What happened : Minorities report heavy inclusion of religious content in non-religious textbooks introduced by the Government in Single National Curriculum (SNC).
Details : The PTI government launched textbooks for 1-5th graders that they compiled under the Single National Curriculum (SNC). The curriculum is to be implemented in the public and private educational institutions as well as madrassas (seminaries) across the country. The motivation behind this massive initiative, as explained by our beloved PM, is to introduce equal and quality education for all children. Although, the intention behind SNC is goodly, however, the content of textbooks blatantly dismisses the very basic constitutional rights of Minorities. What you need to know: SNC textbooks have received a great deal of criticism for inclusion of heavy religious content in subjects other than Islamiat, particularly Urdu. This particularly goes against article 22 which states that “no person attending any educational institution shall be required to receive religious instruction … if such instruction relates to a religion other than his/her own.” Yes, dismissal of this article 22 predates this new curriculum that the government has introduced. However, the government claimed to have consulted minority rights activists before devising and the model textbooks clearly don’t show any reflection of consultation or inclusivity. Besides the inclusion of ‘Hamd’ and ‘Naat’ here in Urdu books, even English textbooks carry content that clearly reinforces Muslim belief. Benazir Shah, one of the four hosts of Aurat Card, shares a twitter thread giving examples of how SNC violates of Article 22 that safeguards minority rights.
In the SNC's English Grade 5 book there is an entire chapter on Eid ul Azha.
Minorities say religious text in non-religious subjects is a violation of Article 22.
In fact educationalists found 21% violations of Article 22 in SNC's Grade 5 English book. pic.twitter.com/06nCOS1KXo
— Benazir Shah (@Benazir_Shah) July 3, 2021
A team of educationalists, including the renowned Public Policy expert Peter Jacob, has reported that nine per cent of the content of class three English textbook introduced under the SNC goes against the Article 22 of the Pakistan Constitution. Jacob further highlighted such examples including the question on the first page of Urdu textbook for class two students: “Do you know that Allah is our creator?.” In the English textbook for class one, there is also a comprehension passage titled: “Blessings of Allah”, while in class three English textbook, eight-year-olds are instructed to recite the naa t. Not only this shortcoming in SNC is alarming for the minorities but it is also a lot content for very young kids in 1 till 5 grade to grasp. It is important that the government draws a committees which engages members of other faith to develop textbooks. Government must design clear framework for textbooks to adhere to constitutional requirements and restrict all religious lessons, both explicit and implicit, in Islamiat textbooks only. Although, given the socio-political of Pakistan, it sounds far-fetched. Yet, since the government puts forward lofty claims, it must take strict action to ensure that article 22 is enforced in the Single National Curriculum. Click here to see more from Propergaanda.