Lahore – According to some notable educationists, the education ministry’s devolution plan may fall flat on its face because some people in the federal government do not want to give up their authority, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The federal government was supposed to transfer the education ministry’s powers to the provinces, as mentioned in the 18th amendment. The stakeholders in the federal capital seem united, not to surrender their powers; including curricula and national policy formulation and implementation, whereas the Punjab government is willing to accept the responsibility.
Earlier, Federal Education Minister Sardar Assef Ahmad Ali said that some provinces lack the capacity to handle educational affairs and important components of the Education Ministry, such as policy, planning, curriculum and implementation should remain in the hands of the centre. National Assembly’s Standing Committee for Education under the chairmanship of Abid Sher Ali is currently observing the federal education secretary’s report on the devolution plan which was demanded last week after the Standing Committee’s meeting.
Punjab Education Minister Mian Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman told Pakistan Today that the Punjab government was in favour of the devolution plan, but there were some issues which needed to be addressed. He said that it was not possible for provinces to grant funds to the universities at this stage, as even the federal government was facing difficulties to meet the universities’ demands, and under these conditions provinces will find it quite difficult to handle the varsities’ financial issues. He said Punjab Education Ministry was already doing the homework, and hopefully the ministry would be handed over to the Punjab on
July 1, 2011.
Dr Arifa Syeda, a renowned educationist, also favoured the idea of devolution of education ministry to the provinces; she said that federal government should only guide the provinces for the formulation of education policy. She said that all the parties first voted in favour of the 18th amendment and now they were hesitant to surrender their powers. She added that if the provinces were weak then the amendment should have been passed. She said, “You have to have faith in provinces.” She also said that Quaid-e-Azam talked about strengthened provinces and now when there was a time to implement the plan, the parties seemed reluctant.
Students, along with their parents have also criticized the government over the issue; they said that authorities should be clear in their policy and should not leave the students in conundrum. They said that there were already various types of curricula running in our country, and now provinces will amend them according to their interests. A university student, Murtaza, criticized Zubaida Jallal’s statement, “The plan to hand the education ministry to the provinces is a threat to the federation.” Murtaza said, “It seems our representatives in the assemblies do not care to study the bills and proposed amendments before voting for them.”
Samra Saeed, another university student, opposed the devolution plan and said that it was not feasible, as there was already too much row between the federation and the provinces. She said that provincial governments will not be able to attract international donors and they might lack the capacity to deliver a sound educational policy. She said the centre’s bureaucracy was more capable than the provincial one. A provincial government officer, while seeking anonymity, told Pakistan Today that the devolution plan was in public interest, as it will enhance the relationship between the stakeholders before policy formulation. He said hundreds of new jobs will be generated through devolution.
It seems our representatives in the assemblies do not care to study the bills and proposed amendments before voting for them
EDUCATION MINISTRY’S DEVOLUTION – Centre hesitant to relinquish authority, say educationists
