KARACHI:
‘Politics has intruded into the jurisdiction of the temples of learning’. This portrayal of politics as something that needs to be gate-kept and shouldn’t be given in the hands of students to rationally and openly analyse it is a moral failure. It is like trying to ‘compartmentalise’ two major aspects of students’ lives: politics and education. Despite knowing that there is a distinction between educational institutions and the political sphere, we must not attempt to reduce students to a fight for political elbow-room.
By portraying politics as a threat to education, such narratives discourage critical thinking among students. Separating politics from education creates passive learners rather than conscious citizens. The result of this one-sided education is the growing distance of students from the system and its values. Education ought to be deeply connected with society and political structures. Therefore, students should be encouraged to analyse political realities instead of being confined to a limited struggle for political space.
Sarwat Khalil
Islamabad
