LAHORE: The inaugural meeting of the newly established Punjab Education, Curriculum, Training and Assessment Authority (PECTAA) held on Friday approved various sub-committees and textbooks.

Punjab Minister for School and Higher Education and PECTAA Chairman Rana Sikandar Hayat Khan chaired the meeting.

The meeting was attended by Parliamentary Secretary for Education/Vice ChairpersonPECTAA Nosheen Adnan, Schools Education Department Secretary Khalid Nazir Wattu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Shahinshah Faisal Azim, MPAs Usama Fazal, Asma Naz Abbasi and Shakeela Javed, besides educationists and civil society members Dr Faisal Bari, Sarmad Yousaf, Shahzad Roy, Anbreen Ajaib, Moiz Nazir, and heads and representatives of other relevant departments.

The PECTAA has been formed to perform the functions of the three merged departments -Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB), PunjabExamination Commission (PEC), and Quaid-e-Azam Academy for Educational Development (QAED). Their functions included curriculum and textbooks development, teacher training and student assessment according to the present-day needs.

The meeting accorded approval for the establishment of PECTAA headquarters, organisational chart and subdepartments. Sub-committees, including the Executive Committee, Academics Committee, H.R. Committee, Finance Committee, Procurement Committee, andGrievance Redressal Committee, were also formed to run the affairs of the newly established authority.

In addition, textbooks on Fashion Designing, Communication Skills and PersonalGrooming,Agriculture Science and Information and Communication Technology, prepared according to the new curriculum for Matric Tech Class IX, besides various training courses, to enhance the capacity of teachers, were also approved.

The minister said that the PECTAA Board of Governors includes top educationists whowere laying the foundation for new dimensions in education by adapting the curriculum, training and examinations into an integrated system.

He said PECTA will improve the quality of education, teaching and training.

The minister also directed the officers concerned to make departmental meetings paperless as much as possible and to train teachers for effective teaching of the books prepared for Matric Tech.

He also hoped that the timely printing and delivery of textbooks would be ensured in every academic session.