Education is the most powerful weapon, says Nelson Mandela, which you can use to change the world”. 21st century is an epoch of knowledge and knowledge-based economy. But unfortunately, in Pakistan the state of education is deteriorating with each passing day due to our poor education policy and negligence of both democratic and military rulers, since inception. It is obvious that, our leaders have turned a blind eye towards education and still they are expecting economic growth and development – What a pity.
Historically, if we retrospect Islamic golden age we conclude that it was only plausible due to quality education and research. It is worth mentioning, that Pakistanis are very much proud about their Islamic golden age, yet they do not ponder, which was only possible due to education and research into new fields of knowledge. Moreover, Pakistan lags in science, technology, research, arts and innovation vis-à-vis India which is progressing by leaps and bounds and contributing to the world development and knowledge economy. It is impossible to delineate all issues in a single column, but few issues have paramount importance to being mentioned here.
First and foremost, non-native language is the biggest barrier in learning. Since English is not our native language, we face lots of difficulties in learning and then applying the knowledge in real life world. It is a fact that, all developed nations of contemporary world or past only achieved progress by making learning easy i.e., teaching in native language.
It is heart aching that, students are forced to cram in order to reproduce in exams. So, students are forced to cram because they cannot reproduce it in their own words due to language barrier. If we analyse education system of Pakistan, then it is evident that, even teachers encourage students to cram topics in order to get high marks, this exam centric approach may yield good grades but cannot produce quality students. Modern world demands skills, critical thinking and innovation which are not possible with current education system.
Secondly, quality education not quantity is important for progress in the world. We hear that, literacy rate is the sole indicator to judge education. However, this theory holds no concrete ground, because, when West started to develop – by leaps and bounds – its literacy rate was also low. However, both literacy rate and progress go hand in hand, it is foolish to wait for a sharp upward movement in the literacy rate without improving quality of education. So, not quantity but quality education matters the most.
Furthermore, in Pakistan textbooks are seldom revised, it is unfortunate that, students are forced to learn outdated information. Constantly updating these textbooks will benefit our students to stay up-to-date and relevant to ever-changing world. Stephen Hawking once rightly said: “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”
Thirdly, after quality education, meagre budget allocation for education is also another reason of deteriorating state of education in Pakistan. Unfortunately, just 2.5% of GDP is kept for education, however, 5-6% is recommended globally. This tiny allocation of budget for education demonstrates our future prospects and priorities. Teachers need to be trained constantly, and this happens in all developed counties but due to lack of funds no proper trainings are conducted. Moreover, due to low budget, infrastructure, laboratories and libraries cannot be renovated or built. So, in order to improve education, more budget needs to be allocated to meet global standards.
To sum up, Pakistan is facing a crisis of poor education system since its inception and consecutive governments put education system in limbo without bringing any structural reforms in it. Unfortunately, education is not a priority of our nation, yet we aspire to develop which is a hard nut to crack without educational reforms. However, there are multiple issues which are hampering education system.
Most importantly, three main issues namely: teaching in non-native language, low quality and outdated textbooks and low budget allocation for education are three core issues which are the main culprits. It is unfortunate that our elites and their progeny receive quality education both in this country and abroad, while common citizens have to suffer in agony. It is clear that, education system of Pakistan is rotten to its core – and yet it moves. However, we must stay optimistic because, “Even the darkest night will end, says Victor Hugo, and the sun will rise”.
