We need to address our education emergency and streamline our curriculum
KARACHI: I would like to draw the attention of the Education Ministry towards the education system in place in Finland. The system is learning-based and has proved to be very successful. It is very different from Pakistan’s education system, and if adopted, will bring great results.
Finland has simplified its education system by basing it on the natural way of learning of the children. Children are admitted to schools at the age of seven, because they believe the child benefits more from a home-based learning environment at a younger age. Given this, the children do not undergo any exams for the first six years of their life, nor are they burdened with homework.
In fact, the children sit their first exam at the age of 13. The classrooms are based on learning and verbal assessments, and the general atmosphere is relaxed. Students are given a break of 15 minutes after every lesson of 45 minutes. The curriculum is based on developing skills and connecting with nature, hence the focus on cooking, carpentry and other arts in Grades one to nine. Students are also encouraged to read for leisure and they enjoy carrying out the above activities with their families as well.
Results show Finnish children learn 20% more by reading on the sofa than on the table. Besides this, Finland has ratified Phenomenon-Based Learning (PBL) This means that students practise what they are taught. For example, if they are taught a topic on agriculture, they learn by examining farming fields and implementing their lessons in real life.
Unfortunately, the education system of Pakistan is completely opposite to that of Finland. We do not have many assessment studies to gauge what would work for our country, mainly because the funds allocated for education are very low. No government has focused on bringing about educational stability or developing our education boards and bringing them on a par with international boards. This is why Pakistan lags behind economically. We need to address our education emergency and streamline our curriculum on an urgent basis!
Asif Murad Umrani
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2019.
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