Govt plans to set up polytechnic institute in every district of country

[Naveed Yaseen]

by Noor Aftab
The government plans to set up polytechnic institutes in each and every district including Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) while the number of colleges of technology would be decided keeping in view the needs of the respective areas, the sources in the education ministry told ‘The News’ here on Wednesday.

The sources said the draft of the upcoming education policy sent to the federal cabinet for final approval some days back also carries a proposal for new steps to update the curriculum of the technical education on regular basis. It has also been proposed to develop a suitable framework for technical and scientific education and training with close involvement of chambers of commerce and industry.

The sources said a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) would be established along with a changed programme structure that encompasses all qualifications both in academic and technical education.

The NQF would be competency based and provide entry points and progression routes throughout the structure of qualification, the sources said.

The sources added that B-tech technologists would also be registered with the Pakistan Engineering Council while a coordination mechanism between school and technical education would be evolved to resolve problems confronting the students.

Absence of any uniform curriculum and effective centralised monitoring authority for technical education so far remain a source of irritation for diploma holders who continue to face problems both in student and practical life.

No criterion has so far been developed to decide equivalence of various diplomas to traditional degrees being awarded in the educational institutions.

When students complete their three-year technical diploma after matriculation they are often denied admission in pre-engineering on the grounds that diploma is not equivalent to FSc.

They continue to suffer even when they start their practical life because when it comes to promotion in grades the rules and procedures do not facilitate them and instead deprive them of their rights.

In all the previous education policies presented by the respective governments, the technical education was not given importance. Due to this problem basic issues are still to be tackled by the concerned authorities.

The sources said Maj Gen ® Mukhtar Shah had given a briefing to the then prime minister Shaukat Aziz after which National Vocational and Technical Education Commission (NAVTEC) was established to streamline the affairs with regard to the technical education.

NAVTEC since its inception has been continuously arranging courses for students in coordination with various institutions that are paid for conducting such courses. But it has not so far prepared any uniform curriculum for the technical education institutions.

The officials of the education ministry were of the view that the curriculum of the technical diploma and FSc (pre-engineering) is quite different and the educational institutions are not ready to give equal status to students of technical diploma and FSc.

They said the technical institutions operating in the country do not have uniform curriculum so it is quite difficult to develop any specific criterion for all of them.

When contacted, Secretary Education Abdul Rauf Chaudhry told ‘The News’ that most of the issues related to the technical education would be resolved in the upcoming education policy.

He said various proposals have been made in the draft policy and “I think we would be able to find out solution to various problems associated with the technical education.”

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=171479