high quality education,
- Introducing reforms in educational assessments by creating Relative Grading System at Federal Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education along with modernizing the examination processing systems through digital technologies.
- Reorganization of key departments of ‘Higher Education Commission’ to support further integrated and effective planning, promoting research and online education,
- Launching ‘Hunarmand Pakistan’ under the ‘Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan National Youth Development Programme’; fostering skills’ education in the country to reduce skill gap and unemployment
- Setting up of Pakistan Institute of Education, as a premier institution which would function as a think tank for future policy making and evidence based decision making.
Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training is on the mission to better impact the goals for national education, and would like to acknowledge the contributions of all international partners and civil society that are supporting the cause of education in Pakistan.