July 24, 2006

His Excellency
Mr. Pervez Musharaf
President of Pakistan
President’s Secretariat
Islamabad.                                                                                                    

Subject:         RECOMMENDATION FOR EDUCATION REFORMS

Your Excellency,

As reported in the press, the Education ministry has recently briefed you on the education / curriculum reforms in the country which include teaching of Islamiyat and recitation of Quran for grade three to 12 as a compulsory subject. 

However the civil society, especially the church based organizations were not consulted in framing the new education policy despite their recognized contribution in the field of education in the country. Drawing some lessons from previous efforts e.g. Frogh -e- Taleem, Nai Roshni and recent example of Non Formal Basic Education project started in 2003, which ultimately failed to deliver what it aimed and wasted billion of Rupees. I as head of the Catholic Church in Pakistan would respectfully like to make a few recommendations.

1. I hope you would agree that the substance of the syllabus matters the most. In our context religious extremism has been termed by the yourself as the biggest threat to well being of the country. This aspect has been ignored once again while selection of the syllabus material and the subjects.
   

   I would like to draw your attention to the fact that there has been no serious evaluation on the effects making Islamic studies compulsory in last thirty years. I myself as a religious leader and human rights activist feel that this policy has brought more damage than good to the cause of education in Pakistan. The prejudices and biases on the account of religion, sect and gender that have been part of the curriculum are an obstacle to creating a tolerant society and moderate social behavior.

   Apart from the fact that students belonging to religious minorities are obliged to study Islamiat, the separate syllabus for Shia and Sunni students has only deepened the sense of sectarian division among Muslims. Ethics, as a subject is no option for the children belonging to religious minorities for a number of reasons because the Ethics and other religions are taught from Islamic point of view. In addition, students from the minority communities are not inclined to study Ethics as it would isolate and enhance discrimination against them. The Curriculum in Pakistan should comply with the ideal set out in Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan, which guarantees equality of citizens in all aspects.

   In a multi-religious society the education should focus on Universal human values and the religious education should be the responsibility of the family and the respective religious institutions, as it is best taught in model character rather than memorizing the teachings. Therefore I strongly recommend that in education all religions should be taught only as optional subjects at School, College and University levels but not as a compulsory subject.

   Moreover when the religion is discussed in other subjects, the lessons must show equal respect to all religions and a reference to religion should be avoided in the subjects of secular nature, or else, the government should provide curriculum and teaching staff for all children to receive religious lessons in their own respective faiths, as prescribed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Articles 29, 30 and 40), which is signed and ratified by Pakistan.

2. Besides measures for making teaching a respectable profession by providing   teachers with good working conditions and emoluments, it would be important to stamp out corruption, mal functioning and indiscipline in the education departments before any education policy can bring some dividends.
3. The goals set out by the government regarding Mass literacy, Quality education and Higher Education will continue to be in jeopardy, if education is not seen and implemented as a birth right of all Pakistanis.  The cost of education has to be brought down by making adequate budgetary allocation. While the role of UN agencies and international donors is appreciated, peoples’ education cannot be left at the mercy of private sector and foreign donations. It is sad to note that Pakistan is spending lesser ratio of its budget than countries like Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Even though the annual budget has been passed, the government should find ways to invest more resources to subsidize the cost of education for the common people.

4. The current literacy drive is focusing enrollment of all school age children, which is basically a good approach. However in the absence of long term and broad based policy on mass literacy the drop out rate has been enormously high (over 50 per cent) which is failing the scheme. A serious consideration needs to be given to this issue.

5. While learning foreign languages is good at later stage, the children of Pakistan should be given a right to be educated in their mother tongue up to primary classes as recommended by the UNESCO.

I hope that Your Excellency to take serious consideration on the above mentioned concerns and direct the Education Ministry to take these aspects into account in framing the education and curriculum policy, in the larger interest of our beloved country and the people of Pakistan. I thank you very much for your attention.

May God bless you.

Yours sincerely,

+ Archbishop Lawrence John Saldnha
President Pakistan Catholic Bishops and Chairperson,
National Commission for Justice and Peace

C.c. Mr. Shaukat Aziz, The Prime Minister of Pakistan
Mr. Javed Ashraf Qazi The Federal Minister for Education,