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Prof Anjum james Paul Chairman,
PMTA Faisalabad
Examinations for Class V are commencing on Feb 3, but students of religious
minorities have not been provided the syllabus of Ethics yet. According to the
notification of the Schools Education Department, the government of Punjab, No.
SO(A II)8-5/2004(P), dated July 7, 2008, there are the subjects of Urdu,
English, Mathematics, Islamic Studies, Social Studies and Science but not the
subject of Ethics in the educational calendar, which is a compulsory subject
according to the recommended Education Policy 2006 for the students of
religious minorities. There is no option for the subject of Islamic Studies but
it seems that the students of minorities are deliberately kept in the dark as
most of them are examined for the subject of Islamic Studies instead of Ethics.
The Pakistan Minorities Teachers' Association (PMTA) wrote a letter to the
chief minister of Punjab on Oct 30, 2008 on the subject, 'Issuance of syllabus
in the subject of Ethics for 5th and 8th classes." Copies of the letter
were mailed to the minister of education, minister of human rights and
minorities affairs and the secretary of education, government of Punjab. The
PMTA received letters from the ministry of human rights and minorities affairs,
ministry of education, government of Punjab, Punjab Textbook Board, Lahore,
Punjab Examination Commission and Punjab Education Commission but they have all
failed to provide the syllabus according to the above-mentioned educational
calendar 2008-09. There are 74 Christian students in Class V who will appear
for the subject of Ethics only in the district of Faisalabad but the textbook
will be available after three or four years. One of the students, Takveen
Anjum, wrote a letter to the Punjab education secretary on the subject,
'Unavailability of the syllabus and book of Ethics', on Jan 9. Copies of the
same letter were mailed to the Punjab education minister, as well as to the
chief minister, but there has been no reply from these quarters yet. I have
asked Takveen Anjum to appear in all the papers except Ethics. The Punjab
ministry of education will be held responsible for the negligence and
consequences of her result. Is there anyone who can ask the authorities
concerned of the Education Department that if there is not a notified syllabus
in the educational calendar, how can they conduct
the paper in the subject of Ethics?
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