Daily Times

LAHORE: A book discussing flaws in education policies, their implementation and reasons behind failure, titled ‘Education Policies in Pakistan’, was launched on Friday at the Oxford University Press.

Author Dr Shahid Siddiqui along with renowned columnists Tariq Rahman and Shahid Khan and a large number of people were present on occasion.

While addressing the ceremony, Tariq Rahman said that nobody had previously discussed education policies, funding and implementation in Pakistan as thoroughly as Shahid Siddiqui has done in this book. He said that outdated and ineffective education policies have been the major reasons behind several issues, including the ever-increasing ‘Islamisation’. “European countries evolved the concept of welfare state after 1940, but we are still far behind the developed countries due to our failed education policies,” he lamented.

Shahid Siddiqui on the occasion said that there is dire need to revamp the entire education sector, as it is the only sector that could bring about a real and meaningful change in lives of the poor. He said that governments invest more on road development and infrastructure, as it’s impact is more immediate than investment in education.

He also revealed that there was one recommendation in 9/11 commission report that money should be given to Pakistan, as it was directly involved in 9/11 attacks, and that money had to be invested in higher education. Answering a query, he said that education has been a neglected sector for last several decades and there was a need for analysing all its development policies. There were grave issues pertaining to primary and higher education, technical education, curricula, and teachers training in Pakistan, he added.

There is one chapter in the book that highlights about the socio-political situation of the country and how policies are affecting them, he said, adding that there were talks that Urdu would be the official language but there was no particular planning on the issue.

Siddique added, “I don’t see language as an issue either. Urdu should be imposed but we should also need to understand the importance of English too. There are number of reasons why education policies had failed, as there may be some unrealistic data provided before policymaking. Inconsistencies and power struggle between the political parties have also contributed in the failure of education sector, as governments in Pakistan tend to change or dismiss the policies of previous governments,” he added.

Human resources, financial resources and lack of planning could also be major reasons behind failure of policies, he said, adding that there are internal and external pressures, which can affect the policies and their implementation.

On a question about private schools, he said that private schools flourished in Gen Ziaul Haq’s era and there is no harm in privatisation of schools, as they are providing quality education.

“In my observation, the government encouraged private schools at the expense of public schools and now some schools (being run in small houses) are not delivering as per the needs. “Instead of being civilized citizens, we are getting more intolerant day-by-day despite the fact that students are getting higher grades these days,” the author added.