To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in work with the provincial governments in Pakistan to eliminate bias and discrimination against religious minorities from school textbooks; and what plans they have for continuing those efforts.
Answered on
22 March 2018
DFID’s education programmes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces continue to support provincial governments in the ongoing process to update and revise textbooks to improve quality and inclusion. Through the Ilm Two programme DFID is also supporting the production of additional reading materials that specifically focus on religious tolerance and inclusion. DFID has also engaged with Federal Government consultations on a new National Curriculum which will be trialled in Islamabad Capital Territory from April. The Federal Government has also agreed minimum standards for educational quality which agreed at the Inter Provincial Conference of Ministers. These standards set quality criteria for learners, curriculum, textbooks, teachers and assessment.