Promote social sciences to combat extremism, says researcher

ISLAMABAD:

An academic has emphasized promotion of social sciences and intellectual discourse to combat the menace of extremism, radicalism and militancy. He suggested that a major policy shift was required to bring about socio-political, economic and cultural change in Pakistan.

“There is a need to invest more money in social sciences to overcome the extremism and misdeeds that damaged the social fabric of society,” Assistant Professor Muhammad Safeer Awan stated in his research paper presented at the first international conference on social sciences and humanities.



The two-day conference started at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML) here on Monday with researchers and academics from different universities sharing their research findings on social sciences. “In Pakistan where institutions have failed to take deeper roots and where public narrative has been hijacked by the extremist ideologies of hate and terrorism, the universities could play central role to shape an effective counter-narrative,” he said, citing many instances of extremists using institutions of higher learning as recruiting pools.

Call for inclusion of social sciences in varsity curriculums

Awan, who teaches English at the International Islamic University, substantiated his claim with findings of his research and other papers. He said, universities, instead of framing policies to counter radical ideologies, are mainly competing with each other in churning out graduates devoid of any knowledge about society, human psyche, ethics and even basic human morality and manners.

Awan criticised the much-touted National Action Plan saying of the twenty points in the plan only two have been debated and acted upon — the military action and the military courts. He said the media did not raise awareness about the hate material and ideologies in our curricula and syllabi.

Inter-faith harmony: Joint efforts needed to curb extremism, says Sindhu

“The role of the HEC in promoting research in social science is also deplorable. There is an unwritten policy to promote natural sciences and snub those disciplines that inculcate critical thinking and analytical abilities.”



Quoting a survey of textbooks published by Punjab Textbook Board for grade 1-10 covering three subjects (Urdu, Pakistan Studies, Islamic Studies), he said out of 871 lessons, 318 are pertaining to religion, 299 about Islam, and 261 about ethics with Islamic interpretation and characters.

He lamented that the founding chairperson of the HEC, being a natural scientist himself, put too much emphasis on the promotion of natural sciences and the study of technology.

Muslims condemn Britain's plans to combat extremism

Earlier, speaking at the inaugural session NUML Director General Azam Jamal said that it was need of the hour to bridge the gap between pure sciences and social sciences as it was widening due to the proliferation of information technology.

Dean faculty of higher studies Dr Shazra Munawar said that the main objectives of the conference were to bring together leading academics and researchers to share results of their research work about all aspects of social sciences and humanities.

The host institute’s Education Department Assistant Professor Dr Shazia Zamir talked about “personality types and coping strategies as correlates of achievement motivation among college students.”

Anti-Muslim poster displayed at UK eatery sparks controversy

Management of educational institutes can organize orientation seminars, regular stress management programmes, guidance and counseling services to the students, she stated in her findings. “Stress management programme should be integral part of the students’ training,” she suggested.

Dr Khushbakht Hina shed light on “quality enhancement in tertiary education of Pakistan”. Dr Hina, who is working at the Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC) of the university, suggested that the QECs in universities should have basic foundations.

“It should own the quality and benchmarks, besides enhancing the quality of student learning outcomes while including all stakeholders.” The QEC should create awareness about international points of view. The conference will conclude on Tuesday.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2015.