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The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) is set to introduce the Cambridge Education System in its colleges, as announced by Parliamentary Secretary for Federal Education and Professional Training, National Heritage, and Culture, Farah Naz Akbar, during a National Assembly session on Friday.
She stated that the initiative was being implemented as a demonstration project in four government institutions and will be gradually expanded to other institutions during the question hour. She further stated that the plan was presently in its infancy, with a limited number of carefully selected educational institutions under the FDE slated to implement the system first.
The parliamentary secretary was responding to enquiries from MNA Sehar Kamran, who enquired about the government’s commitment to offering equitable access to this system to students from underprivileged backgrounds.
Farah Naz Akbar elaborated that the system was implemented at the request of parents who were unable to afford the tuition fees at private institutions. She stated that the system would be implemented beginning in April with the sixth grade. She clarified that students would only be charged when they reached A’ Levels, and the fee would be half the usual amount.
MNA Dr Nafisa Shah expressed concerns regarding fairness in education, challenging the necessity of implementing the Cambridge system. “If our education system is strong, why are we sending valuable foreign exchange abroad?” she asked.
She asked about the foreign exchange used by the country’s elite for education in Cambridge and similar systems, along with the fees students incur for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
Dr. Nafisa Shah contended that embracing Cambridge diminishes the integrity of Pakistan’s educational system. In response, Akbar committed to providing more detailed information to the assembly in the future.
