ISLAMABAD: Education Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain on Tuesday informed the Senate that action was being taken to remove objectionable material from the O level syllabus. He stated that a notice had been sent to Cambridge to remove the content, or else the books would not be permitted in Pakistan.
The notice was in response to senators Mohsin Aziz and Faisal Saleem Rehman’s calling attention to the matter, who raised concerns about the content of the syllabus which they believed went against Islamic and cultural teachings and values of Pakistani society, especially the content relating to ‘same SRC family.’
The minister said that the government would also write to the provinces to take necessary action, as the content had nothing to do with Pakistan and its values and culture. He also explained that, unlike in the past, all four provinces had reached a consensus on the new national curriculum, and three to four countries that were previously associated with Cambridge had now opted for Pakistan’s federal exam system following reforms in it.
During the session, Senator Mohsin Aziz expressed that a chapter on ‘same-sex family’ could not even be discussed in the family system of Pakistan, and was concerned about the education being imparted to children aged 14, 15, and 16.
Senator Faisal Saleem also voiced his apprehension about such content, which could erode the respect of parents and teachers in students, and urged immediate action against it. He also called for the proper scrutiny of institutions where such content was being taught and sought the cancellation of their licenses.
The Education Minister assured the senators that a report on the progress made and the action taken would be shared with the house.
In a separate report, the Senate panel presented a bill proposing amendments to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018. The Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, Walid Iqbal, stated that the draft bill would provide full protection, relief, and rehabilitation to transgender persons and cater to their rights in line with Shariah and the Constitution.
Although the bill was drafted within the parameters of the Constitution, two clauses were being opposed almost by all movers of the bill. Senator Iqbal claimed that if the bill were passed by the Senate in its present shape, and later challenged in the Federal Shariat Court, he himself would defend it as the clauses under question were at par with the Constitution.
