A Way Forward: Enhancing and Building the Capacity of the Curriculum Development Committee Members for the GCED CDI Project in Pakistan

The Capacity Building Workshop for the GCED CDI Project in Pakistan was hosted by Punjab Education, Curriculum, Training, Assessment Authority (PECTAA) on behalf of the School Education Department, Punjab (SED Punjab), from 14 to 17 April 2025, in Lahore, Pakistan.

In partnership with APCEIU, the School Education Department Punjab (SED Punjab) has commenced the second year of the Global Citizenship Education Curriculum Development and Integration Project (GCED CDI) in Pakistan.

Launched in 2016, the GCED Curriculum Development and Integration Project (GCED CDI) has been the flagship project of APCEIU, aiming to mainstream Global Citizenship Education in the partner countries with their context. Pakistan, particularly the province of Punjab, joined as the 5th Round Country of the GCED CDI Project in 2024 and has initiated its second year journey of the GCED CDI Project in Punjab, Pakistan.

Hosted by the Punjab Education, Curriculum, Training, Assessment Authority (PECTAA) on behalf of School Education Department Punjab (SED Punjab)—the implementing institute of the GCED CDI Project in Pakistan—a Capacity Building Workshop for the GCED CDI Project was held from 14 to 17 April 2025 in Lahore, Pakistan. This workshop aimed to equip the Curriculum Development Committee of the GCED CDI Project in Pakistan with a comprehensive understanding of GCED. It featured intensive lectures and discussion sessions covering topics on GCED and the GCED CDI Project, including the GCED framework, GCED integration, curriculum mapping, and pedagogy.

Approximately 40 participants attended the workshop, including members of the Curriculum Development Committee from PECTAA, SED Punjab, and local schools, along with other stakeholders from School Education, Education of Punjab, Government of Punjab, and APCEIU, together with its resource persons.

Madam Nausheen Adnan, Mr Muhammad Iqbal, Madam Jeongmin Eom, and Dr. Shahinshah Faisal Azim from top to bottom, from left to right. 

The workshop opened with the opening ceremony, featuring remarks from Madam Nausheen Adnan, a Parliamentary Secretary of School Education; Mr Muhammad Iqbal, Special Secretary, School Education Department Punjab (SED Punjab); Ms Jeongmin Eom, Deputy Head of IGCED at APCEIU; and Dr Shahinshah Faisal Azim, Chief Executive Officer, PECTAA. All speakers emphasized the importance of integrating and enhancing GCED within the Punjab education system.

The first day workshop session started with ice-breaking activities facilitated by Ms Lea Espallardo, which energized participants and introduced them to key GCED values through interactive exercises. The sessions on “rethinking education” followed, first providing an overview of the GCED framework by Ms. Jeongmin Eom and Prof. Kevin Kester, and then introducing a paradigm shift to competence-based curricula and learning by Prof. Esther Care.

Day two started with two sets of situational analyses, one, entitled “from inside out” by the local expert, and the other, entitled “from outside in “ by an external expert.  Dr Tayyaba Tamin, Dean of the School of Education, Lahore University of Management Science (LUMS), discussed the situation and key challenges of the current Pakistan education system, particularly from the GCED perspective. She illustrated both Pakistan’s commitment to integrating GCED into their education and key challenges to this effort. She highlighted that while there are gaps across gender, urban-rural, and class, as well as some challenging cultural aspects such as monolithic discourse, the Pakistan education system poses opportunities for enhancing the quality of education and integrating GCED.

Another presentation by Prof. Kevin Kester from Seoul National University followed. He shared the findings through his research for the situational analysis of Pakistan conducted last year. With the presentations from both local and international experts, the introductory session on the GCED CDI Project, and an intensive session on the GCED integration that followed provided the participants with comprehensive perspectives on GCED and a clearer understanding of the CDI project, leading to participants’ active engagement in discussions. 

Day three focused on the GCED pedagogy and teachers’ role as well as curriculum mapping and GCED integration. Throughout the sessions, participants actively engaged with the activities and discussions by sharing their comments and questions. 

The last day of the workshop continued the exercise of curriculum mapping to ensure the CDC members had clear ideas about their tasks and expectations of the Project. The four-day workshop concluded with the closing ceremony, where Mr Rana Sikandar Hayat, Minister for School Education Punjab, together with Ms. Jeongmin Eom from APCEIU and Mr. Shahinsha Faisal Azim from PECTTA, delivered their closing remarks. The certificates were also granted to all the participants. 

The four-day Capacity Building Workshop for the GCED CDI Project in Pakistan has provided the GCED Curriculum Development Committee (GCED CDC) members with a deeper understanding of GCED and the GCED CDI Project, while further enhancing their confidence for developing curriculum mapping and teachers’ guides.