ISLAMABAD: A technical committee on the New National Curriculum, on April 7, in principle approved the draft of the new scheme of study aimed at reducing the burden on children and properly introducing new subjects, including social sciences and civic education at schools.
“Today, the scheme of study was presented, and participants in principle approved it. In the coming days, after a little more deliberation, this scheme of study will be implemented,” said Federal Secretary of Education Nadeem Mahbub.
Speaking to Dawn after the meeting, Mr Mahbub said before the first meeting of the technical committee, the federal and provincial governments surveyed schools, and it was noticed that children from nursery to grade two were overburdened.
“Particularly, one and two graders face difficulty in learning because of being overburdened,” the secretary said, adding that in light of surveys, “stakeholders decided to take steps to ease the burden on students at least from nursery to grade 2”.
The secretary said it was decided that students of these classes should be given some flexibility, and they should be taught through attractive and fun learning activities instead of burdening them.
“We want to make the syllabus more effective and easier for children to understand,” he said. Similarly, Mr Mahbub said there was a need for properly re-launching civic subjects, which used to be properly taught at school level, but with the passage of time, schools started ignoring it.
“Now once again we will launch this subject under the name social sciences and civic,” he said, adding that some other important subjects will also be included.
“There is a need to teach students about life safety skills, climate change, financial literacy, etc so we are working on this,” he said.
The secretary further said the ministry wanted to introduce new syllabus for the next academic session.
To a query, he said all stakeholders – the federal government and provinces – were on the same page on this issue.
Meanwhile, a press release issued by the education ministry stated that the third meeting of the technical committee, which was also attended by Minster of State for Education Wajiha Qamar and Secretary of Education Nadeem Mahbub, discussed the said draft in detail.
The session of technical committee was co-chaired by Dr Nasir Mehmood, Vice Chancellor, Allama Iqbal Open University.
During the meeting, Dr Tabassum Naz, Director of the National Curriculum Council (NCC) presented the proposed scheme of studies, highlighting key reforms aimed at rationalisation, coherence and future readiness.
The education secretary engaged all stakeholders in a meaningful dialogue, particularly emphasising a progressive shift in language policy.
The minister of state for education appreciated the direction of reforms and reaffirmed that we were moving on the right path.
Meanwhile, AIOU Vice Chancellor Dr Nasir Mehmood addressed the concerns raised by participants, ensuring a balanced and inclusive discussion.
“The meeting witnessed active participation from stakeholders across Islamabad and all federating units, including AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan, reflecting a strong spirit of inter-provincial collaboration,” read a statement.
Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2026.
