ISLAMABAD: Former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani on Friday said the Special Investment Facilitation Council was “infringing on provincial autonomy” by taking up education-related matters.
In a statement on Friday, Rabbani condemned the SIFC taking up the question of out-of-school children (OOSC) and the education policy.
He noted that the council had been created through a notification that did not “allow it to take up education or matters ancillary thereto”.
“Education is a devolved subject from the Government of India Act, 1935 but usurped by the federal government,” the former senator said. “The 18th Amendment, with the deletion of the Concurrent List, from the Fourth Schedule [of] Constitution, 1973, removed any doubts, if any existed,” he added.
“The SIFC is infringing on provincial autonomy,” the PPP leader said, asserting that if any coordination was required on the matter of OOSC, then the appropriate “constitutional forum” was the Council of Common Interests (CCI).
“The federal government can only take up the education policy to the extent of the federal territory and not the provinces,” Rabbani emphasised. “If any coordination in policy is required, the CCI is the constitutional forum and not the SIFC,” he reiterated.
The statement comes a day after the SIFC convened a meeting to review a new education policy and deliberate on an “education emergency” proposal.
The SIFC was established in June last year under an “economic revival plan” devised by civilian and military leaders to capitalise on “untapped potential in key sectors” and attract foreign direct investment (FDI).
The then-cabinet had approved a number of initiatives, including proposed legislation for amendments to the Investment Board Ordinance to empower the SIFC to facilitate FDI.
In November, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had raised questions on the SIFC’s creation, advising Pakistan against creating a group of preferred investors or distortions in the country and to ensure transparency and accountability in its business deals.
Last week, newly appointed Education Minister Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui called for imposing an “education emergency” to address the issue of an alarming number of out-of-school children (OOSC) across the country. He had said that a national conference would be organised in collaboration with the SIFC.
On Thursday, the SIFC expressed concerns over the alarming number of OOSC in the country and called for urgent steps to formulate a comprehensive framework and strategy to address the challenge.
The meeting also discussed the proposed new education policy. Currently, the education policy from 2009, which is considered outdated, is in place. On the direction of SIFC, the education ministry has been working to prepare a new education policy.
