ISLAMABAD: An apex court committee on education reforms on Tuesday recommended increasing the education sector budget from 2.2 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 4 per cent.
The committee, headed by Federal Ombudsman Tahir Shahbaz and comprising the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan secretary, vice chancellors from various universities and provincial secretaries, will share its recommendation with the federal government, reported a local media outlet.
The committee stated that 25 million children between the ages of five and 16 are not currently enrolled in schools, while urging the government to declare an education emergency in the country to radically change the ineffective education system in the country.
The report pointed out quality, standardisation of the education system, skill development, and out of school children as the main challenges for the government to immediately address.
The committee also recommended an increase in the construction of new public schools, recruitment and training of a large number of teachers and making ghost schools functional again.
Referring to the Pakistan Education Statistics 2016-17, the report said that private educational institutions were serving a considerable number of students (36 per cent). It recommended that the government should bind private schools to rationalise the fee structure and enrol at least 10 per cent children who belonged to poor families under corporate social responsibility.
The committee recommended a review of the curriculum. It proposed that a special think tank with experts be constituted at the national level for this purpose.
The report also recommended a strong regulatory system for private schools. It said that parents and students were affected by malpractices of private schools.
The report said the superior courts were approached since the regulatory bodies were unable to protect the interest of the parents and students.
A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, formed the committee while hearing a case about the private schools’ fees structure.
