How Our Schooling System will be made fruitful?
By nature, all human beings and living things in this world need air, food, and water for their survival. Missing any one element of them mentioned above might be caused by the complete ending of their entity at any time. Similarly, education is the same case for an individual for spending the day to day life. Every individual living in the world must receive an education without any discrimination of gender whether a man or a woman.
According to our Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) “the seeking of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim.” This Hadith does not limit gender, age, time, race, language, and color but emphasizes everyone to receive knowledge. It is rightly said that only education is a powerful instrument in the world that can change the destiny of a nation. Education plays a fundamental role in developing human resources. Through these resources total machinery of a country is running smoothly and effectively. Without education, human life is like a barren land that is unable in producing any kind of productions till makes it fertile.
It is the prime responsibility of each government to provide educational facilities to its people like Pakistan. Article 25 A of the constitution of Pakistan says to give free education to children from age 5 to 16 is the responsibility of the federal Government either Provincial Government. It also guarantees that all the citizens have equal rights. If the case is that why in Pakistan there was no uniformity in the education system? Why there were three different types of curriculums in Pakistan one for the elite class and the other two for the poor? It is a fact that in past the educational policies in Pakistan were not made in favor of the majority. From this, it is clear the past regimes who ruled here for several years intentionally did not give attention to this crucial issue and they did not want to develop education in Pakistan. So we are still behind those countries which got independence later us.
It is very encouraging that recently Single National Curriculum has been introduced in the primary section from class KG to 5 in two provinces of Pakistan which was a very long-standing issue and with hoping that it will help us in controlling balkanization in our country. For this, we are very thankful to the present Government for its marvelous achievement. We hope that this process will continue and phase-wise other sections such as middle, high, higher secondary, bachelor and degree level to be brought under Single National Curriculum respectively. We also strongly believe that the same will be replicated very soon in other provinces too.
This will lead us towards a new era and we achieve our collective goals within a very limited time. Secondly, in government’s schools, there is well-qualified staff drawing enough salary per month from the Government’s treasures being paid by Pakistani people in terms of various taxes. On the other hand, huge amounts are also being paid by us to private schools in terms of monthly tuition fees and annual admission fees. In both cases, money goes from the pocket of our people. So we want relief in one way or the other. In government schools, there are subject teachers in high and middle levels appointed on a merit base. In the primary section, there is well-qualified staff too.
They are performing their jobs in a better way. There are high-profile buildings along with well-equipped laboratories and libraries. There is a regular monitoring system in government schools. Textbooks have been improved and contents in all textbooks are knowledgeable and skillful. In government schools free of cost textbooks are being provided to the students from class KG to 10 and female students are also awarded monthly scholarships. Despite this enrolment in government schools is decreasing day by day which is alarming for us. On account of this our schooling system importunes to be shifted into a new paradigm.
I have no rich experience relating to education however I think there is something wrong with the education system. This needs to be addressed and modernized otherwise we cannot achieve the required objectives. Secondly, our government schools must concentrate their attention on home school relationships to improve students’ learning. Durable and long life learning always depends on the effective and strong home-school relationship. Thirdly existing home works styles need to be readdressed and innovatively must be adopted for it. Fourthly effective external as well as internal monitoring system consists of professionals must be introduced and current external monitoring system to be extended to the classroom level for the sake of better results.
Fifthly our exams papers must be qualitative rather than quantitative and our current exam system needs to be revisited especially in classes 5 and 8. Papers for home exams in government schools are made centralized based but they also are checked in the same way. Sixthly Multi-grade situations in the primary section to be replaced per class teacher. Seventhly all the teaching staff should be localized in the public interest. Teachers’ scales should not be a hindrance in the way of localization. For this purpose, all the education departments within a district need strong coordination with each other.
Eighthly all the Government’s teachers must be bound to send their children to Government’s schools only. Ninthly a huge amount must be allocated for school repair and maintenance. These funds should be given to the planning and development department or any other department to repair the concerned schools. Lastly, as change agents we are more expectation from our teaching community that they will bring educational revolution across the country and Insha Allah we see a visible change very soon in each aspect.
By: Farman Ajab Chitral
Principal (Retd), Education Officer (Retd)