Nation needs the “Charter of Education” to ensure quality standards by
adopting best practices & taking an outcome-centric approach towards
education in Pakistan, says Senior educationist Saqib Zaki Allahwala
Muhammad Umar Waqqas
KARACHI: Saqib Zaki Allahwala is an Educationist and social change-maker based in Karachi. He believes that there is a drastic need for reform, regulation, and re-imagination, where both the private and public education sectors of the country are concerned.
Saqib Zaki says “Pakistan produces about 445,000 university graduates and 25,000-30,000 computer science graduates every year but they have very limited representation in the global technology space. The young people of Pakistan have incredible potential and they are an important asset of our country. Policymakers must ensure outcome-oriented quality standards across the continuum to enable our youth to compete in the global arena.
He further said, “While we must diminish the rampant commodification of Education in the private sector, there must be an equally strong emphasis on ensuring learning outcomes. The authorities have only recently focused on the regulation of fees in the private sector without appropriately addressing student’s learning and future success standards. Moreover, unlike other occupations such as medical or legal practitioners, teachers do not require license and certification to practice in the private sector and as a result, not only is the teaching quality tremendously hampered, but it also contributes to a high turnover.
“By transforming our tuition academy into a social enterprise, we have been able to maximize our social impact. Additionally, by prioritizing the greater good and personal development of our students, we are keen to introduce more modules in the near future on moral citizenship, communication skills and confidence growth.”
Saqib Zaki Allahwala stresses over the immediate need for re-imagining the country’s Education system and says that “Both the public and private sectors need a Charter of Education to ensure quality standards by adopting best practices and taking an outcome-centric approach towards education in Pakistan. We should aspire towards an education system that is accessible and egalitarian, without compromising on quality standards.”
According to UNICEF, an estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16 are out-of-school. Currently, Pakistan has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children (OOSC) with an estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16 not attending school, representing 44 per cent of the total population in this age group.
