Pakistan has been in existence for almost 76 years but unfortunately our country has not become developed yet, the most important reason among other reasons is our poor education system. Today India and Bangladesh are much better than us in terms of education, they have developed more than us in other fields too. According to the International Federation of Red Cross, our literacy rate is 58.9%, compared to India’s 77.7%, Bangladesh’s 74% and we rank 164th in terms of education system in the world.
Alhamdulillah, we are Muslims, so in our religion, there is a lot of emphasis on acquiring knowledge. There is a hadith sharif that “acquiring knowledge is obligatory on every Muslim” and there is an Arabic proverb that says “acquire knowledge even if you have to go to China”. ‘
The fact is, we are far behind other nations in terms of education because our current education system is very outdated. Education policy makers have never paid attention to how we should educate our children.
We remember that in the 1950s, Urdu medium children were taught English from the sixth grade. How ridiculous that a child learning ABCD was given a grammar book in English. The result was that most of the children were weak in English subject, could not write a letter in English properly despite graduating.
In fact, in our country, the purpose of education is to get a job. So far no importance is being given to what is the requirement of the present age and how should we educate our children so that they can meet the modern requirements. We are just handing out degrees, most of our youths are struggling to find jobs by copying and getting substandard education, the education they have got and the quality it is, does not help them or the country. It is not getting any benefit, in other sense we are destroying the future of the nation and our educational standard is falling more and more day by day.
Nelson Mandela said:
“You don’t need atomic bombs or missiles to destroy a nation, only by degrading the quality of their education system and allowing students to cheat in exams can be achieved.”
This quote by Mandela is clearly written on the entrance gate of the University of South Africa.
It is also not possible for them, due to poor education system:
…patients will die at the hands of doctors.
…Buildings will fall at the hands of engineers.
…Economy will be destroyed by economists
…Humanity will be buried by religious scholars
…Justice will not be served by judges.
According to Nelson Mandela:
“The collapse of education in collapse of nation”
Generally, when the teachers of our country get their education, they do not have the tendency to become teachers or lecturers after getting their education. How can it be better?
In the 1960s, when the Queen of Great Britain visited Pakistan, she visited the Burn High School in Abbottabad, during which her husband asked several school children what they would be when they grow up. Some children said doctors, some engineers, pilots and military officers, so they said to Ayub Khan, who was the president of the country at that time, that you should think about your future. I spoke to twenty-five children. Not even one said that he wants to be a teacher, it’s too dangerous, our president just smiled in response.
In fact, education is not given much attention by the government. There are only a few institutes in the country where the education system is good, but their fees cannot be afforded by the common man, because they run their institutes on commercial basis.
A great leader said:
“A nation in which the education, health and construction sectors are run on a commercial basis can never develop.”
In the developed countries of the world, education up to school level is free and the quality of their education is very high. Missionary schools in our country charge very low fees but provide excellent education. Unfortunately, sectors like education and health in our country have been made a means of making money on a commercial basis, which is very sad and dangerous.
Due to the sub-standard education system and the tendency of cheating in the exams, the standard is such that only 393 out of 20,262 candidates i.e. less than 2% passed the CSS exam this year.
On the other hand, the students of Sukkur branch of ABA, which is the best educational institution of our country, were asked, what is the abbreviation of ABA, then the majority did not know.
Considering the above situation, we need revolutionary changes in our education system. We are not only spoiling the future of our children by distributing useless degrees but also causing destruction of the economic condition of the country.
Today the world is progressing very fast, while we are heading towards decline. We should adopt modern technology through education in every sector. Experts should research that which sectors need reforms for the development of the country. Ours is an agricultural country. Here is the world’s largest canal system, but unfortunately we have to import agricultural products from other countries instead of exporting them. If developed countries are producing 50 maunds of wheat per hectare, we cannot produce even half of it. Today is the IT and industrial era. Where did our neighbor India reach while developing in these fields, but even today we import even needles from China. When we can make atom, why can’t we develop in other fields, the main reason is outdated and inefficient education system.
We have been hearing since childhood that “education and training” is necessary for children. It is a fact that along with education, the training of the nation is very important for development. Only children with good character grow up and take their nation to a higher place. In developed countries, children’s character building is done at primary school level, which strengthens the foundation of their personality. They are an asset for the development of society and their country, so we should focus on character building of children at primary school level, tell and teach them that:
…Apologise for your mistake and thank the other for their help.
…respect is the right of every man no matter who he is
…help others even if it’s a stranger
…compromise and ignore unpleasant matters
…acquire knowledge with passion and don’t be afraid of hard work
…always speak the truth, speak justice
And live honestly
…don’t hurt anyone
…love and love your family
…respect the religion and beliefs of others
…consider the rights of every human being equal
We need to take the following steps on an urgent basis to make our education system meet the requirements of the present age so that the country can move on the path of development:
…Educational institutions should be run on commercial basis. It is better that the government runs the management of educational institutions jointly with private institutions.
… Teachers should be recruited on merit and their salary should be appropriate
…copying should be severely punished
…the obsolete education system should be abolished and emphasis should be placed on purposeful education, through which the economy of the country can develop
… English should be taught in all schools from the first grade, primary education should be given full attention because at this age the child’s personality is formed. Even at the primary level, children should be taught their values, so that when they grow up, they can become good citizens and play a better role in the development of the country.
…Learning should be aided by modern technology, online classes and modern software.
… Project-based learning should be promoted.
…Vocational Literacy Programs and Life Skills Learning should be promoted so that those students who cannot get higher education after secondary education due to financial difficulties can immediately get employment and play their role in the country’s economy.
…Teachers and students should be sent to developed countries to learn modern technology and skills, so that they can adopt it and work for the development of the country.
… Bright students should be strongly encouraged and the government should send them to developed countries for higher education at their own expense but with the assurance that they will return and serve the country.
Allah Almighty has blessed Pakistanis with great talents, many of our experts are working in the world to make the country famous, so we should not be hopeless. It is necessary that our rulers realize their responsibilities. Inshallah, the time will soon come when our beloved country will be counted among the developed countries of the world.
