Vocational Education In Pakistan And Azad Jammu and Kashmir

The visits to schools in the Mirpur region gave the impression that currently vocational pathways do not play a significant role in either state or private school provision.

Private schools like the Kashmir Model College and the Farhan Model school do not offer such pathways although they may offer curricular options which focus on higher education progression into specific areas, particularly medicine, engineering and computer science. It seems to be the case in Pakistan, as in the UK, that vocational routes are seen by aspiring parents as “dead ends” and have very low social status. There appears to be no qualification structure which offers progression routes through to higher education.

In the state system schools follow the state curriculum which mimics the academic curriculum of the elite schools. The “Pilot” schools, like the one in Mirpur, offer vocational options; electrical, woodworking, and commerce alongside the academic pathway. This seems even in the Pilot school to be low status, and appeared to be delivered in a rote manner offering little opportunity for hands on participation and real learning.

There seems to be no structure to support the development of vocational learning, which all the heads and teachers questioned saw as a worthwhile area for development. Links with private sector training schemes would seem to be an essential step towards opening up such possibilities but there was little evidence of such organisations. The state schools in particular felt that their level of resources meant that this was impossible.  The current state of the economy and in particular the need to develop and regenerate the regions affected by the earthquake make the development of a skilled workforce a priority. The establishment of a network of vocational training and accreditation to give it structure and status and ensure the quality of provision is essential. There was little evidence of the participation of girls and young women in vocational education.

When these issues were raised with the Federal Minister for higher education and the Chief Executive of the Higher Education Commission they were interested in the notion of establishing such structures. President Musharraf, in a speech to an education conference a week later said that:

 “…the education system would be harmonised with development requirements and a vocational education authority, which is to work independent of the education ministry, and will focus on developing technical skills of the students. The authority will set up vocational institutions all over the country to provide quality training to the young people.” (The Nation 01/12/05,).