Punjab approves new curriculum with AI and mental health training
The provincial government also plans to cut textbook load by 25 percent and end corporal punishment through new legislation.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has approved a new curriculum for government schools that includes artificial intelligence classes from grades 1 to 12 and mental health training for teachers, Express News reported on Thursday.
The special meeting on education reforms agreed to reduce textbook load by 25 percent and discourage rote learning. PECTA, a subsidiary of the School Education Department, briefed the meeting on the new curriculum, which covers English, mathematics, social studies, Urdu and early childhood education.
New textbooks will carry QR codes that students can scan to watch video lessons, and the Chief Minister directed that printing be completed before March.
The meeting also agreed for the first time to start mental health training for teachers in Punjab and to bring legislation to end corporal punishment in schools. Students will be provided online counselling, and a proposal is being reviewed to appoint a visiting faculty psychologist in each district.
As an alternative to physical punishment, discipline corners were proposed in classrooms. The meeting agreed to set aside one day each week for teacher training across Punjab, with textbook authors themselves training teachers.
Maryam Nawaz Sharif said she wanted to see the best educational model in Punjab government schools and called for labs to support the AI curriculum. She said resources are available, but their wastage must be stopped. She said primary schools need focus to strengthen children's educational foundation, noting that English learning for 35,000 teachers has been completed in 31 tehsils of 12 districts.
The Chief Minister said corporal punishment affects a child's entire life, so a positive and supportive environment must be promoted in schools. Digital literacy in Punjab schools is also being improved.
Separately, UrduPoint reported that daily 10-minute quick tests will be compulsory in Punjab government schools, along with monthly comprehensive assessments, with results recorded on a portal and checked during officers' visits.
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