INVESTIGATING THE CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING NATIONAL SINGLE CURRICULUM IN BALOCHISTAN: A SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF DISTRICT QUETTA

Abstract

This study has examined the socioeconomic issues that impede the enactment of the National Single Curriculum (NSC) in Quetta, Balochistan. The objective of the research was to evaluate the systemic obstacles to curriculum change in the view of educational managers and school personnel. The study has used the stratified sampling strategy, whereby it has used structured questionnaires made up of Likert scales, where the sample involved 313 stakeholders of the education sector. The group was composed of 20 district-level managers, 113 school principals, and 180 teachers of public schools. The research was conducted on socioeconomic, infrastructural, and culturally relevant limitations of curriculum implementation. Results showed that there was a great variance in the stakeholder groups as regards important challenges of the implementation process. Systemic challenges were identified by managers and included aspects such as rural-urban funding disparities and cultural exclusion. Principals cited the lack of infrastructure and the relevance of curriculum to the local contexts. Teachers were complaining of the harsh conditions under which they operated, such as self-funding of the supplies, and due to poverty, dropouts. Correlation analyses revealed that there was good agreement among the stakeholders about infrastructure shortages or management, and on the problem of socioeconomic barriers as a great barrier to implementation. The relevant recommendations were the equal distribution of resources and cultural adaptation of the curriculum.