The two-day National Convention on Right to Education organised by Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE) concluded here on Wednesday with demands from the government to raise annual budget for education and introduce minimum standards nationwide.
The participants of the convention asked the government to meet its commitment of raising annual budget for education up to 7% of the national GDP.
During the convention on right to education entitled “Right Choice, Right Direction—Right to Education”, experts from across the country had gathered to share their thoughts for the betterment of education sector.
The participants suggested that, as indicated in National Education policy 2009, the allocation of budget for the education should be increased by 7% by 2015.
Moreover, they said, the reliance on foreign aid should be discouraged and emphasis should be made on formulating the policy within the national context. They further stressed that in order to implement the NEP 2009 and achieve its targets, planning and coordination at the district level must be strengthened.
Participants also demanded girls’ education should be on the agenda of all political parties without any political biases.
They were of the view that gender-wise budgeting for education should begin in all the provinces as well as at the federal level. They said the government should prioritise girls’ schools by providing all the missing facilities. They stressed upon the need to set up minimum education standards across the country and that the federation should ensure their implementation. They highlighted the need to revisit the national curricula developed in 2006-07, in the light of 25A and 18th Amendment.
They said ethnic, linguistic, regional, cultural prejudices should be removed from the textbooks. The participants also demanded an efficient system of budgetary allocations and their timely release to ensure that funds would be spent efficiently and effectively.
