Dr Muhammad Akhlaq
Generally, the curricula are taken as a collection of teachings, training and lessons that are
taught in educational institution. Typically, it might be a set of descriptions with the entirety
of the experiences a student would have during teaching by a teacher. With these two
sentences, where do we stand in Pakistan with our curricula of different subject?
Importantly, a curriculum with its directives of lessons and experiments may truly lead one
to the certain goals set by a profession. It may execute clear conclusion points of the
courses to be accomplished by the students and teachers at the same time. There are
different levels for which different curriculums have been designed and implemented
across the country. The curriculum is a set of object lessons which help teachers to
associate their goals and outcomes on a day-to-day basis. Curriculum having overall
purposes for teachers to achieve through their instruction helps them as it provides
guidance on how to break them down into smaller outcomes. This means that each lesson
plan, or learning activity can be geared towards achieving a specified learning goal that
helps students’ progress. A valuable curriculum will provide the opportunity to connect
teachers across institutions as well as the relevant industries, so that they can share the
problems and plan together thereafter. This allows them to think long term and to
encourage student development across the key stages and across the subject disciplines
throughout the profession.
Keeping in view the various curricula of different disciplines in Pakistan, queries may
ascend in one’s mind. Do we have ever tried to measure the points of contact among those
curriculums of various levels? Is there any shared aim of the lessons and experiments
taught at various levels? Do our students reach secondary and higher education with same
levels? Have we ever focused on calling different stake holders to sit around a table to
design sequential curriculums of various disciplines? Does the curriculum in Pakistan
bridge the industry and academia? What sort of production or problem solution
approaches are being achieved directly or indirectly from the curriculum by the industry in
Pakistan? Does the research done in Pakistan ever come out of the thesis getting termites
in cupboards?
Whatever the discipline is, generally there are two different ways to design a curriculum.
First is the subject oriented design which particularly focus the subjects like mathematics,
statistics, zoology, and biology thereby warranting that a fundamental arrangement of
knowledge is communicated to students throughout the lesson.
The other is a learner oriented or problem-oriented curriculum design which focuses more
on what the students need to learn, or how they might know about solving a problem. This
sort of design is purely scientific approach with deep-rooted insight of professional
knowledge and skill.
Before preparing or modifying the curriculum, one must keep the following point of focus in mind.
The curriculum should consist of the following parts: Purpose statement which
justifies the need of your topic and class, outcome statement which explains the goals of
your class thereby enlightening that what you want your students to know about after the
class accomplishes, course syllabus which tells that what sort of information do you want
to narrate to your students through an all-embracing document already approved by its
professional body according to the current and future market needs of the community, the
most important one is the strategic framework which portrays the different teaching
methods used in the class, essential resources includes the availability of book notes and
any other items required for the teaching, verification method depicts the points to be
focused and presented to the administration and parents like success and failure of the
students and being last but not the least is the capstone project which is the final valuation
of the student learned in the typical filed though curriculum as well as the relevant
professional skills. The capstone project is the cumulative final assessment of the student
through which a student may get his/her way to a desired professional destination.
In the current era of research and technology the restructuring and modification of the
curriculum equipped with the latest information and skills is utmost necessary. Very
unfortunately, it has been observed that most of the curriculums in Pakistan are merely a
sort of blind transformation of the educational programs from the developed countries
especially from USA and Europe. Without keeping the local market needs in view, it seems
very much astonishing to implement the curricula of the developed world in a developing
country like Pakistan. This radical predicament ultimately results in the joblessness,
inflation, and the instability thereafter.
No doubt from the very beginning, Higher Education Commission of Pakistan is trying to
develop as well as revise the curricula of various discipline through its sub-committee
namely National Curriculum Revision Committees (NCRCs). This committee, in order to
impart quality education, calls the academicians, researchers and professionals through
the relevant bodies and/or councils inviting them to revise the curricula from time to time.
The meetings are called most often but the experts just dare to mix up the topics and
terminologies by changing the head and making new groups without incorporating the new
materials as per current local needs of the time and future. Nevertheless, it is observed
that the local market fails to produce the local product. The import is growing day by day
instead exporting the local product with few exceptions. Despite of various revisions, it
seems that the curricula are still outdated. The topics which were taught in early eighty’s
are still outlined in the courses.
As per need of the time, the curricula should be market oriented. The production as well as
problem centered syllabus may train the graduates to step forward to their professional life
with zeal and zest having the confidence to serve the society with their knowledge and
skills. The authorities in coordination with HEC through academicians and professionals
need to create the opportunities around according to the requirement. The curricula must
also be designed to encourage the professionals to establish and promote the self-
business accordingly. To stop the skilled brain drainage, the government should plan to
support the professionals alternately wherever and whatever possible.
