Challenges in Implementing the National Physics Curriculum in Government Secondary Schools: Evidence from Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan

Abstract

The successful implementation of the National Curriculum 2023 for Physics requires teachers to move beyond content transmission toward conceptual understanding, scientific inquiry, mathematical reasoning, and practical learning. However, evidence on the practical conditions shaping its implementation in government secondary schools in Balochistan remains limited. This study examined the major challenges faced by Physics teachers in implementing the National Curriculum 2023 in Grades 9-10 government secondary schools in Quetta, Pakistan. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted with 300 Physics teachers selected through proportionate stratified random sampling. Data were collected in October 2026 using a researcher-developed questionnaire comprising five challenge domains-teacher-related problems, laboratory resources, instructional issues, administrative factors, and assessment problems and a curriculum-implementation scale. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation tests, group comparisons, and thematic analysis were employed. Assessment problems with mean maximum 3.78±0.59 and instructional issues 3.73±0.41 were the most prominent challenges, followed by administrative factors 3.48±0.18, laboratory resources 3.17±0.37, and teacher-related problems 3.16±0.14. Although overall curriculum implementation was relatively high (3.90±0.12), practical work remained comparatively weak, with 50.7% of teachers conducting practical activities once a month or less. Laboratory availability also masked substantial functional deficiencies: although laboratories were present in 80.7% of schools, only 38.3% reported apparatus in good working condition, 35.7% had laboratory assistants, and 43.3% reported reliable electricity. The findings indicate that curriculum implementation is constrained less by the formal presence of the curriculum than by inadequate instructional, assessment, administrative, and practical-learning conditions. Strengthening functional laboratory facilities, teacher preparation, practical-work opportunities, assessment practices, and school-level support is therefore essential for translating the National Curriculum 2023 into effective Physics learning.