Daily Times

Pakistan suffers from an intellectual crisis. Occasional exceptions notwithstanding, mediocrity holds the field. One reason for such a crisis is that only a few are holding the reigns while keeping the less privileged out of the learning and decision-making process. Our intellectual spaces are exclusionary and discriminatory. The potential of our youth remains untapped owing to a lack of quality education, merit, transparency and opportunity. Our education system does not focus on developing critical and intellectual skills. Due to such an education system, a huge proportion of our population has become practically irrelevant and its voice is not heard in policymaking circles.

Policies are generally made and implemented by a very thin class of our society. There are a few families and their successors who dominate every field due to the violation of merit and monopoly. Unfortunately, instead of developing an inclusive ideology and a desire for collective welfare, we have developed an unedifying thirst for power and materialism. The shadow of fear, uncertainty and unemployment looms over the poor (which is now the majority of our population). Resultantly, we rarely find self-improving, optimistic, rational and confident individuals. In such circumstances, it is not surprising that Pakistan fails to make good progress.

Our intellectual crisis is visible in almost every profession. In our justice sector, for instance, we find a few exceptional lawyers and judges. In general, we fail to find elevated debate in the legal profession and media talkshows. Open discussion and constructive critique are hardly appreciated even in academic circles. Our schools and universities fail to impart quality education. These places seem to be graveyards of intellect. Purposeless politics, meaningless talk and the race for positions have captured our places of learning. The use of reason is considered a challenge to settled standards (although settled standards do not represent absolute truth). So, we suffer from dogmatism and stagnation in every field.

In the developed world, institutions focus on creativity and original research. Students are exposed to a variety of ideas and encouraged to appreciate these ideas in different contexts. They are required to assess and analyse concepts. This exercise enables them to weigh evidence, examine claims and check the validity of information before making opinions. Intellectuals from around the world present their ideas, engaging professors and students in ongoing research. This makes intellectuals aware of the latest developments around the world. The people in developed countries believe that ideas are never frozen; they can be improved over time with cutting-edge philosophical, scientific, theological and psychological knowledge. Such a perception of knowledge is necessary to reverse the intellectual crisis in Pakistan.

What keeps developed countries ahead is not raw intellect but a commitment to reason and debate. Constant engagement with new ideas and challenges keeps them informed. Scientific and rational thinking have increased the confidence of students and researchers. In fact, inventions thrive where everyone can challenge conventional wisdom with scientific evidence. In modern democracies, governance is based on consultation supported by think tanks and research institutes. Our policies, however, are formulated without meaningful consultation and discussion with experts. The men in power direct state policy without parliamentary debate or access to civil society input. Our policies totally fail to reflect the voice of the masses.

To meet our intellectual deficit, we need to encourage open discussion and challenge conventional narratives on security, development, religion, the welfare of the state and so on. Our national narratives and policies must be constantly updated on the basis of research and evidence to better protect our national interests. We have to adapt our worldview to a rapidly globalising environment. We should develop our distinctive consciousness while appreciating the values of others. We should inform and reinterpret our notions of history, culture, truth and authenticity in light of present knowledge. We should reconstruct our religious thought in view of challenges facing Muslim communities.

We need to embrace the still-muted voices of a larger section of our society. We need to provide equal opportunity to all citizens for the optimal use of their capacity. Indeed, this will foster socio-economic development in Pakistan. To repair the trust deficit that holds us back, we should initiate a dialogue between the secular and the religious, liberal and conservative-minded people, and our rich and poor citizens. We must improve our education system so that professors produce fresh knowledge and students can actively evaluate knowledge. We need to develop scientific attitudes in our youth so that they could get rid of superstitions and the blind following of others. We must include topics like scientific enquiry, critical skills, reasoning, pluralism, civic life, basic rights and the ethics of debate in our syllabi. Researchers, technocrats and academics should be provided more space on media to address fundamental issues like health, education, justice and security. We must discourage learning by heart and encourage learning to think and solve problems.

The writer is a freelance columnist