The new education minister, Mr. Ahsan Iqbal, has invited public comments on the national education policy. The draft of the policy document can be found here.
It is hoped that we will have a fruitful discussion on this issue and ideas for improvement in the national education policy here at Pakistaniat, possibly leading some of the participants to even give some valuable suggestions to the education ministry.
I hope to read the document in the coming days, but in the mean time, here are some general thoughts on how we should approach such issues.
We would love to have instant reform, which unfortunately is not possible. Our suggestions and criticism should be made while keeping this basic reality in mind. We can however break down reforms into short and long-term ones and see what can realistically be achieved over what time frame.
Secondly, there is absolutely no denying that funding is important, but the utilization of existing funds is also equally important. We have a tendency to overemphasize the shortage of money and use it as a convenient excuse for a lack of serious effort for institution building and the failure to make proper use of available resources. As a general rule, we should always be weary of overly steep increases in funding. Too much money going in too fast, though good for making impressive news headlines for the concerned ministry, can often lead to more corruption and institutional decay instead of bringing about a genuine improvement.
So while the education budget certainly needs to be increased to at least 4% of GDP as soon as possible, it must not be forgotten that such an increase by itself will not lead to much improvement if there is no prior ground work for ensuring that the extra money will not just be wasted away through corruption and inefficiency. And such ground work will inevitably require a bit of slowing down and setting achievable targets instead of unrealistic ones.
A somewhat related concern relates to how we see ‘big picture’ ideas as opposed to apparently smaller and basic things that are not even very hard to implement, but can make a significant impact. Both are very important, but we sometimes grossly underestimate and dismiss the simpler, but less grand ideas by saying that they do not ‘address the big picture’ or some other such ridiculous criticism. In the end, the ‘fundamental paradigm shift’ or ‘revolution’ does not materialize, but we also forego the smaller and incremental but more achievable improvements that can accumulate into something substantial over time.
Lastly, a good education policy should produce socially aware individuals and not just money making robots. We need people who can have the sense to start thinking ahead before an economic bubble bursts, before the severity of an energy crisis hits them right in the face and before a food shortage leads to a famine or violent riots and are willing to make compromises to their personal lifestyles and start agitating for badly needed policy reforms for their own selves if not out of any concern for the society.
References:
1. Ministry of Education, Pakistan
2. Photos for this post are from flickr.com
Thank you Aqil Sajjad for posting this article and opening a debate on an issue that is so crucial.
I can see that the comentators have immediately jumped on the one thing that is quite obvious, and that is, “if we can’t do something right ourselves, why not borrow it from someone else?” It is quite understandable and logical too. Why bother reinventing the wheel when others have already done it.
I wish it was as simple as that. After going through the whole Education Policy document, I must admit that I was not aware of the dynamics that are in play in our multi-cultural society and the peril that we are in today. Although the document simply touches those aspects, but the mere mention of the problems that the planners are facing, gives a clue as to the magnitude of the issues. I wish it was as simple as some comentators have tried to suggest.
The document recognizes the fact that one of the ‘real’ problems is the lack of commitment to the policy goal itself. Here is the reason why, and I quote: “The prevailing objective (of the education system) was service to the administration rather than service to the sutdents and learners. this assessment is echoed by the Economist Intelligence Unit assessment in its latest review of education, in which it observes that ‘Pakistan’s education system is among the most deficient and backward in Asia, reflecting the traditional determination of feudal ruling elite to preserve its hegemony’ ” (Page 17, article 75).
Now here is the million dollar question. How can you expect a government, or the ruling elite (is it 50 families now???) that is predominantly composed of feudals, to actually implement the policy in its true spirit? Isn’t it an oxymoron? I’m sure the previous policy documents also recognized the problems and provided policy actions to remedy those. My friends, it is the will that is absent, the political will. Furthermore, I could not find adequate emphasis on accountability. I wish it was at all levels, right from top to bottom. Mr. Ahsan Iqbal could start by writing his own resignation dating it January 1, 2010, and put it in his draw, in case he is unable to have a new Education Policy passed and initiate its implementation by then.
So, response to our honorable minister is that, you have a great policy document and if half of what is proposed in the document is fulfilled, we will see results. I would advise him to have a meeting with the actual parties, meaning the feudals, and pose a simple question; “Will you let me apply this document or not?” But then, probably Mr. Iqbal is simply making us feel good that the ministry is trying to engage Pakistani citizens in this dialogue for a viable solution. I remember his days when he was the Chief Coordinator/Minister of State, Pakistan Program 2010 (1997 – 1999). God only knows what happened to those ambitious targets of Program 2010. Why do I feel that we’ve been taken for a ride, right from the very beginning?
The document does recognize that there has been significant progress during 2001 – 2005 but still falls far behind other countries in the region. That gives us some hope that some headway is being made. So, in that spirit, I can only hope and pray that Mr. Ahsan Iqbal is able to get this policy document both approved and implemented in its true spirit. He will have at least one Pakistani’s support.
God bless all!!
@Anil
I respect and value the comments you have posted.Indeed there is no harm in learning from the Indian education system and what could be shared from it must be shared.
I know you got rid of GCSE in India and that was another wise thing to do.Indeed London Univ.must have got a huge setback from that delinkage.Good for you and good for India.
@Anil
I have studied in Cambridge’s GCSE system and feel proud to have attended a good school but I am all for elimination of GCSE from Pakistan.It is designed to create a different class so far detached from the mainstream that they feel it demeaning to do low paid jobs.This further creates problems in the society as a whole and ofcourse the only institution benefitting from this GCSE in Pakistan is London University itself whch earns a a cool $1 billion every year,while Pakistani parents already burdened by mehngai have to cough up that amount every year.
We should not care how many A levels or O levels a person has done what matters and should matter is if it contributes to the country as a whole.
Jamshed Nazar, if you read the article written by Jawed Ch, you will find it quite “revolutionary”. Also we should realize that Govt can’t do everything. Unless and untill Pakistanis realize themselves that Pakistan is like their homes which they always want to maintain then many problems would solve automatically.
As far as teaching in infinite local languages, I wonder how people of one region will be able to take job in cities like Karachi,Lahore where hardly anyone knows languages like Hindko,Saraki and many others? There is nothing wrong to make Urdu as standard language and use it as primary or secondary source of teaching.
Is it necessary to setup traditional schooling system in remote areas? why not use IT in remote areas to teach our villagers. I was watching a documentary about India in which poor kids of villages were testing their skills by using a special type of computers installed at a place. I believe that our kids in villages are not intelligent than kids in cities study at Grammar schools. so IMO, computers /mobiles could play a vital role to setup schools in remote areas.
Also, I wonder what happened with AIOU system and then there was a system started with name Virtual University. I didn’t hear any positive things about both systems. I wonder why didn’t it work. Most of AIOU programs in my childhood were about how to drive a tractor which was pretty boring.