{"id":3811,"date":"2025-07-01T16:09:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T16:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/?p=3811"},"modified":"2025-07-01T16:09:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T16:09:01","slug":"ministry-slammed-for-70-year-failure-to-formalize-ties-with-cambridge-british-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/2025\/07\/01\/ministry-slammed-for-70-year-failure-to-formalize-ties-with-cambridge-british-council\/","title":{"rendered":"Ministry Slammed for 70-Year Failure to Formalize Ties with Cambridge, British Council"},"content":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD (Nadeem Tanoli<\/em>)<\/strong> Ministry of Professional and Technical Training came under heavy fire during a recent parliamentary subcommittee meeting after it was revealed that the ministry lacks any formal legal agreement or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with either Cambridge International Education or the British Council\u2014despite more than seven decades of their operations in the country.\"\"<\/p>\n

The revelation came amid parliamentary hearings convened to address the fallout from the recent leak of Cambridge exam papers. Lawmakers identified the absence of a documented framework as a fundamental administrative failure that contributed to a lack of regulatory clarity and poor crisis response.<\/p>\n

An Officer from the Ministry of Federal Education confirmed the lapse during the session, stating, \u201cI have checked with all the wings in the ministry. It has been determined that no such document exists with us.\u201d The admission followed weeks of delay in responding to repeated requests from the subcommittee, prompting visible frustration from its chairperson MNA Sabheen Ghoury.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the reason? Why is it being delayed?\u201d the chairperson asked, condemning the ministry’s inaction and lack of preparedness.<\/p>\n

While representatives from the British Council maintained that their operations in Pakistan fall under a broader government-to-government agreement signed via the Economic Affairs Division in February 2024, lawmakers insisted that the Ministry of Education should have direct and binding documentation in place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the obligation of the Federal Education Department,\u201d the chairperson stated emphatically. \u201cYou are dealing with education. This is the main problem\u2014the communication problem\u2014because they didn\u2019t even sign any MOU.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lack of formal agreements was directly tied to deeper governance issues, including confusion over syllabus approval authority between the National Curriculum Council (NCC) and the Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC). Lawmakers argued that the Ministry’s passive oversight has allowed jurisdictional gaps and regulatory ambiguity to persist unchecked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ministry never thought to ask how these organizations are operating,\u201d the chairperson remarked. \u201cAn issue came up, we raised the point, and only then was it raised. I am surprised at the representatives here.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, the committee issued a series of urgent directives for the Ministry of Federal Education:<\/p>\n