Education Problems (Critical Appraisal of Pakistan’s Education System)
By: Abdul Rafey Nawaz
Tags: Education Reform, Study, Education, Learning

On Jan 29, 1926, a boy was born at a two-bedroom abode in Jhang. At the age of 14, that boy gained the highest marks ever recorded for the Matriculation Examination at the University of Punjab. He wanted to pursue a career of research in theoretical physics but as Pakistan had little to no research opportunities, the only option left for him was to study abroad. He came back to Pakistan in 1951 and after some years in 1979, he won the Nobel prize in physics for his astonishing work. He became the first Pakistani to receive a Nobel Prize in science. The name of this person is Doctor Abdus Salam. This is one of many past cases regarding brilliant minds in Pakistan. In the past, the education system had been quite satisfactory. Unfortunately, with time due to various hindrances and negative developments, the education system of Pakistan started to deteriorate rather than improving. The lack of interest in education policymaking by Pakistan’s administration has dwindled away from the bright minds of the youth. Furthermore, the administration formulating education policies shows no sign of improving the current status of the education system as well. The government needs to recognize the issues with the education system and should consider all the available solutions to bring about positive change in the education sector of Pakistan. Although Pakistan’s education system does not lead to learning and shows no sign of improving as well, nevertheless some measures can be presented which if pondered upon can make the education system more effective and inclined towards learning.

Before analyzing the reasons affecting the education system in Pakistan to not function properly, the first step should be to know what the education system comprises of in a country. The system of education includes all institutions that are involved in delivering formal education and their faculties, students, physical infrastructure, resources, and rules. In a broader definition, the system also includes the institutions that are directly involved in financing, managing, operating, or regulating such institutions. Furthermore, the rules and regulations that guide the individual and institutional interactions within the set up are also part of the education system.

Now the question arises, is Pakistan’s education system leading to learning or not. In the past, this issue of the deteriorating education system was only taken as a subject in political debates as an abstract theory. Similarly, the public also considered this problem as a minor issue. However, the current status of instability in the social, political, and economic problems have made this unstable education system an immediate concern. The public is now aware of the complications related to the underdeveloped education sector. For Pakistan’s administration to effectively face and mitigate the problems faced by the dwindling education system it is important to take immediate actions for the issues to be resolved at the earliest.

Furthermore, the current status of the education system in Pakistan is not quite amusing. The educational institutions are divided into three categories. First, is the public sector which is directly under the control of the government. All the regulations and funding of the institutes are structured by the administrative unit of Pakistan. Second, is the private sector which formulates the curriculum, funding, and other policies under the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority of Pakistan. Third, is the madrassah institutes which mainly focus on imparting religious knowledge and do not inculcate modern educational concepts. The education sector, therefore, gives rise to three distinct cohorts from within Pakistani youth, each quite cut off from the other. This creates social, economic, and political problems in the country. Moreover, such an education structure does not prosper and does not lead to learning.

The first step to resolve any problem is to know the factors causing the problem in the first place. So, it is important to recognize the flaws that make Pakistan’s education system not lead to learning.

First and foremost, is the presence of rote learning culture which is embedded deeply in Pakistani students. Students instead of clearing their concepts focus more on rote learning. This culture is not only making the education being imparted useless but is also eliminating the self-thought process of the students. Afterward, these students can only recall the information that they rote learned but face difficulty when they must apply the knowledge practically in their careers. The workforce of the future is not being trained to face the daunting tasks that lie ahead of them. Furthermore, students when engaged in rote learning practices fail to develop critical analysis and inquisitive thinking. The result of the 2019 Central Superior Services exam depicts the outcome of rote learning culture in Pakistan, the pass percentage is only 2.51 percent which is quite alarming. Thus, rote learning culture is one of the flaws in the education system that does not instill learning among the masses of Pakistan.

Moreover, the non-uniform education system in Pakistan is another flaw that hinders the impartment of learning through education. Each of the provinces and the federal area have its own distinct curriculum, books, examination criteria, and operating procedures. The textbooks utilized for learning purposes have a skewed historical narrative, each province tries to give a different narrative that supports their agenda. Editor Maleeha Lodhi in her book Pakistan Beyond the Crisis State narrates “Agenda-driven education was deliberately used as a political tool and textbooks were rewritten to inject anti-India and pan-Islamic bias”. Hence, this is creating a superficial knowledge base in the students which is straying them away from factual learning.

In addition, the presence of outdated information in textbooks is another hindering factor that impedes the learning process of the students. The scientific developments, facts, and figures are not revised in the course material, and obsolete methods are being taught in classes all over Pakistan. In the course material for the bachelors’ program in civil engineering at any university in Pakistan obsolete methods for structural analysis and structural design are conveyed to the students, the modern developments and methods are given either little to no mention at all. This outdated learning education results in poor construction practices which ends up taking many lives in Pakistan, recent collapses of various housing infrastructure in Karachi is proof of this negligence. Hence, outdated information is not leading the education system in Pakistan to learning.

Furthermore, the intake of the inexperienced and incompetent teaching staff at various public institutions is another factor that affects the imparting of education based on learning. Nepotism breeds incompetence among the teaching positions of public schools, colleges, and universities. This nepotism-based hiring process in educational institutes not only goes against Article 25 of the constitution of Pakistan which affirms equality to all citizens but also creates a substandard knowledge base of the students. The quality of teachers in Pakistani schools is deplorable due to the favoritism culture. According to a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization report, the quality of the teachers and instruction in schools is of low quality in Pakistan. This favoritism culture needs to end in educational institutes so that the students are only taught by competent and academically sound teachers, which eventually will lead Pakistan’s education system to learn.

Also, the overcrowding of classes in limited educational institutes has also created issues in the learning process of students. Overpopulation in Pakistan is a crisis on its own, but this crisis has created another problem which is the exceeding number of students in a limited classroom capacity of educational institutes. Pakistan would be the fourth most populous country in the world by 2030 according to Pakistani population experts, and according to United Nations DP 29pc of Pakistan’s current population, which makes about 57 million, is between the ages of 15 and 29. This shows that the already deplorable state of classrooms will further deteriorate over the years unless the situation is brought under control. According to the data provided by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2008, Pakistan has the most crowded classrooms in South Asia. Less teaching faculty and crowded classrooms mean that individual attention to each student’s shortcoming would not be possible which will create disparity among the quick learners and those students who find it difficult to cope with the concepts taught. So, the overpopulation issue needs to be addressed in other for the student to get quality counseling and education.

Equally important, tuition centers have increased by leaps and bounds in Pakistan which has led the students to stray away from learning in their respective schools and colleges. Today, teachers know that 90 percent of their students take supplementary tuitions. Therefore, they fulfill their responsibility in class half-heartedly. The tuition centers are expected to pay special attention to the students instead. On the other hand, students also pay less attention in the classroom as they feel that their tutors will do the needful. The level of respect for school and college teachers in the eyes of the pupils has gone down considerably due to this fact. Furthermore, children after spending most of their time studying at school and tuition centers have no time left for leisure activities which drains them further of their desire to learn, as the proverb goes “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”.

Likewise, education is not leading to learning in Pakistan because the education system does not focus on research-based learning. Students usually focus on plagiarizing foreign researcher’s publications rather than investing time in research of their own. According to Times Higher Education ranking 2020, which puts a lot of emphasis on research work while ranking universities, the only one university of Pakistan out of 174 in total was able to claim a spot in the top 500 universities of the world. In the past students like Doctor Abdus Salam focused more on research-oriented learning through which he was awarded Nobel prize, but students nowadays are lacking the urge to gain research-based knowledge which is why the education system of Pakistan is not leading to learning.

Finally, the government is not providing adequate funds to the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. The Higher Education Commission demanded Rupees 104.789 billion for the new fiscal year. However, in the budget 2020–2021, the government allocated only Rupees 64.1 billion which is not adequate for all the research programs Higher Education Commission wanted to incorporate in the education system. Furthermore, funding for public educational institutes has also been cut down which has led to a cut in wages of the teaching faculty as well. The reduction of funds will have a negative impact on the already deplorable state of research carried out and a cut in wages of the teaching staff will force them to not give their full devotion to students learning process. All in all, this will not lead the education system of Pakistan to learn.

As there are many factors leading to the current deplorable state of the education system in Pakistan. Consequently, this poor state of the education system is having negative impacts on other issues in Pakistan as well.

One such impact is that the education system void of learning is leading to democracy failure in Pakistan. Due to political influence in the course content of public schools and colleges of different provinces the knowledge imparted in the students is making them biased towards the mentioned details in their course books. This is diminishing decision making and critical thinking skills from the children. Editor Maleeha Lodhi in her book Pakistan Beyond the Crisis State narrates “The syllabi of public schooling system are closely managed by the state and provide a highly skewed historical narrative”. The children grow up with the same biased knowledge and end up making decisions that harm the country. Moreover, no change can come if there is no education about democratic values and principles. The democratic trajectory and process of the country are extremely fragile, and to resuscitate the dead system, it is very important to work on the educational system of Pakistan that serves as the beacon of light. We cannot expect any change unless this happens.

Another impact of the education system not based on learning is the demise of Pakistan International Airlines. Not inculcating moral values and learning-oriented education in the education sector has led to many fake license cases of pilots. According to the Federal Minister of Aviation, about 262 pilots of the national flag carrier have fake licenses among a total of 800 registered pilots. This has led to the banning of national airlines in various areas of the world. This clearly shows that when the education system is devoid of learning, people resort to mischievous methods of clearing license examinations for getting their desired careers. Hence, only when the education system is oriented towards actual learning can Pakistan be safe from such international humiliation.

Finally, the poor education system in the country has made Pakistan incapable of battling India on the technological warfronts. Top tech companies like Adobe, Google, and Microsoft have Indian Chief Executive Officers. This shows that Indian alumni working overseas and have established themselves in enviable executive positions and are investing in the Indian education system as well. Recently, Google even has announced an investment of 10 billion dollars to help accelerate India’s transition to a digital economy. While Pakistan is struggling even to bring foreign investment from such tech enterprises for the implementation of startup programs and educational incubation centers. Hence, the administration of Pakistan needs to look for ways that can bring in foreign investments for educational projects in the country which eventually will lead Pakistan’s education system towards learning.

Despite some hindrances blocking the implementation of effective education policies and the negative impacts these factors have on the country’s affairs, there are some measures that can be adopted to bring improvement in the education system of Pakistan.

One such measure that can be adopted to bring about change in the education system of Pakistan is by incorporating training institutes and training programs for the teaching faculty of schools, colleges, and universities. The influence of teachers in student achievement is unequivocal, so much that they are considered the most important within-school factor for student learning. The Introduction of licensing and certification of teachers to improve standards is the need of the hour. Such programs are observed in developed countries like the United States of America as well where 620 institutions offer training courses for teachers. Similarly, the European Union launched the European Higher Education Area in 2010 to ensure more comparable, compatible, and coherent systems of higher education in Europe by mainly focusing on the training of teaching staff. Pakistan needs to look for similar programs to enhance the skillset of the employed teaching staff for maneuvering the education system towards learning.

Another measure that can be brought to the table is of implementing uniform education throughout Pakistan. A Uniform education system will help in producing a single cohort from the young generation. Since education is a provincial subject, the provincial education secretariats need to be brought on the same page. The federal government should play a key role in helping the provinces for establishing uniform education policies that all the provinces will collectively agree upon. Moreover, uniform education standards throughout Pakistan will remove the disparity created among students because of different marks from different boards at the time of entry test examinations for various universities in the country. Hence, if such a system is adopted then Pakistan’s education system will lead to learning.

Furthermore, increasing financial outlays for the education sector can help the education system of Pakistan to progress. The federal government and provincial governments must increase the budget allocation for education from 2.4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product to about 4 percent. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization proposes that every underdeveloped nation should allocate at least 4 percent of its total GDP for education. Most developed countries like the United States of America and even developing countries like India are spending more than 4 percent of their Gross Domestic Product on education. For research opportunities to be provided to the students in Pakistan so that they can compete in the international market, the finances need to be raised. In addition, a conscious effort must be undertaken to ensure a better balance on spending between administrative and development expenditures within the education sector.

Finally, inculcating international good practices in the education system of Pakistan will help the education sector of the country to eliminate the factors hindering its progress. Under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the fourth goal emphasizes quality education and gives guidelines on which measures to adopt for imparting quality education in any country. Agenda Education 2030 under the United Nations Sustainable Development proposes ways of implementing, coordinating, financing, and monitoring efforts to achieve equal educational opportunities for all. It includes indicative strategies for countries to contextualize in light of their realities, capacities, and existing policies and priorities. It represents a serious attempt at providing guidelines for overcoming deficits in implementing global reform. So, Pakistan as a United Nation member state needs to follow the agenda of Education 2030 not only to fulfill its commitment as a member but to improve the education system along the way as well.

The situation of the education system is grim due to voids in the policymaking and implementation process. Thus, revising the current strategies adopted by authorities of Pakistan deserves foremost attention. Furthermore, inculcating internationally followed practices in the policymaking procedure would prove quite beneficial. If such a policy framework is adopted, the education system will be put in the right direction and will lead to learning in Pakistan.

To sum up, the education system in Pakistan does not lead to learning because of the presence of rote learning among the students, the non-uniform education system, course material being not updated, the growing tuition culture, and inadequate funding by the government’s administration. These factors are further having negative impacts on the affairs of Pakistan in the form of democracy failure and public institutional crisis. However, steps like incorporating training programs for teaching staff, increasing funding for the education sector, and inculcating international good practices in the education system will have profound impacts and will lead the education system of Pakistan towards learning. Although this task seems daunting, however, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.