TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVE ON SINGLE NATIONAL CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

The government of Pakistan has adopted a single national curriculum policy aiming to standardize teaching and learning across all schools. The rationale is that a unified curriculum will coordinate social and national activities by enabling the same educational system for all individuals regarding pedagogy, language, assessment, and curricular content. Additionally, a consistent curriculum is envisaged as a fundamental building block for the education system, providing guidelines for implementation. However, according to the perceptions of primary school teachers in Lahore, the policy faces challenges in terms of practical realization. This qualitative interview-based study of 10 teachers examines their insights regarding rolling out the single curriculum and the impediments faced. Findings indicate that while a common curriculum constitutes a necessary foundation for reform, successful change requires holistic upgrades encompassing continuous curriculum revisions responding to contextual needs, improved infrastructure, and robust systems for monitoring implementation. Changing the curriculum alone may prove insufficient to achieve quality enhancement aims without accompanying upgrades in broader structural issues. The study advises policymakers and stakeholders that research is needed to investigate diverse aspects and complexities associated with large-scale curriculum reform to inform planning and decision-making. As this study explores a limited scope, further work should examine the perspectives of different stakeholders across various regions to enable nuanced understandings, especially considering Pakistan’s cultural and socioeconomic diversity. Monitoring ongoing outcomes of the curriculum change is also vital for enabling data-driven improvements in responding to emergent challenges.