Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood has said the federal government is working for quality education and implementation of a uniform education system in order to ensure human resource development on modern lines.
In his exclusive interview to a private TV channel on Wednesday, he said no country could reach the pinnacle of development unless they provided quality education and hence the government was working to introduce a uniform system of education in the country.
He said quality education would not only benefit students to gain better earnings but would also benefit the entire nation at large. He suggested that the quality of teaching needed improving, which could be achieved through the initiation of teacher training programmes, “so that they can satisfy the national and international teaching standards”.
Mahmood said various systems of education were being administered in Pakistan such as the madrassa system, Urdu medium, English medium, government schools and the Oxford system. “These parallel systems are damaging the unity of the country,” he added.
The minister said quality education was every child’s basic right, but unfortunately, “no ruler in the past emphasised on it”. He applauded the efforts being taken by the new PTI-led government which was focusing on a uniform quality education system for all without any discrimination.
Mahmood said the education budget needed to be enhanced so that each child in the country could be enrolled in schools, ultimately leading to the progress and prosperity of the country. He also said the government was taking all measures to bring all stakeholders on board so that a uniform system of education could be implemented. He also highlighted that the UNDP and Pakistani government were working together on several areas within the education sector.
“The education system is facing numerous challenges which will be tackled according to the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he concluded.