No one can deny that one of the best solutions to most of the current problems in Pakistan is the education of its people, whether academic, political, religious, or cultural. Education promotes a sense of awareness in society and shrinks polarity and extremism. Yet, it seems that Pakistani leaders are not very interested in improving the education sector as a significant chunk of their energy is utilized to think about how they can retain power for the next five years through short-term projects with quick results.
Education is essential for the personal growth of each individual in society and then for the development of society and the country. In Pakistan, we cannot emphasize more on female education, which can considerably strengthen women, one of the most vulnerable sections of society. In many rural and low-income families, females are married between the and twelve-fourteen years of age. They are not mature enough according to the constitution of Pakistan, which identifies a person as an adult at the age of eighteen years. Hence, their rights are violated primarily due to their ignorance, and their health is affected-underage marriages with no education and maturity result in unstable families, which are the basic units of society. Furthermore, children of such families are not brought up well and rarely get a handsome job, let alone a position of authority. In this way, the whole family remains below the poverty line, and the cycle continues.
Our education infrastructure also poses some serious questions about the current state of schooling, especially after the Covid 19 and the recent flood disasters, which have wholly swept away whole towns and villages in interior Sindh and Balochistan. It is a massive blow to the already weak education system. Although there have been efforts to continue the classes from the tent schools, that’s not the proper way to do it. Since floods are common in Pakistan, it’s time that authorities adopt schooling according to the condition and use modern tools to upgrade remote learning. Thanks to Covid 19, the online teaching infrastructure has grown much better, but specific changes and additions should be made to the education service in rural areas. The learning pace in online classes was much less than in physical classes. Many students could not understand what was being taught, which affected their results. Therefore, it is crucial to diagnose the critical points in the online education system and make necessary arrangements so that the education years of young students aren’t affected. Because there are age limits for specific jobs, it is unfair if a person can’t meet those limits because he can’t understand it in poorly delivered online education. So, for the batches affected by Covid specifically, the government can allow them extra years or devise a mechanism to pace up their learning. Hence, in the end, they complete their degrees at their natural time, not late due to gaps caused by pandemics or disasters.
The Single National Curriculum (SNC) was hailed as a critical solution to all the education inequality problems in Pakistan
The same solution is presented by the United Nations (UN) in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for a better present and future. In Goal 4, the importance of education is emphasized, and remote education is presented as a solution to global learning crises due to Covid 19.
Another way to promote education and profound learning experience since the start of education is the use of local heroes along with national heroes in the textbooks so children can connect more. The Single National Curriculum (SNC) was hailed as a critical solution to all the education inequality problems in Pakistan, but it has flaws too. For example, it does not address the need for diversity of cultures and minorities in Pakistan. Minority children must learn about Islam, even if it is not their religion. There is no separate book or learning method devised for minorities.
Similarly, the SNC does not address the diversity in cultures of different provinces of Pakistan and only discusses the major overall heroes. A better approach would have been to include the local heroes according to the province’s culture so the children could connect more. Children from Balochistan should learn about their legends and heroes, and the same for children of other provinces. Then to promote unity and respect for diversity, national-level debate competitions could have been arranged between participants from different provinces explaining their heroes and cultures.
Moreover, there are currently three types of learning systems available in Pakistan: Madrassah, Urdu medium, and English medium. They all have pros and cons, yet to enhance the learning and cognitive skills of the children, only one language should be adopted as a teaching medium. The children can connect and learn more in their local language instead of learning different languages and different cultures. It prevents a child’s mind from being confused, boosts creativity, and protects the local language and culture. Otherwise, foreign languages bring foreign cultures, threatening local values and civilization.
The writer is Assistant Project Coordinator National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP).