Education Reform and the White Paper

A seminar and interactive discussion on “Education Reform and The White Paper” was organized by Mashal on February 12, 2007 at the Avari Hotel in Lahore. The team leader of the National Education Policy Review Team and chief author of the White Paper, Mr Javed Hasan Aly, and the Punjab Education Minister, Mian Imran Masood, were the principal speakers.

The discussion was initiated by Mashal’s chairman, Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, who described the White Paper as a tiny ray of hope in an otherwise bleak educational scene. The effort to involve the people of Pakistan in setting a new agenda for education, he said, was commendable even if aspects of the White Paper were not satisfactory. Mr Aly laid out the main features of the White Paper, which involves a major structural and administrative change. He said that revisions were being incorporated as a consequence of such public discussions. Minister Mian Imran Masood described the achievements of his administration, the experience it had gained from past mistakes, and the new work that had been initiated using foreign loans. He described himself as optimistic about the public school system.

A vibrant heated question and answer session followed. The meeting received good coverage by the media.