LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Tuesday opposed giving powers to the provinces for designing own curriculum under the 18th Amendment.
Chaudhry Shujaat in a statement said that many political leaders have given statements regarding the 18th Amendment without even going through its content.
Shujaat said PML-Q has always favoured the interest of the country and he will contact party leaders to reject such amendments.
The PML-Q leader said that the academic curriculum is unified in all constitutions around the world. The constitutional power of designing a unified academic curriculum is usually possessed by the Centre, he added.
Shujaat criticised that the standard of education was destroyed when provinces were given powers to design own curriculums. He announced that PML-Q will oppose amendments regarding the curriculum.
On Monday, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) accused the federal government of encroaching on the rights of the provinces, as the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said that it had no intention of doing away with the 18th Amendment.
In an interview with BBC Urdu, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had said that the federal government was interpreting the 18th Amendment incorrectly.
Talking about the responsibilities of the federal government, Bilawal had said that if the Centre has no role to play after the 18th Amendment, then why is there a National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) in the country and why is there a federal health secretary.
Separately, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal had said that the 18th Amendment came about as a result of national consensus and any attempts to meddle with it would result in further controversy.
The former planning minister had asked that when the amendment was passed unanimously by all parties, then why is it being disturbed, especially in this time of distress for the country.
He said that the government’s priority should be to overcome the coronavirus pandemic, not set its sight on the 18th Amendment.
He had accused the government of spreading political hatred instead of reaching out to provincial governments and working together. He had advised the government to reinstate local governments to help fight the virus effectively instead of encroaching on the 18th Amendment.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said that while the government has no intention of revoking the 18th Amendment, the situation arising out of the coronavirus outbreak requires a thorough review of the constitutional amendment through bilateral consultations.
He had said that if the provinces’ practice of looking towards the Centre despite getting enhanced share in national resources after devolution of power through the 18th Amendment continued, then there was a need to sit together and review the situation.
