The federal government on Wednesday, Aug 31, finally approved the much-delayed curriculum for students belonging to the minority communities.
The Ministry of Education notified the National Curriculum for classes six to eight some months ago and subsequently, students started the new academic session this August with new books, however, the ministry did not notify the curriculum for minority students.
In the absence of a notified curriculum, students belonging to seven minority communities – Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Kalash, Bahai, Buddhist and Parsi – have been pursuing their education without their religious books.
The National Curriculum Council (NCC) had sent a summary to the Ministry of Education for notifying the new curriculum for minority students from classes one to eight in May this year, however, the summary could not get approval from the ministry officials till Aug 30, as some officers wanted Ethics to be continued in schools for these students instead of a new curriculum. However, common sense prevailed in the meeting with all officers approving the said curriculum prepared by the NCC, sources said.
The curriculum was prepared by NCC after getting detailed input from all seven communities, who with consensus, agreed on the draft curriculum.
Sources said the government will have to publish 35 books (one book each for seven religious minorities) for classes one to five and 21 books for classes six to eight, based on the enrolled number of students.
They said that technically the curriculum for minorities from classes one to five should have been notified last year when the Education Ministry notified the new curriculum for Muslim students.
This year, the ministry notified the new curriculum for classes six to eight and new books were introduced in schools from the academic session which started on Aug 1.
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