Private Educational Institutions Reject Changes In Syllabus, Hold Protest

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Jan, 2017 ) : Private Education Network (PEN) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has rejected the new syllabus in which the KP government allegedly excluded Islamic lessons and incorporated irrelevant material.

They demanded to review the current syllabus of 2016-17. A protest demonstration was also held in front of Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday. The demonstration was led by President PEN, Saleem Khan and attended by PIMA, All Pakistan Private Schools Association, Islami Nizamat Talim and Education Forum.

The protesters raised placards and banners against the KP government and blocked the Sher Shah Suri Road for one hour. Addressing the gathering Saleem Khan, Anis Takreem, Aqeel Razzaq, Dr Zakir Shah, Fazlullah, Gul Nabi and others said that the provincial government did not make any improvement in education departments, but it created difficulties for private institutions, organizations and people associated with it.

They said that the government of Khyber Pakhtunkwa was following the western agenda in running of educational system. They alleged that children are compelled to follow the western agenda by excluding Islamic lessons and incorporation of inappropriate lessons which were totally against the Islamic norms and basic religious teachings.

They said that the Map of Pakistan in Pakistan Study of 9th and 10th classes had been changed in which Gilgit-Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, Skardu and Azad Kashmir had been made controversial areas which promoted the Indian stance over it.

The protestors explained to media men by circulating a pamphlet that in urdu of class 2 the first lesson about the life of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) was replaced with 'Bunyadi Peshy' (Basic Professions).

While the essay on the life of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) has been replaced with the importance of sports, they added. Similarly, in Urdu of class 3 'Lets offer prayers' is replaced with 'Picture Story' and The last Book of Allah (Quran) has been replaced with Letters and others also in the same book.

The lesson of Hazrat Aysha Saddiqa (RA) is replaced with 'Health and Sanitation' in Urdu of class 4, the demonstrators further claimed. The PTI governnent also excluded others lessons of Quaid-e-Azam, Allama Iqbal and Minar-e-Pakistan from this book, they added.

In class 5 Pakistan Study they replaced Nelson Mandela, Karl Marx, Marco Polo, Vasco Da Gama with Hazrat Khadija (RA), Hazrat Fatima (RA), Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA), Muhammad Bin Qasim and others.

Similarly, the syllabus has been changed in Urdu 5th, Arabi 6th, Arabi 7th, Arabi 8th, English 8th and others. They further said that they were against the 5th class Assessment Examination and the government should withdraw the decision.

They said that they were not against the Assessment Examination but it was not the proper time adding the decision should be implemented from start of the year. They demanded that the affiliation of some institutions abolished with the board of Intermediate and Secondary Education should be restored.

They said that if their demands were not accepted they would close 30,000 educational institutions in the province for indefinite period.