For all intents and purposes, the devolution of the Federal Ministry of Education is being regarded as an attempt to merely insert the word ‘education’ on papers in the provinces. Skepticism still abounds on the devolution process with the centre being criticised for its reluctance to cede control.
Meanwhile, independent experts opine if the process is not smoothened out, the quality of education will tumble tremendously and will also affect commitments made with international donor agencies. Technically, the 18th Amendment did not require a complete abolition of the Federal Ministry of Education. It simply stopped the federal government from undertaking any legislation relating to education. The Ministry of Education could have been retained as a platform for the provinces to share views and voluntarily harmonise their policies, and this would not have been against the spirit of 18th Amendment.
In fact, even now, the provinces have not been given control of the federal ministries’ various departments and sections. They have only been given powers to deal with the educational matters of kindergarten to grade 12.
Provinces would have to start from the scratch. For development of strong educational mechanisms for the provision of basic education at the elementary level, provinces have to rebuild everything from policy level to human resources and institutions. On the other hand, future of the employees of Federal Ministry of Education is unsure at best.
One province may decide to review and raise the level of its standards or modernise its curricula. On the same pattern, another province may follow a more liberal policy and may either simplify its curricula or may decide to keep them static. This may result in variations among the terminal competencies of matriculates from different provinces, and widening of development gaps between different areas.
Since there will be no uniform curriculum in the country, the provinces are likely to go for their own independent curricula thus creating a hotchpotch affecting the quality of education as well as uniformity in the subjects. This will raise complications relating to equivalence.
Many officials are worried about coordination of education departments with the international bodies. A UN official said that achievement of Millennium Development Goals and Education For All have received constitutional support through the newly-inserted Article 2S-A (Right to Free Education), but if there is no monitoring mechanisms in place, progress towards these targets would be affected because of the devolution.
Who will take care of the international commitments like MDGs and EFA since federal government would need quantitative data and qualitative information on various indicators and issues for preparation and presentation of reports? The federal government was supposed to annually provide educational data to international organisations which is then used for Human Development Index and for other global instruments. However, no agency was given the task to compile and provide this data to international organisations.
The donor coordination, specifically with respect to United Nations agencies working in education sector, has already been affected since it has to approach every province separately now. The provinces may not spend more on education during their annual budget allocations thus leaving the subject on the backburner and ultimately affecting the educational system of the country.
What role can the federal government play after the 18th Amendment? Which organ of the state will monitor the provision of this constitutional right to all children of age 5 to 16 in Pakistan?
It’s these issues that should be sorted out before the devolution progresses further as there is more at stake than a mere ministry or department – it’s the future of millions of children across Pakistan.
ZAINAB JAVED BUTT
Lahore