PM Imran Khan launched the Single National Curriculum (SNC). He claimed it will unify the country, remove class divisions, and eliminate the ‘mental slavery’ that the British colonial system of education had imposed.
SNC’s launch has faced mixed reactions. But its defenders are responding to criticism in a rather rhetorical manner. Many of them are of the view that those critiquing the SNC do not understand that every nation-state requires one. Truth is, this is not what the criticism is about. It is largely about the content that the SNC carries.
Indeed, after its creation in 1947, Pakistan did adopt a curriculum that had been evolved by the British in India in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The English language, the sciences, law and economics were at the core of this curriculum. And even though room in it was also made for vernacular languages, there was no such space for religious instruction. This was to be gained from specific religious schools, or at home.