They would also improve listening skills and independent thinking, the essence of quality education in the modern world. He could have set up an independent program where he would not have to contend with a corrupt or bureaucratic system. For Shiblee, the school setting was so intrinsic to his plan that such a question surprised him. If the schools were the problem, he said, they were also the solution. They are where young people come together, where they develop their values and social behavior.
Schools can be institutions of social transformation.
At the same time, he well understood the effort embodied in bringing debate clubs into a school system with no experience in organized extra-curricular activities. He also understood the far larger challenge of social transformation required to incorporate democratic skills in a country with so few years of democratic experience. But Shiblee's combination of determination and faith in people, rather than systems or institutions, kept him going. In 1995 he got his chance. There was no systematic plan or structure at that time, he recalls.