Competitions are rigged to support a certain class and fare more tilted towards those in control
RAWALPINDI: Education is meant to educate not to degrade. Unfortunately, the education system in Pakistan is more about economic benefits than education. Since a very young age, I became familiar with the fact that schools having proper furniture and possessing more acres of land are, according to our society, great schools to learn at; not to forget the high fee structures as well. But the question that has always plagued me is that what do all these criteria have to do with education itself? One learns through a diverse curriculum and renowned teachers.
Furthermore, two types of system of education have left many of the best students frustrated. Competitions are rigged to support a certain class and fare more tilted towards those in control.
Our system is such that proficiency in the English language has become the only way to prove one’s intelligence. One is considered learned if one can speak fluent English. It is sad to see a foreign system such as O and A levels appreciated more. But a government school student, although being the best, is somehow considered lesser for not having a label of a reputed institution.
I have only contempt for all those who have used the sphere of education merely as a means to mint money. Getting a good education has become more a matter of money and influence than intelligence. Congratulations to those who brag about their background, which has less to do with their skill and more with their finance. Will this class bias in our education system ever end? Class bias can never encourage genuine intelligence. The education system should be aimed at providing education for all irrespective of their wealth and status. There is no justification for denying proper education to intelligent students from the lower-income group. In our country, the situation is lamentable where a vast majority even in the 21st century cannot read and write.
Nisma Saeed
Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2019.
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