First Educational Conference

1947
Historical Background
  Pakistan achieved independence from over a century
of British colonial rule in August 1947.
 The progress in education was largely limited to what

emerged as India.
 The regions comprising Pakistan were relatively

backward in all respects, including in education.

 At independence, 85 percent of the population was

illiterate.
 In the more backward regions of the country, e.g.,

Baluchistan, the literacy rate was even lower, with

the rate for rural women therein being virtually zero.
Educational Conference 1947
 The first National Education Conference was held at
Karachi from November 27th to December 1st, 1947.
  First Education Conference was convened in 1947 in

the supervision of Quaid-e-Azam.

 He provided the basic guide lines for future education

development.
 It was also emphasis to realize the people the sense of

honor, integrity and selfless services to the nation.

Educational Conference 1947
  Education conference 1947 was presided by the
Education Minister of the country, and Chairman of
the Conference, Fazal ur Rehman.

 Fazal-ur-Rehman, the Education Minister of the

country proposed three dimensions of education.
Educational Conference 1947
 The Quaid-e-Azam , in his message to the
Conferences said: "... The importance of
education and the type of education cannot
be overemphasized
 ... there is no doubt that the future of our
State will and must greatly depend upon the
type of education we give to our children, and
the way in which we bring them up as future. "
Quaid’s Message to the Conference
Future of education in Pakistan in four aspects:

 Education system should suit the genius of

Pakistan.
 It should be consonant with our history and

culture.
 It should inculcate high sense of honor and

integrity.
 It should emphasis on science and technology.
weaknesses
 The Education Conference was the first ever attempt on
streamlining the education system of the new born state. It was
the product the efforts of politicians and educational experts.
However, the conference failed to reach on a comprehensive plan
for providing quality education for the country.
 Adequate attention was not paid to developing primary education
which requires wide scale infrastructure and trained staff.
 More people in Pakistan live in rural areas. There was no such
provision to provide even basic facilities for their education.
 Proper attention wasn’t paid to encouraging female education.
 Adult literacy was to take 25 years, which was not realistic effort.
 No proper provisions were made for Higher, technical,
commercial and vocational education. Only emphasis was there.
 The life span of the plan was very much extensive. It needed
more than a 100 years to achieve the targets.
Educational conference 1947
 The Primary and Secondary Education Committee
“considered it essential that a national system of
education should be based on the strong foundations of
free and compulsory primary education.”

 It proposed separate pre-primary and primary

education stages for children of ages 3 to 6 and 6 to
11.
Commitee
 1. Scientific Research and Technical Education
Committee.
 2. Adult Education Committee.
 3. University Education Committee.
 4. Primary Education Committee.
 5. Secondary Education Committee.
 6. University, Primary and Secondary

Education.
 7. Women’s Education Committee.
 8. Committee for scheduled caste and

backward classes education.

 Cultural Relations Committee.
Adult Education Committee
  The Committee on Adult Education pointed out that
illiteracy was high at 85 percent and, at the then rate
of increase of literacy, 140 years would be required to
get rid of the problem.

 It stated, “The primary aim of the campaign must be

not merely to make adults literate but to keep them
literate”.
Educational Conference 1947
 The report recommended the following stages for the
execution of a programme of adult education.
 The first five years were to be devoted to planning ,

recruitments of teacher and training.

 In the sixth year, about 500,000 persons were to be

made literate with an annual increase of 300,000

thereafter.
Recommendations

 Major Recommendations

 Education should be teamed with Islamic values.

 Free and compulsory education in Pakistan.

 Emphasis on science and technical education.

Implementation

 This policy could not be implemented properly due to

increased number of immigrants and other
administrative problems of new born country.
 Many of its recommendations remained in

documentary form only for the lack of

institutional or economic resources to
pursue them.

  More or less British colonial system was continued

upto date.
The article 25-A of Constitution of the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan

 "The state shall provide free and

compulsory education to all children
of the age of five to sixteen (5---16)
years in such a manner as may be
determined by law".