Education & Pakistan

Today, World Education Day is being celebrated across the world. And accordingly, today I want to talk about the Pakistani education system in detail. 

The main hope of a nation lies In the proper education of its youth. —Erasmus.

For any country, the literacy rate determines its success. The more educated the people are, the more the country will progress.

Thus, a country needs to have an advanced education system that provides quality education to its students and focuses on their well-being. It is important because children are the future of a country.

Unfortunately for us, the education system of Pakistan is not very good. In fact, since its independence, Pakistan has been facing critical problems regarding the education system and is not paying much attention to it.

If Pakistan wants to progress, then it must pay attention to its educational system. Japan is a prime example of gaining progress through education.

Japan has always been very strict regarding its educational system and keeps the students a top priority.

This strategy has gained them a lot of progress and today Japan is one of the world’s most developed countries in the economic field.

Although we are also seeing some increase in the current literacy rate of Pakistan (almost 60%), the changes are way too low.

Keeping in mind the current economic situation of Pakistan, the education system of Pakistan has been affected the most.

Insufficient attention to primary classes:

One of the main problems is that the faculties of these institutions are not implementing the education policies set by the government.

Many of the schools don’t pay much attention to the primary level, not knowing that it makes the base of the student.

The burden of studies for higher classes:

So much stress is put into higher education. The institutions are more focused on getting their profit.

For this purpose, they are feeding countless information in their brains which the students are forced to swallow.

They only teach them to get good grades in the papers. As a result, students are also focused on getting good grades rather than attaining knowledge.

Expensive institutions:

Especially, private institutions have become so greedy for money. For colleges and universities, the fees can go up to more than lacs per semester.

For the government institutions, the merit for fields like medicine is increasing day by day. Thus, our educational system is also too focused on grades rather than skills and willingness to learn.

Pakistan is not an economically strong country. Most of the people cannot afford these expensive feeses. Thus, it is high time the government of Pakistan does something about it.

Barrier-building institutions:

Instead of uniting the nation, the education system of Pakistan is only building barriers due to different categories of education.

Cambridge schools only teach international syllabus and are highly expensive. Then we see the English medium schools that teach Pakistani syllabus but in English. These schools are also very expensive.

Then comes the Madarassah which gives religious teachings but does not focus on other educational aspects. And lastly, we have our government institutions that teach the syllabus in Urdu.

The government system should be at the top to encourage the study in Urdu to maintain the identity of Pakistan. These different categories are creating barriers making the government students seem less educated.

Ways to improve the educational system of Pakistan:

If the government starts to focus on its education system, almost all problems of Pakistan can be solved. We should not play with the future of the children.

We should set aside all of the politics and focus on the education system for the success of our country. There are several ways we can do so:

Same curriculum:

There should be only one curriculum followed by every institution, no matter private or government.

This will help to keep every child equal and hence they will be able to avail themselves of equal opportunities in the future.

The government should keep a close eye on the institutions to check whether the same curriculum is being taught.

Up to date syllabus:

The curriculum should be advanced at least yearly. We should keep the syllabus up to date according to the advancements especially in the fields of science.

Skillful teachers:

Teachers should be hired based on their skills to make the syllabus easy. They should have a simple manner of teaching.

Many teachers are highly qualified but their explanatory skills are very weak. Also, more teachers should be hired so that they are not burdened.

Currently, a teacher had to teach 30-40 students in a class which can be quite stressful. This number should be decreased to at least half so that teachers can teach easily.

Focus on primary level:

Attention should be given to the primary level. They form the foundation of a student.

Thus basic teachings should be given to the students that will help to groom their personalities and increase their confidence.

Lower the fees:

The fees of all the institutions (private and government) should be lessened to lighten the burden of parents.

Primary education should be made free of cost. Scholarships should be given to bright students or to the ones who cannot afford the fees.

Education without any discrimination:

Another important step is to raise awareness about the importance of education. Many children especially girls are not able to get educated due to family traditions or poverty.

Some are not given admission due to their race or religion.

Thus, it is important to take steps. We should go to such areas and teach them about the importance of education.

According to Nelson Mandela,

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

Education is the backbone of a country but unfortunately, our country fails to understand it.

However, it is our duty as citizens of Pakistan that if we want to see our country successful, we should raise our voices for the future of our children.

If we work together along with the government, then one day our country will certainly be among the most developed countries.