National education emergency

Government should involve the whole nation in battling the poor education standards prevalent in Pakistan right now.

Education is a powerful and fundamental force in the life of any person. It is an effective and important parameter for measuring social development in a society.

Education standards in Pakistan have been a burning issue for educationists, for decades. Every member of society has his own view regarding Pakistan’s education standards and system. Although every government has tried to raise the standard of education, their efforts have mainly been limited to preparing educational policies on paper only. We cannot find any practical implementation of their recommendations with regards to raising standards of education in Pakistan.

The state of education is particularly alarming in the rural areas of the country due to various social and cultural obstacles. Even though there is a lack of concern on part of the government to promote girls’ education, some religious groups and NGOs are working actively to do so despite all barriers. Population growth is a major factor that has contributed towards worsening education standards. The various governments that have ruled us have failed to assess the real causes of deterioration in the education sector. The administration is slack, corrupt and, in some cases, rather helpless in dealing with the student community. There are no proper checks on the functioning of educational institutions. Accountability is missing at all levels. At the college and university levels, one can find very few teachers, who are devoted and dedicated to their work. It is a common complaint that teachers do not take classes regularly, come late and leave classes before time. The heads of such institutes are often helpless before political appointees and the government is either sleeping or simply ineffective.

The curriculum at the school level should be improved according to the needs of the times we live in. Only trained teachers should be appointed in schools, colleges and universities. The evaluation system at the secondary level should be organised and modern techniques must be used to evaluate the abilities of students.

The government should declare a national education emergency and involve the whole nation in battling the poor education standards prevalent in Pakistan right now.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2013.