Access to quality education a major challenge

Teachers’ role important: authors.

ISLAMABAD:

Children in the early grades should be taught in a language that is understandable for their nerves because the nerves have a direct connection with learning and learning with nerves, speakers said during a sitting on “Reading in early grades: Why it’s important and what can be done to promote it?”

The speakers stressed over the use of technology in education which they termed to be ‘healthy’ but also added a word of caution to it saying that to bring out desirable results we should learn to create balance, because excessive use of technology can harm us.

“It is our societal dilemma — mixing religion with education creates confusion for our children,” said scholar Dr Arifa Syeda Zehra.

“Education transforms, it changes you in a way you don’t feel,” Syeda said.

USAID educational programme Country Director Thomas LeBlanc said quality education provides a ground for development and the families who provide quality education to their children are more satisfied with their children’s good grades.

There are many commonalities among South Asian countries such as lack of access to quality education especially at the primary school-level.

Meanwhile, the authors of a book on “Crisis and Reform perspective from South Asia,” said that in addition to access to education, below standard education being imparted at schools was a major challenge.

Authors Irfan Mazhar and Abbas Rashid highlighted the issue of poor quality of education being imparted in Pakistan as well as in South Asia.

“We agree that provision of basic education is government’s responsibility at the same time we also accept [the role of] the private sector in education, which is creating a dilemma,” Irfan Mazhar said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2015.