![the writer is a development consultant and holds a phd in development anthropology from melbourne university syed ali tribune com pk the writer is a development consultant and holds a phd in development anthropology from melbourne university syed ali tribune com pk](https://i.tribune.com.pk/media/images/647879-SyedMohammadAliNew-1387472851/647879-SyedMohammadAliNew-1387472851.jpg)
The Punjab chief minister is also prone to making similar decisions, the imprint of which is particularly evident in the education sector. During his last term, he had decided to become the founder of the Daanish School scheme, aiming to create ‘Aitchisons for the poor’. Many educationists pointed out that instead of spending vast public funds on a handful of Daanish Schools, the provincial government should distribute its scarce resources across a wider range of public schools. However, the chief minister discarded such advice.
Subsequently, he has become convinced by the transformative capacity of computers to overcome our lingering educational gaps. There is immense potential to use computers to store data and to facilitate better educational management, planning and supervision. The provision of computers to students directly to boost their learning outcomes is, however, a more contested notion. Yet, it is this very option of directly arming students with computers that seems to have gained favour with Shahbaz Sharif and his team of educational advisers.
During his last tenure, he had endorsed a free laptops scheme with the objective of distributing 100,000 laptops to high achieving public sector tertiary level students. The impact of this expensive scheme in terms of improving the capacity of tertiary students to become productive and to facilitate their entry into the workforce remains to be seen. However, the education minister of Punjab has given the go-ahead to initiate the ‘smart school system’ in 55,000 public sector schools. This new venture is impelled by the need to provide Android tablets to girls and boys of the eighth and tenth grades, on which their educational syllabus could be uploaded, doing away with the need for textbooks.
This ambitious plan to provide Android tablets to over a million students across Punjab would no doubt provide a lucrative business opportunity to private entrepreneurs. Yet, this idea instigates discomfort amongst educationists, who are pointing out very mixed results concerning improvements in educational outcomes through provision of Android tablets to students, even in countries like the US. The rationale for launching such an effort in a country like Pakistan is even less convincing, given the dismal state of physical infrastructure of our public schools, many of which still lack functional classrooms and other basic facilities like clean drinking water and toilets. It is thus reasonable to ask how our policymakers can justify spending so much money to purchase Android tablets instead of focusing on providing these basic facilities.
Moreover, Android tablets are certainly not a cost-effective replacement of textbooks and can be easily damaged. Sensible alternatives suggested to the Punjab government include providing Android tablets to all teachers instead of students, which can be used to facilitate teacher training and lesson planning. Providing functional computer labs with internet facilities at all public schools, instead of aiming to provide computers to individual students, is another suggestion which the educational decision-makers in Punjab could pay heed to.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2013.
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The plan comes from Turkey!
Our Chief Minister copied Turkey in Metro Buses, and is now keen to emulate the ambitious "Fatih Project" started by Erdogan's government.
I think the only reason behind give aways laptops and tablets to people is because some SHARIF is in the business of technology gadgets!!! I do not see any other reason behind this. How would laptop / tablet work when there is no electricity. Even the developed countries have not taken such initiatives then why are we doing that?
The author is correct in terms of the proclivity of sub-continental "powers that be" to resort to top-down, centralized approach towards governance issues ....
This tendency of giving laptops/tablets to students borders on what I would term as freebies, gimmicks by the political executives. While the argument that youngsters are wired towards technology fails to cut ice with me, still institutional limitations greatly diminish the supposed gains of such PR exercises. Where there is a paucity of schools, teachers, political appointments, teacher absenteeism et al, a mere piece of shiny hardware is a little cause for comfort.
In India, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan suffered greatly due to strict conditionalities on physical aspects of schools like playground area among others. While great on paper many established schools were unable to secure funding due to such top-down measures of the program, especially public schools in the urban areas (where land is a scarcity).
In addition, Power is a major concern for the subcontinent. Rural areas have little power to spare and schools are way down in the pecking order. In fact, Harish Hande, (Magsaysay Award 2011) in one of the interviews, alluded to the fact that in rural areas proliferation of mobile phones has resulted in the despicable tendency of getting mobile phones charged for a price. His firm SELCO is in the business of rural electrification through solar energy in a off-grid, bottom-up, decentralized approach that maintains a safe distance from government.
Governments have to pull up their socks and actually deliver on crucial developmental concerns rather than resorting to discredited tactics of yore i.e. state-led, technicised, centralized approaches
We need school that were in pre english period than may be some changes gonna come .....
Smart schooling is an excellent idea and sice the author lacks any researchbased facts in proving his case that students shouldnt get smart phones, the article loses credibility. Both laptop and tablet scemes are a wonderful step in bringing Pak future gen abreast with the tech boom. Experiments conducted showed even illiterate kids with smart access were learning at phenominal speeds.
I strongly disagree with the bellow statement. "when he bulldozed all objections to build a partial motorway from Islamabad to Lahore during an earlier stint, instead of spending the same amount of money in the railways system, which could have eased transportation difficulties for many more people across the country."
I guess had that money been spent on railway they would have bought China Engines with all that money which would have been a waste itself. I think we should appreciate the good initiative of any government. Motorway is now facilitating whole Pakistan.
Well as for as the tablet thing is concerned i guess you have raised a good point here. My village school still do not have a Science Teacher and obviously the students are not familiar with Computer.
The basic infrastructure needs to be improved first and that includes recruiting potential teaching staff,new syllabus and so one...
"Punjab’s proposed smart school experiment" +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Smart Schools start with smart teachers running on Android.
Excellent piece: Sir, I have seen the conditions of scholls inSouthern Punjab,it is pathetic and sad.Students cannot think abouth basci facility.Poor management and nonserious teachres have ,in fact, ruined the structure of schools. On the other hand, pvt schools are making money, they do not provided recommended facilities to the school, there is no checks and balances.The CM should pay his attention to small towns and cities in Punjab.He should hire devoted and energetic team to streamline the outdated things at school and college level both. At college level, student remains without knowledge,there is no research which enhanced the student's apptitued toward his/her goal. You have earnd degree from aborad and know that how garduate level research contributes and lead the student toward the right direction. We should think and train our teachres to face the challange.And alos our aim of education should be to produce productive citizens and good human being.