EDUCATION

Outline:
I.

Introduction

II.

Philosophical Approaches

III.

Social benefits of Education

i.

Improvement in standard of hygiene

ii.

Reduction in child and infant mortality rates

iii.

Decline in population growth rates

iv.

Increase in labour productivity

v.

Rise in civic consciousness

vi.

Greater political empowerment and democratization

vii.

Improved sense of national unity

viii. Less income inequality

ix.
IV.

V.

Reduction in absolute poverty

Challenges in Education (6 Tasks)

i.

Enrolling all children in primary schools

ii.

Improving the quality and relevance of education

iii.

Providing more and better teachers

iv.

Removing all gender disparities

v.

Building relevant technical skills

vi.

Mobilizing adequate financial resources

Removing Gender Disparities

i.

Sufferings of girls and women education are due to:

a.

Political rhetoric

b.

Bureaucratic epathy

c.

Discriminatory cultural practices

ii.

Gender gap is large and persistent at all levels of education

iii.

Poverty

iv.

a.

Less chances for a job

b.

Less pay than men

Distance of schools

v.

VI.

School related factors

a.

Availability of separate school

b.

Female teachers

c.

Flexible school timings

d.

Toilet facilities

Agenda for Accelerating Girls School

i.

Compulsory primary education laws should be enacted and strictly

enforced

ii.

Grants given by the central government to provinces or by various

government to NOGs should contain a provision that the amount of the
grant will be reduced by the extent of disparity girls and boys

iii.

Physical constraints on girls education must be tackled with a

combination of successful strategies used world wide:
a.

Advocacy for girls education

b.

Lower the costs of parents

c.

Develop relevant and gender sensitive curricula (future jobs

every day life)

d.

Promoting recruitment and training of female teachers

e.

Improve access by reducing distance to school

f.

Promote community participation in planning, development and

management of education program

g.

Develop flexible school calendar, timing and mode of teaching

around girls

h.

Promote literacy training of parents

iv.

Qualified female teachers

v.

Government supportive policies are essential

vi.

Communities must participate in planning and managing schools

vii.

Society must be convinced that no efforts to increase girls education

will ________ unless the status of women in society is raised.

VII. Technical and Vocational Education

i.

Problems
a.

Low enrolment

b.

High drop outs

c.

Poor quality of teachers

d.

Inequitable access for women and rural population

ii.

e.

Limited private sector involvement

f.

Inadequate budgetary allocations

Why exists
a.

No clear link between technical and general education

b.

The employment prospects are limited

c.

The absence of any proper man power planning

VIII. Agenda to Reforms Technical and Vocational Education

i.

Political will commitment

ii.

Conducive macroeconomic policy environment must be created for the

promotion T&V education

iii.

Prevent a mismatch between training and employment and to steer

training programs in right directions

iv.

Universal primary education of acceptable quality is the most important

contribution that can be made for preparing young people for the world
of works

v.

Ensure equivalency of degrees from technical institutes and general

education universities

vi.

Coverage of technical education needs to be extended particularly to

women and to neglected rural areas

vii.

Budgetary allocations

viii. Close alliance between governments and private sectors for promotion

IX.

ix.

An appropriate organizational and management structure established

for pre-employment and post-employment skill training

x.

Role of donors.

Teachers
i.

X.

Problems
a.

Teachers as per students

b.

Low level of female teachers

c.

Great dearth of properly trained teachers

Motivation for Teachers

i.

Why low motivation

a.

Salaries

b.

Prestige of profession

c.

Poor working conditions

ii.

XI.

d.

Lack of clear career advancement opportunities

e.

Poor monitoring system

Reforms
a.

Increase number of teachers

b.

Minimum level for teachers of primary education be raised

c.

Curriculum in teacher training courses needs to be drastically

altered most teachers are poorly prepared to education

d.

Status of primary school teacher be raised

e.

Teachers be hired from local community

f.

Learning lessons from NGOs working for teachers training

The Educated Unemployment in Pakistan

i.

Higher Universities Education should be centered on research

ii.

Public sector employment should not be bared on quotas

iii.

Career counseling

iv.

Labour market survey should be conducted by the government so as to

provide students with information about occupational possibilities

XII. Education in Pakistan

i.

ii.

Why state of education is pathetic in Pakistan

a.

Poverty

b.

Governments role

c.

Religious factor

d.

Agricultural practices

e.

House hold size in rural areas

Causes of ailing systems

a.

Over centralization

b.

Lack of commitment

c.

Poor long term planning

d.

Lack of institutional mechanism

a)

Pace of world

b)

Contemporary issues

e.

Lack of stress on primary education

f.

Politicization of education institutes

g.

Private tuition system

h.

Upright of teachers and status in society

i.

Appointments out of turn

j.

Absence of research and field assessments

k.

Responsibilities of parents

XIII. Suggestions to Improve

i.

Education top priority

ii.

Priorities be defined regarding primary, secondary and higher education

iii.

Effective use of resources

iv.

Education institutions must act as cultural vanguard for a community

v.

Medium of instruction uniform

vi.

Curriculum uniform

vii.

Budgetary allocation

viii. Women education priority

ix.

Proper place of teacher in society.

XIV. Pakistan Policies and Actions

i.

Pakistan lacks a coherent, long term policy for educating its masses. In
fact, the pre-dominantly feudal political system has never given
education the priority it deserves, despite a plethora of reports and
plans in this field.

ii.

1st comprehensive report on education was published National

Commission on Education in 1959.
Compulsory education target (15 years target)

iii.

1962 constitution of Pakistan special emphasis on compulsory and

universal primary education.

iv.

Education policies of 1972

v.

vi.

Nationalization and a virtual public sector monopoly on

education

National Education Policy, 1978

Islamization of education

Rival of private sector in education

1985 (National Budget)

Iqra surcharge (5% on all imports)

Iqra fund / Iqra Board

vii.

1986-87 (Infromal education) community + state

The Nai Roshni School (10 14 Years)

Iqra Pilot Projects (Twin cities)

National Education Policy (1992 2000)

8th Five Year plan (1993 98)

SAP I & II (1990 2000)

Universalize enrolment Primary School age children

80% 2002 (literacy rate)

viii. National Education Policy (NEP)

ix.

2 Room Primary School System

5 Teachers

265000 training and recruiting teachers

107000 new primary school and mosque schools

NGO and private sector encouragement

Redical changes in curriculum, text books, pedagogy skills,

examination and free and compulsory education to all

SAP Failure (Basic Health + population welfare, rural water supply +

primary education access, equity and quality of primary education
specially )

Teacher absntism

Partial bans on recruitment

Inadequate availability of quality teachers

Drop outs

Non merit based recruitments

Lack of accountability

Budgetary cuts

QUOTATIONS & SAYINGS

Jean Jacques Rousseau
We are born weak, we need strength, helpless, we need aid; foolish,
wee need reason. All that we lack at birth all that we need when come
to mans estate is the gift of education.
Kuan Chung
If you plan for a year, plant a seed, if for ten years, plant a tree, if for a
hundred years teach the people; when you sow a seed once, you reap a
single harvest, when you teach the people, you will reap a hundred
harvests.
Aristotle
The educated differ from the uneducated, as much as the living from
dead.
Thomas Jefferson
If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it
expects what never was and never will be.
An African Proverb
If you educate a man, you educate a person; but if you educate a
woman, you educate a family.
Derek Bok
If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.

*********
(Altaf Hussain Ansari)