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Laptops are not the answer
It is essential to provide basic education to the 50 per cent illiterate population of Pakistan.
CAMBRIDGE, UK: This is with reference to Javaid R Laghari’s letter of May 6 “Laptops are the answer”. Laptops alone cannot revolutionise the system of education in Pakistan. The countries the writer has given examples of already have sound education systems and high literacy rates. That is why they can go about distributing technology, knowing that it will go in constructive hands.
It is, therefore, essential to upgrade our examination system first, and more importantly, provide basic education to the 50 per cent illiterate population of Pakistan. Our university laboratories need to be transformed and updated with the latest scientific equipment. Once these efforts have been made, only then is it wise to distribute laptops, knowing that only the educated youth will get their hands on them and put them to good use and actually listen to the TEDx talks, or the Khan Academy lectures for a change.
Isha Fahad
Published in The Express Tribune, May 9th, 2012.
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Just outside the urban clusters, if there are any schools, they do not have paved floors, lack water-taps and a good number have no electricity. DSL or Broad Band access is a luxury one can only dream of.
Teachers who can teach, school buildings which really exist, not just on paper only, a regular supply of chalks and a big enough Blackboard/Whiteboard per class room won’t be a bad idea idea to have.
How many schools do have a library or a reading room? Forget schools, how many colleges have what can seriously be called a library? The cocooned world of air-conditioned offices with wood-paneled walls produces people who don’t even bother to find out what reality is like for others. HEC seems to have a rare collection of these babus, whose only dream is to further expand the elite class.
Providing access to education for the teeming millions of the rapidly expanding population, even at lowest level, does not fit in the scheme of things. Wonder with the cost of one of these digital toys, how many walls of class-room can be built?Recommend