In
our society education is mostly taken for granted and parents and teachers have
some vague understanding of it. The understanding is vague in the sense that
the society at large has not fully internalized the meaning of education and
due to dogmas and superstitions the essence of education is somehow
misunderstood.
The
bottom line is that formal education and schooling is only superficially
accepted as something which will ensure better social status or some refined
tastes and this kind of education is never considered equal to religious
education to which parents obsessively adhere to. This focus on religious
education greatly undermines the formal education process which is considered
inferior and which only relates to success in this world.
During
my childhood I used to go to mosque early in the morning and later in the evening
for religious education such as learning Arabic script of Quran and basics of
Islam. In between these two sessions
there was a big interval for formal school timing which also began with the
recitation of Quran and some compulsory subjects like Islamic studies. Most of
this religious education remained repetitive til my 10th grade and
even beyond my college days. Adding five times prayers a day with two time’s
formal religious education in mosques and at least two more hours of religious
education at school with repetitive subjects and religious themes remained my routine
til 16 years of age.
There
was no provision for sports in my school and the morning and evening time was already
occupied. So it was natural that during the school time we were mostly diverted
from our studies and would try to find as much time for sports as was possible.
The formal learning of other subjects
such as mathematics, language and science was mostly rot-learning and we never
understood what these subjects were all about as we would only cram them for
passing exams. This cramming and rot-learning continued til my Masters studies
and like all others I did Masters. I faced no hurdle in my formal education as
the same thing was practiced by everybody and even our teachers. I got a very
good job and I even qualified for a foreign scholarship.
Most
of the skills I learnt after my formal education due to the demand of my job
and for earning livelihood. I am still learning even in my thirties and as
compared to others, this realization was a bit earlier due to my interaction
with some good friends, reading books and newspaper, watching movies and using
internet. I somehow changed and began to understand things more scientifically
but when I look at my friends and colleagues they are the same. For them lack
of language and skills is a kind of complex which they cannot cure. In fact, it
would be a herculean task to motivate them to get rid of their comfort zones
and start learning.
Looking
today at our education system, I can see no change save some English medium
schools where students are more fluent in English and shaper at learning by
rot. Rot-learning and fluency in English is a guarantee for getting good marks,
acceptance to good institutions and better prospects for jobs. If I am asked to
identify problems in the education sector I would say:
1.
For a majority Muslim Pakistani society
education has no other meaning but religious education.
2.
Most of the student’s time is consumed by
religious education which is often repetitive.
3.
The teachers, parents and educational administrators
are not fully aware of the importance of formal education.
4.
Most of the teaching is rot-learning and hence
no real understanding of mathematics, science and other important subjects.
5.
The same students compete for jobs and those
with relatively better grades and, in few cases, better understanding get jobs.
6.
Due to lack of understanding we are not
producers but consumers.
7.
Our institutions lack workers with the desired
skills to run both public and private institutions.
8.
Most of our problems are increasing and there
are no signs of progress and development.
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