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ISLAMABAD, Dec 24 (APP): The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Wednesday convened a policy seminar to review Pakistan’s transition to a Student Learning Outcomes (SLO)-based curriculum and assessment system, focusing on the implementation of national policy frameworks in classrooms across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
The seminar explored why outcome-based reforms, despite being fully operational in examinations, continue to face significant challenges at the teaching and learning level.
The seminar was moderated by Dr. Faheem Jehangir, Dean (Policy), PIDE/PD, and RASTA, who steered the discussion toward the broader policy relevance of education reforms and their implications for human capital development and long-term economic outcomes.
Dr. Aliya Khalid of the University of Oxford said SLO-based reforms aim to move education from rote learning to conceptual understanding and skills, but stressed they succeed only when curriculum, teaching, assessment, and teacher support are properly aligned.
She traced Pakistan’s reforms from the introduction of SLOs in the 2006 National Curriculum and their inclusion in textbooks under the 2009 policy, through provincial adoption after the 18th Amendment, noting KP’s early leadership in outcome-based teacher training and the nationwide expansion under the Single National Curriculum, culminating in the 2023–2025 shift to fully SLO-based, textbook-independent examinations. She highlighted a persistent policy-to-practice gap.
Dr. Nadeem Javaid, Vice Chancellor PIDE stressed that education reforms must be firmly rooted in Pakistan’s contextual realities rather than relying on imported frameworks. He noted that teaching culture, parental expectations, language policy, and entrenched power dynamics significantly influence classroom practices, often shaping how reforms are absorbed or resisted.
Dr. Ahsan Ul Haq Satti, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Economic Modeling and Data Analytics (CEMDA) at PIDE commended the study for shifting the reform debate from policy intent to policy experience.
He noted that SLOs are now fully embedded in board examinations, making it imperative to identify the most binding constraints in pedagogy, sequencing, and institutional support.