Foremost concern of HEC and relevant authorities must be to make online education opportunities accessible to all
Prime Minister Imran Khan has recently expressed his concern about the disruption in educational activities across the country as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. He has asked the relevant authorities to develop a strategy in collaboration with provincial education ministers on how to resume the teaching processes, and also reviewed progress on implementing a uniform education curriculum across the country.
When students across the country are struggling to adapt to the online education system due to lack of infrastructure and internet facilities, implementing a uniform education curriculum seems too ambitious. Whether we expect the students of the Cambridge board to shift to the local board or vice versa, there are some of the prerequisites that cannot be worked out in the current scenario. At the moment when the authorities have already failed to make education accessible to all, implementing a uniform education curriculum seems out of question. The government must reassess its priorities to overcome the current education crisis.
The foremost concern of the HEC and the relevant authorities must be to make online education opportunities accessible to all. Finding alternatives to already existing successful initiatives like Tele School can be one of the plausible solutions. Authorities can take the telecommunication industry onboard to improve internet accessibility. Since they already have several packages like free WhatsApp or Facebook bundle, they can be encouraged to introduce free or affordable education-related internet bundles. Training teachers to effectively integrate technology and developing technology infrastructure has become the need of the hour. As online education tends to become a new normal amid such an unprecedented situation, all stakeholders need to ensure that real learning takes place within the online classrooms.
Nayab Iqbal
Published in The Express Tribune, June 22nd, 2020.
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