The flaws in education system and suggestions
EDUCATION is the process of learning. It includes systematic study to get knowledge which enhance rational thinking and analytical skills.
Productive knowledge makes people creative, well-informed, and helps them to be politically wise and socially disciplined. Education brings economic progress, political stability and social cohesiveness.
Uniformity, inclusiveness, modern curriculum, qualified staff, practical with theory and carrier counselling are some basic features of best educational system.
Talking about educational system of Pakistan, from primary to higher studies it is full of flaws. A few of them are discussed here: Firstly, there is no uniformity.
The educational institutions are divided into different categories same like the social classes.
The top English medium schools are for the elite, the middle class have separate schools and the poor send their children to substandard government schools or madrassa.
Unfortunately, the syllabus and teaching methods of these different institutions are also of different kinds which result in making of three different classes in society.
In this way three section of people with totally divergent views regarding society, state and religion come into being, which create polarisation in society.
Secondly there is no advancement in our educational system. The syllabus is not updated according to the new inventions and discoveries. Since long the students are studying the same old syllabus.
Our curriculum do not compete with the rest of the world. The techniques of teaching are also outdated, and quality education is not provided to the students.
According to the ranking of World Economic Forum issued in 2018, “Pakistan ranks at 125th out of 130 countries in a list of availability of top-quality education.” Thirdly, the institutions do not spend much on research works. Research opens new ways for development and advancement in educational system. But here in Pakistan, no importance is given to this side.
We spend very small amount of our budget on education. Pakistan is one of only 12 countries in the world that spend less than two per cent of its GDP on education.
Fourthly, the educational institutions have become a source of money making. Those who run these institutions, they focus more on how to earn money rather than grooming the students and make them good human beings. Furthermore, the teachers are also not trained.
Their efficiency and tricks of teaching are not improved because the private institutions have insecurity that when the teachers become more efficient they demand increase in salaries.
This absurd mindset directly affects the students. Fifthly, most of the faculty members in our educational institutions are idle and incompetent. The staff of public institutes do not even bother to give proper time to the students.
In summer they come only to sit in air conditioners and in winter to bask in the sunshine. Moreover, the faculty members generally posses conservative mindset.
They do not give lectures to the students about many important topics eg human reproduction.
When I was studying in Punjab University Law College Lahore, one of my colleagues from another section told me that his PPC teacher skipped the topic of rape in Pakistan penal code because the female students were also in the class.
Lastly, cramming culture is one of the worst features of our educational system. The students are only judged on the basis of marks they get by ‘ratta’. Their mental capabilities are neither developed nor utilised.
Those who take less marks, they are not given admissions in top institutions and their future is spoiled.
Thus, not intellectuals but machines are in the making. This faulty system is the result of the negligence of the previous governments.
Priorities matter. Throughout the history of Pakistan, not even a single government paid heed to education sector.
Imran Khan who got the power on the slogan of change has to bring some structural changes in our educational system.
According to UNICEF, Pakistan currently has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children, 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.
Therefore, the current government must focus to increase the inclusion of new students in schools.
Furthermore, bringing uniformity must be a priority. The students of Madaris must be provided modern and scientific education to bring them into the mainstream.
Every year the Special Committees on every subject must incorporate new discoveries and inventions into the syllabus and skip the outdated topics. Moreover, the research work must be started and encouraged.
The budget must be enhanced in this regard. Practical must be taught. In every institution, there must be special marks for practical work.
Instead of making machines, the students must be encouraged to participate in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. The communication skills and analytical abilities must be improved.
Incompetent and insincere staff is also a major hurdle towards educational progress, there must be a performance checking mechanism.
Every month the performance of teachers must be checked. In case of bad performance the actions must be taken against them.
Those who perform well, they must be sent to developed countries to learn new techniques and method of teaching. Further, the quality assessment of exams must also be ensured.
The checkers do not put their sincere effort in checking paper. To make more money they try to mark as much paper as they can, and this causes injustice to the students.
One more thing which must be considered is to change the rechecking method.
Instead of only counting the marks, the marks in subjective paper must also be increased in rechecking if the question is attempted rightly.
Benjamin Franklin said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
Thus, To make the nation great, to protect and preserve the interest of the land of pure, we have to make our people educated.
The educated people would make Pakistan politically stable, economically developed and socially just.
—The Lahore-based writer is a practising lawyer and human rights activist.
