KARACHI:
Education forms the main building block of a progressive and prosperous nation. Without an efficient and effective education system, a country’s dream of becoming great can never come true.
The approach towards education and teaching methods has changed dramatically over the past decade. In today’s modern world, educationists and academicians are opting more for scientific methodology when imparting knowledge. One such example is STEM, where the tenets of science, technology, engineering and mathematics are incorporated and connected to each other, thus enabling the pupils to learn and practise the concepts of these subjects from real life examples.
Apart from providing them with communication and collaboration skills, such an interdisciplinary system also promotes creativity and critical thinking. The US, China and other leading world economies are working tirelessly to uplift their educational systems by incorporating latest educational methodologies such as artificial intelligence. In addition, the substantial sum of money invested in the education sector is utilised not only to develop infrastructure but also in training teachers and paying them handsome emoluments — both of which are of prime importance for a successful education system.
In Pakistan, unfortunately, education seems to be in the doldrums. With the lowest GDP share for education in the region, the country stands second after Nigeria on the international list of children who are out of school. The challenge of under-resourced schools and ghost teachers still haunts the government and access to high speed internet is limited mostly to urban areas. Pakistan is expected to become the hub of businesses and foreign investments in the near future. Therefore, if we are to survive and compete in this market, the government should make education its prime priority. The Single National Curriculum is one step in the right direction and it is hoped that more will be done and devised in the upcoming national educational policy.
Awaisullah Khan Babar
Saudi Arabia
Published in The Express Tribune, February 28th, 2021.
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