KARACHI:
The present education system is devoid of critical thinking and healthy interaction between teachers and students at all levels. Teachers resort to narration for most subjects while students sit and listen. There is little exchange of ideas and debates among students and teachers. The teachers talk about reality as if it were motionless, static, compartmentalised, and predictable. Students often find the topics irrelevant to their daily lives and experiences.
The teachers detach students from reality and totality and bombard them with insignificant and hollow ideas, which is alienating and prevents students from challenging existing ideas. Students are merely memorising mathematical, scientific, and theoretical concepts. They rarely understand the concepts or apply them. This system has turned students into containers to be filled by the teachers. The more the teacher thrust their ideas onto the students, the better the teacher is considered. Students are not allowed to question these ideas or offer suggestions otherwise they face repercussions. This has resulted in an oppressive education system and negated the concept of knowledge as a process of inquiry.
Consequently, students do not learn any concepts. They lack problem-solving, critical thinking, and evaluating abilities. Therefore, they struggle to adapt to real-life challenges and are unable to secure good jobs. This has hampered the process of development and innovation in the country. Young graduates are not taught to experiment and innovate. Our present system discourages creativity and reasoning and is producing zombies. There is an urgent need to overhaul the entire education system and transform it into a more inclusive and dynamic system to steer us out of outdated and regressive ideas.
Zeeshan Ahmad
Mardan
Published in The Express Tribune, April 27th, 2023.
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