ISLAMABAD – Former education minister of Punjab Mian Imran Masood urged the federal and provincial governments to adopt unified core curriculum, proposing April 2028 as the deadline for phased implementation to ensure adequate preparation, teacher training and quality textbook development.
Speaking at a media briefing on curriculum reforms, Masood said differences between curricula being developed by the federal government, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could widen disparities in educational standards and create problems for students transferring between provinces.
He called for a coordinated national framework that would establish common learning benchmarks while allowing provinces to address their distinct educational and regional needs.
The proposal comes as curriculum changes are moving forward on multiple fronts. The National Curriculum Council is seeking public feedback on the draft National Curriculum Framework 2026 and proposed curricula for early childhood care and education through Grade 5. Punjab has approved a revised primary curriculum for introduction in the 2027 academic year, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has introduced updated curricula for secondary and higher secondary classes.
The parallel initiatives have renewed questions about how to maintain comparable educational standards without undermining provincial autonomy following the 18th Constitutional Amendment, which devolved curriculum responsibilities to the provinces.
Masood noted that a broad degree of alignment had been maintained among curricula from 2010 to 2026 despite the devolution of powers. He said preserving consistency in essential learning standards was important for students’ academic progress and mobility between provinces.
He described the curriculum as a central component of the education system, influencing everything from classroom instruction and teacher preparation to learning outcomes and examination methods.
Highlighting the constraints faced by the education sector, Masood said Pakistan has approximately 140 to 145 teaching days in an academic year, compared with 192 to 220 days in several other countries. He stressed that curriculum planning must take the limited instructional time into account to ensure that students can achieve the expected learning outcomes.
Arshad Saeed, managing director of Oxford University Press Pakistan, supported the push for reform but said its success would depend on effective planning and consultation between federal and provincial authorities.
Saeed proposed a common core covering English, Urdu, mathematics and science, with provinces retaining the flexibility to incorporate their histories, geography and local perspectives into social studies. He said a shared framework could reduce the duplication of curriculum development and textbook production, improve the use of educational resources and help keep publishing costs under control.
Participants at the briefing also stressed the need to establish consistent learning standards during the foundational and primary years, when children develop essential literacy, numeracy and other basic skills.
They cautioned that introducing a revised curriculum without adequate preparation could place unnecessary pressure on schools and teachers and potentially compromise educational quality. Pilot teaching, textbook development and professional training, they said, should precede full implementation.
The proposed April 2028 deadline would allow time for the various stages of implementation, including writing and reviewing textbooks, securing approvals, printing and distributing books, training teachers and preparing schools to adopt revised teaching and assessment methods.
The speakers said these stages must be properly coordinated rather than treated as separate administrative exercises, adding that teachers and students would need sufficient time to adjust to changes in classroom practice.
They called for sustained engagement among federal and provincial governments, curriculum authorities, publishers and education experts to ensure that the reform process remains practical and inclusive.