Uniform education in Pakistan is the need of the hour
Education is a fundamental right of every human. It is a basic ingredient that shapes the life of man. It is an education that teaches man to comprehend his surroundings and find out a reliable way of life. From a historical perspective, education was based on observational experiences. Later on, with the invention of paper, ink, and pen, educational activities and the way of learning and teaching has changed in the world. Currently, education is playing a vital role in nation-building. However, the status of education in Pakistan is not satisfactory. Pakistan ranked 152 out of 189 countries in the United Nations development program. (UNDP)[i] Moreover, the country, whose founding father (Quaid-e-Azam) gave utmost importance to education, is currently lagged behind in schooling. He described the importance of education and said ‘’Education does not merely mean academic education and even that of a very poor type. What we have to do is to mobilize our people and build up a character of our future generation.” (27th of November 1947 Pakistan educational conference Karachi). Despite that, according to the Human development report 2019 (HDI), Pakistan did not work for key educational factors, such as literacy rate, gross enrolment ratio, and funds for education, as compared to the other regional countries. Moreover, Pakistan’s primary dropout rate is 22.7 percent. The country has the world’s 2nd highest number of out-of-school children. (OOSC) with an estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16. (United Nations International children’s emergency fund) (UNICEF). This article describes the history of the education system of Pakistan, its development, and the causes of its decline.
After independence of Pakistan in 1947, the country was backward in all aspects including education. At the independence, 85 percent of population was illiterate. (CM Ramchadran, problems of higher education in India) owing to the need for manpower and skilled labor, the then leadership put their utmost efforts into quality education in the country. A national educational conference was convened in 1947 which recommended universalization of primary education. However, since then, millions of rupees were expended in education system but the desired result has not been achieved.
Later on, on October 7, 1958, president Iskander Mirza abrogated the constitution of Pakistan and declared martial law. General Muhammad Ayub Khan, the then commander-in-chief of the armed forces, became the chief martial law administrator. General Ayub’s regime is still famous for its reforms. He reformed social, economic, agriculture, and administrative sectors. For instance, in the field of education, Ayub introduced a new curriculum from schools to universities. He also opened new schools and colleges in the country. Ayub Khan focused to raise the literacy rate which was 16.40 percent in 1951 was gone up to 21.70% in 1972. (Wikipedia). Ayub khan also worked on technical education. He built technical education centers to produced skilled laborers. Even though, Ayub Khan was a dictator, however, his reforms produced good fruits in the education sector of Pakistan.
After Ayub khan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto also contributed to the development of the education sector of Pakistan. He ruled the country from 1971 to 1977. In March 1972, the new education reforms were announced. These reforms envisage universal and free education up to class ten. Free education was given through nationalization policy. More than 400 colleges and several schools have been nationalized in the provinces of Sindh and Punjab. The Bhutto regime was beneficial for education. For instance, the literacy rate which was 34.45 percent in 1971, was standing on 43.57 percent in 1981. Thus, in the government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the sector well flourished in the country. It not only provided free education to students but also provided technical education to the masses to develop their technical skills.
After Ayub Khan and Z.A. Bhutto, there were no reforms for the education system of Pakistan which would consider remarkable for the people of the country. For instance, in the era of general Zia(1977 to 1988) the entire country was fallen into the so-called Islamization. Colleges and universities were ordered to focus on Islamic education which resulted to negate other fields of education. After Zia’s regime, the country was trapped in the web of terrorism and a weak democratic system. Unstable and weak governments of the Pakistan People Party and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz remained failed to solve the issues of the country.
Moreover, there are various issues that are damaging the education system of Pakistan. The first issue is the discontinuity of the democratic system. Sudden Abrogation of the democratic system affects the education system of the country. It terminates education policies implementation. Secondly, weak foreign policy decisions also put negative impacts on the education sector. For instance, Pakistan took part in Afghanistan Wars 1989 and 2001. These wars brought mismanagement in social sectors that indirectly impacted the education system of Pakistan. Thirdly, Pakistan is a developing country. Due to the hostile behavior of India, Pakistan expends more amount on its defense rather than on education. The country’s expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP is estimated at 2.5% in the fiscal year 2020-21. (Economic Survey of Pakistan). therefore, a low budget is also the reason that prevents government machinery to pay importance to the education sector. Additionally, these above-mentioned causes are basic elements that are still debilitating the education system.
To conclude, it is time for the nation to stabilize its democracy, control mismanagement in social sectors, and remain neutral in International conflicts. Luckily, the current government is working for better education in the country. On the 15th of August 2021, the prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan announced a single national curriculum (SNC) for the entire country. It is a good initiative by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government for the Education system. SNC has three phases. The first phase will cover the syllabus from classes one to five. The other two phases will cover the curriculum up to class twelve. Once the curriculum is implemented properly it will be beneficial for the future of education. Therefore, education is a basic right of all individuals, once it provides appropriately, it can be beneficial for the entire nation. As Allama Iqbal Said that” A teacher is like a builder whose industry is to build and develop the soul of humanity. (Zarb-e-Kalim).