HYDERABAD: Speakers at a seminar described execution of the single national curriculum (SNC) as panacea to educational ills in the country.

They reached the observation while discussing pros and cons of the single curriculum with academicians, scholars and students at a seminar held at Sindh University, Jamshoro, on Tuesday.

Additional secretary of the federaleducation ministry, Dr Rafique Tahir, said the authorities had been informed that the new academic session would now begin in Aug after extension of examination dates to be announced in May-June.

He said the ministry had devel-oped the single national curriculum for primary students which would be followed by public and private schools across the country from the next academic year after consultation with provincial governments and other stakeholders.

SU director Dr Ghazala Panhwar said the stakeholders should give their input on the policy of the SNC so that a uniform education system might be introduced.

She said there was a status quo when it came to education and for breaking it, the policy regarding enforcement of single curriculum was significant and need of the hour. Describing three education systems as status quo, she said uniformity in education system could equally treat students across Pakistan.International Islamic University Islamabad`s research centre director general Dr Mohammad Ziaul Haq said the single curriculum had been prepared and provincial governments had been requested to get books published as per their requirements.

He said new books based on that curriculum would be introduced with the start of new academic session in August. `The government intends to execute plan in phases.

Syllabus will be introduced at the primary level (from prep to class five) in 2021 session and at the secondary level (classes six to eight)in 2022. Final stage will see introduction of new syllabus in classes nine to 12,` he said.

Describing introduction of unified curriculum in all educationalinstitutions as an innovative step, he said: `Now all children will have equal opportunities to excel regardless of their parents` socio-economic stature.

Scholar and author Fahim Noonari said the purpose of the single curriculum should be provision of equal opportunities and eradication of class-based educational systems.

He said the government was considering a proposal to put back start of new academic session from April to August due to Covid-19.

`Therefore, the federal government ought to be toiling to develop a consensus on development among provinces,` he said.

Dr Farhan Zeb Khaskheli said there should be a single curriculum, but simultaneously it coulddestroy cultures and traditions of the provinces.

He said the single curriculum would be redundant without mixture of cross-cultural literacy and inter-social mobility. Without the two basics, the single curriculum could erase ethnic identities and regional languages and turn out to be a disaster, he observed.

Pakistan Study Centre director Prof Dr Shuja Ahmed Mahesar said the world looked down upon the Pakistani education system and rightly so. `We teach same subjects in school as are taught in any other country`s schools, but our way of teaching is flawed. Only a few exceptionally bright students are able to get ahead while the majority lags behind. We see same thing in varsities too,` he said.