International Education Guide - Enterprise and Advanced Education ...

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INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION GUIDE for the assessment of education from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Four Employment Categories
as defined by the Commission on National Education of 1959
Category
Description
1 Unskilled workers who require manual dexterity for the
performance of their duties
2 Operators in factories and offices whose skills in industrial
and commercial processes produce goods or services
3 Supervisory personnel with the practical skills to appreciate
the problems of the skilled workers and the theoretical
training to understand the ideas of the engineer or
executive and to interpret them to the skilled workers
4 Engineers and executives capable of developing new
techniques, methods and designs
Vocational education generally corresponds to Category
2, and trains skilled and semi-skilled workers in various
trades. It mainly operates at the secondary level, with
entry based on the completion of middle school (Grade
8), although some vocational courses for girls require only
completion of primary school (Grade 5) for admission.
Technical education generally corresponds to Category
3, and trains technicians for mid-level supervisory jobs. It
mainly operates at the higher secondary level and above,
with entry based on the completion of secondary school
(Grade 10).
In some contexts, the terms vocational and technical
may refer to fields of study. For example, the Secondary
School Certificate (Technical) or Matriculation Certificate
(Technical), awarded by the provincial Boards of Technical
Education, is a Grade 10-level certificate that requires Grade
8 for admission. Grade 12 and higher level programs may also
be offered in a vocational area or vocational stream.
Administration
Various federal ministries and provincial departments are
involved in vocational and technical education. A national
skills strategy is being developed to coordinate the work of
government departments and to ensure the uniformity of
curriculum and standards.
At the national level, the Ministry of Education is
responsible for policy, planning, guidelines, coordination of
standards and curriculum development for vocational and
technical education. According to the Federal Supervision
of Curricula, Textbooks, Maintenance of Standards of
Education Act, 1976, the curriculum wing of the MOE
is in charge of curriculum development for certificate and
diploma programs offered by vocational and technical
institutes, as well as for school education.
The Ministry of Labour and Manpower is responsible for
vocational education and apprenticeship training in the
various trades.
Several national bodies assist the federal government in
vocational and technical education.
• National Vocational and Technical Education
Commission (NAVTEC). Established in 2006
under the Prime Minister’s Office, this commission
is the national apex body for technical and vocational
education and training. Its mandate is to facilitate,
regulate and provide policy direction for technical
education and vocational training to meet national and
international demand for skilled labour.
• National Institute of Science and Technical Education
(NISTE). This institute was established in 1997
with the merger of two national institutes under the
MOE—the National Technical Teachers Training
College and the Institute for the Promotion of Science
Education and Training. It undertakes research and
develops curriculum and learning resources for science
and technical education. It also offers various technical
and teacher training programs.
• National Training Bureau. This bureau is the
Directorate General of Technical Training under the
Labour and Manpower Division of the Ministry of
Labour and Manpower. Acting as the secretariat for the
National Training Board, it formulates and implements
vocational training policies and facilitates training of
skilled workers to meet domestic and overseas labour
requirements.
At the provincial level, the education departments and
departments of labour and manpower are responsible for
implementing policy and managing vocational and technical
institutions and programs according to national guidelines.
Provincial Boards of Technical Education (in Punjab,
Sindh and NWFP) conduct major examinations and issue
technical certificates and diplomas such as the Secondary
School Certificate (Technical), the Diploma of Associate
Engineer (DAE) and the Certificate of Commerce and
Diploma of Commerce.