Experts at a dialogue on ‘Role of Teachers’ in Social Harmony’ on Thursday called for increased role of teachers in building social cohesion in Pakistan. The dialogue was organised by the Paki Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based think tank. Around 40 teachers from different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa participated in the event. The sessions were led by leading scholars, educationists and opinion makers. Speakers were of the view that social harmony, which is direly needed these days, could be achieved by two-way dialogue. “The culture of dialogue is missing because we don’t listen to each other, which results in mutually-held misperceptions among members of different faiths and communities. Teachers can help foster dialogues by encouraging culture of critical inquiry, which involves introspection and can ultimately lead to social cohesion.” Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairperson Dr Qibla Ayaz said that teachers should know how to ask proper questions, and to impart this skill to students. “That skill alone can promote culture of dialogue in diverse environment of Pakistan,” he said. “Unless there is a tradition of asking questions, no research can be done and no new knowledge can be produced,” said educationist Khadim Husain. Sargodha University Vice Chancellor Vice Chancellor Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed said, “It is because of asking question that we can achieve tomorrow what is not is not possible today.” Speakers were of the view that the current education system was not focused on raising critical inquiry. “Today, the culture of research is being replaced by the culture of rot-learning,” they said. The dialogue also deconstructed the oft-desired goal of imposing “uniform education system”. Some hailed the idea as the way forward, but others termed it counter-productive. Syed Jaffar Ahmed of Karachi University stressed upon unity in diversity. He narrated how every now and then, 18th Amendment is criticized for delegating education to provinces. “There is nothing wrong in it, he said. What is required is more inter-provincial coordination.” Additionally, it was said that focus should be on quality of education. Barrister Zafarullah Khan, former state minister, said: “We need to assess which level of education we need to change: primary, secondary or higher.” Published in Daily Times, November 30th 2018.