How to Improve Our Educational System

8/3/2019 How to Improve Our Educational System

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Five ways to improve the structure of Pakistan's education system

By YesPakistan.com Staff Writer

Universal primary education in Pakistan is contingent on several factors, such as theexistence of cost-effective schools, better curricula, and an awareness among parents,especially in rural areas, of the importance of education. However, the single mostimportant factor in getting children to complete primary school is improving the

structure of Pakistan's school system.

Currently, there exist many obstacles on the road to a smoothly functioning system. These include political interference, corruption, over-centralization, a lack of schoolautonomy, underdeveloped managerial capacity and poor information systems.

However, there are five institutional reforms that can help improve Pakistan'seducational structure so that it can achieve the goal of universal primary education.

The first reform is the decentralization of decision-making, which improves educationadministration. Presently, Pakistan educational system is highly centralized even though

it is widely understood that basic education is better provided in a system that isadministered at the district and village level.

A highly centralized system does not respond as effectively to local needs. Thebureaucracy interferes with the flow of resources and information. It also means higherlevel administrators have less time to devote to important issues like program design,implementation, and monitoring.

This decentralization means governments must develop partnerships with communities,NGOs, and the private sector to delegate responsibility effectively in order to achieveuniversal primary education.

A second step necessary for improving the system is greater autonomy for the schools.Currently, school principals have a limited decision-making capacity. In addition, schoolsdo not have control over issues like curriculum, teacher appointment, discipline, andevaluation. There are virtually no opportunities for local staff development programs orresource mobilization.

By giving schools more independence, principals would have the authority to appointpersonnel and determine crucial issues that affect the day-to-day affairs of schools.Principals, not upper-level bureaucrats, are in a better position to make these decisionssince they deal with the daily realities of school life.

A third important reform is providing better support to, supervision of, and coordinationof the school system at the district and provincial level. By making the district the keylevel for planning and management, state-level and central education bodies can focusmore on policy-making, resource management and regulation.

One way to do this is by promoting good principals and teachers at the school level toenhance the institutional capacity of district level organizations. The lack of sufficientmanpower is the most serious problem at the district and sub-district level.

A fourth necessary reform is to encourage decision-making be based on educational, notpolitical, considerations. At present, politicians hand out teaching jobs as patronageappointments. Federal and provincial funds provided for education sometimes remain

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unused, especially in rural areas, since feudal landowners are opposed to educating"their" people.

The final necessary reform is to expand the information and research base of educationin Pakistan. Effective management and administration of the education system dependson the quality of the information system. Without reliable information, decision-makerscannot improve education policy and programs at the national, district and school levels.

One way of collecting reliable information about the state of education is to conductstandardized testing that measures student performance against national curriculumgoals. These can be used to compare learning achievement across schools, districts andregions over time.

There is also a need for better research. Pakistan currently has one institution thatconducts research on educational issues, the Academy of Educational Planning andManagement, which conducts research on basic education. However, its abilities arehampered by inadequate funds, no institutionalized basis for collecting, processing andanalyzing data, no technical support staff and little influence in policy making.

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

There should be more focus on individual progress than on test scores. Test scores arenot the only way of seeing how much a student undertsands and how intelligent arethey. I believe more challenging courses should be provided for increased mentalstimulation because if students had more challenging work, it would force them to workharder in order to pass. Teachers should be payed more but there should also be higherstandards in order to become a teacher because teachers have very important jobs. It isup to them to encourage and teach us so that we reach the peak of our potential.Parental involvement is necessary. It is up to parents to make sure their childrenunderstand the value of a good education.Too often parents do not stress theimportance of education and no wonder their children don't perform to the best of theirabilities. Curriculm revision would have to happen. Too often children are passed on tohigher grade levels without learning the skills they need and so more time has to bededicated towards reteaching skills that should've been learned. Finally, stricterstandards in order to pass to the next grade level should be set up. I believe 70% shouldbe the lowest percentage a person could receive in order to pass and if the pupilreceives grades lower than C minus in math and Language Arts, he or she should have togo to summer school until improvements are made.

It is very simple just introduce a single syllabus for all over the country students. Despiteof the rich and the poor syllabus, english and urdu medium syllabus. The educartionsystem we have in Pakistan now is discremination against poor and non-englishspeakers. The elite class education is the one that will lead them to hold the countryresourses and even country while the poor and other medium students are just waistingtheir time to be honest. They will become good human beings but soon they can ternback very quickly because of injustice and inequlity, I think it is a very serious issue andthe concerned people and authorities should take an immedialte action.

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First, we need to define the purpose of the education. Do we want to produce clerk, ormere operator or world leaders in every discipline? Do we want to make good humanbeings or professionals?

I am for producing good human beings, and world leaders in every study area. This is aalmost formidable goal, but certainly possible. Many important points have already beenmade above in this direction. In this post I will restrict myself to matriculation andcollege education.

Immediate thing is to improve the examination system. That is it should no longer bememory test. For the time being, we can modeled O-level or A-level system. O-level or A-level does not give a single textbook, only syllabus. Based on this, publishercommissioned authors to write books. One usually studies more than one books. This willcure most of the ill known as ratta fication.

This brings us to contents of the courses. Most of the courses have actually pretty decentsyllabus. Only possible exception is Islamiat. We can make Islamiat syllabus our own.Islamic Council can be given that task.

A related issue is that We don't have technical book writers in regional languages. Wecan remedy this by translating the books recommended by O- or A-level administration.It can be done in Urdu first, and then other regional languages like Sindhi, Pushto,Baluchi, Punjabi. On the other hand, we should also promote book writing within Pakistanin Urdu and other widely understood regional languages.

All the above step are only the starting point. Through course of time, it will evolve andreached to point than it will become ours. It will also direct the transformation of oureducation system. I believe that it will prove to be very fruitful starting point.

We must admit that coaching center has become an essential component of oureducation system. Once we have a better examination system, perhaps on the samelines as I have suggested above, these coaching center will pick themselves up to it. Alarge majority of the coaching centers maintain a reasonable quality, of course, keepingour examination system in account.

One may say lower/labour class can not afford coaching center. Agreed. But immediatestep should be to improve the quality of education who can afford it. In my opinion,

coaching centers are within the purchasing power of even lower middle class. Later on,we may thought out some plan for the lower class too.

The another benefit is that it won't be easy to induce well trained and knowledgeableteachers in colleges immediately, a we severely lack critical masses. At governmentallevel, it is even harder. And, in most of the coaching centers, students are the teachers.A majority of them are bright and hard working students, and better teachers thancollege or school teachers.

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The government of Pakistan should announce a national educational emergency andinvolve the whole nation in waging a war against illiteracy. In the longer-term interest ofpromoting moderation and democratic values in Pakistan, an in improving the socio-economic status of its people, sector-wide reform of education system appears vital.

First and foremost ... Universal primary education in Pakistan is conditional on severalfactors such as the existence of cost-effective schools better curriculum andawareness among parents, especially in rural areas about the importance of education.

However, the single most important factor in getting children to complete primary schoolis improving the structure of Pakistan's school system. Currently, there are manyobstacles on the road to a smoothly functioning system. These include politicalinterference, corruption, and a lack of school sovereignty, underdeveloped managerialcapacity and poor information systems. For example, In the 1980s President General Zia-ul-Haq promoted the madrassahs, partly out of his personal conviction that instruction insuch schools would help the people to behave as genuine followers of the Islamic faithand partly because such institutions helped him to mobilize support of the religioushierarchy and religion-based political parties for his rule. Their support was also valuableto him in the recruitment of soldiers for the anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan. The numberof madrassahs in the country grew rapidly, financed by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi

Arabia, and Iran as well as by affluent Pakistan industrialists and businessmen both athome and abroad.

A major problem in education in Pakistan has been the low rate of female participationand the substantial disparity between males and females in educational achievement. In1992, among all persons above 15 years of age, only 22 percent of females were literateas against 49 percent of males.

Another very important necessary reform is to expand the information and researchbase of education in Pakistan. Effective management and administration of theeducation system depends on the quality of the information system. Without reliableinformation, decision-makers cannot improve education policy and programs at thenational, district and school levels.

I believe, following measures are vital to improve the system:

1. Improve, update and form curriculum, texts, pedagogy, and examination andevaluation techniques. Give more importance to language education and mathematics atthe primary and secondary levels. The unfortunate fact is that usually even ourpostgraduates lack basic skills in these areas. Language and mathematics are thefoundation on which acquisition of other skills depends. Though much of the problem isdue to poor teaching, yet curriculum, texts, pedagogy and examination techniques alsohave a lot to do with the current situation.

2. Instruction in science, history and social studies should be incorporated in languageteaching at the primary and secondary levels through activities and projects. Computereducation should also be introduced gradually right from the elementary stage ineducation.

3. More emphasis should be given to the development of educational institutions forsome unconventional disciplines as fashion designing, art, music and literature. There isa lot of talent in the country in this field and a great, high return international market forthe products and services of skillful people in this area. Similarly, a system of continualvocational training should also be introduced for workers in different fields.

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At the proper stage, instruction in foreign languages (especially Arabic for closer culturaland economic ties with the Arab world, for curbing sectarianism and fanaticism, forgreater unity in the Ummah, and for better understanding of Islam in the educatedclasses) and social skills (for enhancing Emotional Intelligence) should also beencouraged. Both these areas have gained immense importance in the wake ofglobalization.

5. Religious education should be incorporated in the mainstream education. For thispurpose, the most important thing is introduction of Arabic as a second language at theappropriate stage. This may not be as difficult as it seems. Some work may be requiredin forming the curricula and pedagogy, but the rest can be done just by including goodlevel Arabic in Civil Services and Army entrance examinations. Similarly, good Arabic canbe made a prerequisite for entrance into a number of other professions and forpromotion. (For example in the judiciary it makes sense to have a judge who has a soundbase in Arabic deciding about Islamic law). Demand will create its own supply, and it isexpected that schools, institutions and parents will also be important contributingfactors.

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Recommendations forImproving Education in Pakistan

Asif Iftikhar

Given below are some recommendations to the government for improving educationin Pakistan. The recommendations follow a brief mention of the problems they mightbe helpful in tackling:

I. PROBLEMSA. Low literacy level and low standard of education

These are general problems and need no elaborate comment here.

B. Inappropriateness of curricula and pedagogy

The curricula and related pedagogy are usually inappropriate or at least inadequate forthe set goals in many disciplines. Furthermore, there is no integrated system in which onestep leads to the next to enable a student to develop a truly sound base for the disciplinehe or she is interested in. Moreover, even at the higher levels of education, there is nomechanism worth its name to help a student in gauging his or her potential or in decidingon a suitable academic career.

C. Multiplicity of educational systems

There are many systems working here, resulting in not synergy but social division andconflict. For example we have English medium schools, Urdu medium schools, andreligious madrasas. Students coming out of English medium schools, especially goodprivate sector schools, have little or no awareness of their religion and culture whereasthose passing out from Urdu medium schools are usually destined to work in clerical andlower level positions. Religious madrasas churn out yet another class that are usuallyunaware of the world outside their own and, with their strong sectarian bias and little or notraining in modern disciplines, are usually ill-equipped to interact meaningfully with thelarger society and are also monumental at times in spreading sectarianism.II. RECOMMENDATIONS

A. Declare educational emergency

The present government should declare a national educational emergency and involvethe whole nation, including the army, in waging a war against illiteracy. Some steps thatthe government might consider taking in this regard are:

1. Declare education as the highest priority of the government. Explain that unless theimpediments of illiteracy and lack of education are removed, the road to democracy willremain fraught with the danger of exploitation of the masses by the select few, and that inthe absence of political will in the ruling classes to do something tangible in this arena, it

seems that it is up to the army to defend the country against illiteracy and lack of

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education, for there is no factor more important to the well-being of a nation than humanresource and no negligence worse than ignoring its development.

2. Make it mandatory for government and army officers at all levels to do stints atvarious educational institutions in relation to their skills and national requirements.

3. Make it a mandatory requirement for various degree programmes that thecandidates, after taking their exams, shall spend a specified period of time [for specifiedhour(s)] in teaching at assigned institutions. (These assignments should be given in ajudicious and practical manner).

4. Ask for volunteers with specified qualifications to contribute their services in theirareas of work or residence under organised bodies that can be formed for this purpose bythe government.

5. Ask the public to contribute financially for this purpose. Modern marketing and fundraising techniques can be adopted for this task.

6. Many government school buildings can be converted into commercial schools of goodlevel. The government can consider offering many of these schools to private sectororganisations in the field of education on the condition that a specified percentage ofbright students from the lower and middle classes will be granted admission andscholarships. Tax benefits/exemptions may also be made part of the deal to encourageentrepreneurship in this area.

7. Offer tax benefits/exemptions and other such incentives to private sector groups toinvest in education in rural and less developed areas.

8. Make it mandatory for each industrial unit/agricultural estate of an area above aspecified limit to provide for a school within the premises/area. Alternatively, the ownercan be asked to share costs with the government for setting up such school. Anotheroption is giving various financial/tax incentives.

9. Introduce standardisation of curricula and licensing and certification of teachers toimprove standards (as is done in the USA).

10. Introduce high quality selection procedure for higher level teachers and offer the

candidates better incentives.11. Use electronic media more extensively for educational purposes. A channel could bedevoted to just education. In this regard,

a. teachers of high calibre can take classes for different subjects at various levels,

b. these lecturers can be telecast as well as recorded,

c. the lectures can be delivered by telecasting them or by playing recorded cassetteseven in schools in far flung areas where quality education is usually not available,

d. later on computers can also be used with sufficient data banks and with internet and

e-mail facilities for more interactive education, and

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e. if an appropriate system is designed, more students can be taught in one school usingcassettes, discs, etc. with relatively less teachers.

12. In rural areas, provide each school with at least one army man to ensure that peopleface no resistance from the feudals in educating their children.

13. Provide people with incentives to educate their children. This can be done in various

ways. For instancea. even lower level government jobs as for clerks, peons, constables can be linked to aminimal level of education and entrance tests.

b. various loans (e.g. agricultural loans) can be linked to whether an applicant haseducated or is educating his children.

14. Link agricultural loans/tax benefits to feudal landlords with a specified number of

people they have helped in obtaining a required level of education.

15. Similarly, link industrial loans to education.

16. Similar linkages can be made in relation to adult education programmes

B. Improve, update and form curricula, texts, pedagogy, and examination andevaluation techniques

There is no need to say that improvement, updating and new work needs to be done inthese areas. Again, some steps that the government might consider taking are:

1. Give more importance to language education and mathematics at the primary andsecondary levels. The unfortunate fact is that usually even our postgraduates lack basicskills in these areas. Language and mathematics are the foundation on which acquisition ofother skills depends. Though much of the problem is due to poor teaching, yet curricula,texts, pedagogy and examination techniques also have a lot to do with the currentsituation.

2. Various teams of experts should be involved in performing the above mentioned taskof improvement and formation.

3. Instruction in science, history and social studies should be incorporated in languageteaching at the primary and secondary levels through activities and projects.

4. Computer education should also be introduced gradually right from the elementarystage in education.

5. At the proper stage, instruction in foreign languages (especially Arabic for closercultural and economic ties with the Arab world, for curbing sectarianism and fanaticism, forgreater unity in the Ummah, and for better understanding of Islam in the educated classes)and social skills (for enhancing Emotional Intelligence) should also be encouraged(Goleman,* 1996). Both these areas have gained immense importance in the wake of

globalisation.

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6. More emphasis should be given to the development of educational institutions forsome unconventional disciplines as fashion designing, art, music and literature. There is alot of talent in the country in this field and a great, high return international market for theproducts and services of skillful people in this area.

7. Similarly, a system of continual vocational training should also be introduced forworkers in different fields.

8. Interesting and informative documentaries and activities should also be designed forthe education of students. Similarly, institutions as museums, internet clubs, libraries, etc.should also be developed. Contributions from the public can also be sought for thispurpose.

9. Various bodies of academic experts should also be formed to monitor, standardiseand develop all the above mentioned programmes (1-8).

C. Eliminate multiplicity in education gradually

A uniform system of education should be introduced gradually to eradicate the problemsmultiplicity of systems creates as pointed out earlier. Two important things that thegovernment should attempt in this regard are:

1. Introduce one medium of instruction. In the international environment of competitiontoday, English has assumed unprecedented importance. Although Urdu will perhapsremain a language of our people for a long time to come, English has to be givenpreference if a choice is to be made (as too many languages undermine instruction in anyone).

2. Religious education should be incorporated in the mainstream education. For thispurpose, the most important thing is introduction of Arabic as a second language at theappropriate stage. This may not be as difficult as it seems. Some work may be required informing the curricula and pedagogy, but the rest can be done just by including good levelArabic in Civil Services and Army entrance examinations. Similarly, good Arabic can bemade a prerequisite for entrance into a number of other professions and for promotion.(For example in the judiciary it makes sense to have a judge who has a sound base inArabic deciding about Islamic law). Demand will create its own supply, and it is expectedthat schools, institutions and parents will also be important contributing factors. (Otheradvantages of Arabic have already been pointed out; see B.5).

Today education has become necessary for everyones life; Survival without education isbecoming difficult. A recent survey shows that in todays environment labour level jobsalso requiring education to work on machines, to drive machines and to quantify thework and calculate the earnings.

But in developing countries education is challenge for low earners, especially in Pakistan.Because in Pakistan income is on top priority then education in all institutions. So for lowearners it is too much difficult to pay high fees. Free education the government schools

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and various NGOs are offering but to study in most of those schools is about none. Lowsalaries, teachers absents, low qualification and no teacher trainings are the mainreasons of low quality education especially in Pakistan. The teachers dont know whatthey are teaching, students dont know what they are studying, and teachers are goingto schools for salaries, students for attendance and to satisfy parents. Students learnnothing and wasting their time in Pakistani schools according to current demand andcompetition. Quality education is also available in Pakistan but that is limited to only fewstudents in 13 Crore students.

In todays fast moving world Pakistan is still lacking quality education even after havinggood infrastructure and the same practices are ongoing from nursery to university level.Universities and schools want to earn more and more rather to better education theirstudents. All above reasons promoting academy culture in Pakistan, or part time hometuition culture in Pakistan. Because of tuition culture parents have to pay double feesfirst at schools, then academys. Education system in Pakistani universities is shame forthe Muslims. We proudly say we are Muslims but reality is different. The first messagefrom the God to our holy prophet was education.

The government must take the necessary steps to improve this system otherwise we will

be failure in the world with no education. Every Pakistani wants to go abroad but theyhave in mind in advance that they will work as labour and can survive with low earnings.HSMP highly affected Pakistan because the thousands of educated Pakistanis alreadymigrated and many trying to migrate.

If we will not standardize our education system we will be failure state in the world. Butunfortunately for this system educated leadership is necessary. No one is thinking aboutthis. But this is guaranteed that we will never grow with this system in the world.Everyone knows what is happening but no one working for its betterment. We shouldmake our country good educational brand.

Looking for your comments

Written by: Muhammad Samiullah

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The present education system has failed to disclose before the new generation thefounding reasons of Pakistan. The disastrous results of this negligence are now evidentin every walk of life. The responsibility for this deterioration lies with influential factions,besides those in power. The most alarming aspect, besides ideological confusion andmoral degradation, is the falling standard of education. Due to constant decay, Pakistanieducational documents are now no more acceptable abroad. There is unacceptable levelof class distinction in education. Because of this, Pakistani nation is most discreetly

broken down into an upper English medium and a lower Urdu medium class. This trendneeds to be checked immediately.

Urgent measures should be taken to improve the deplorable conditions of the stateowned educational institutions. Effective education policy should be decided inconsultation with judiciary, teachers, education experts, peoples representatives andstudents representatives. Further, no political intervention should be allowed inimplementation of this policy.

Exploitation by private educational institutions in the name of education should beregulated justly through legislation. These institutions should be made to boost

standardized education on the one hand and on the other, to embrace all classes ofsociety on basis of merit.

The government should declare a national educational emergency and involve the wholenation, including the army, in waging a war against illiteracy.

More emphasis should be given to language education and mathematics at the primaryand secondary levels. The unfortunate fact is that usually even our postgraduates lackbasic skills in these areas. Language and mathematics are the foundation on whichacquisition of other skills depends. Though much of the problem is due to poor teaching,yet curricula, texts, pedagogy and examination techniques also have a lot to do with thecurrent situation.

Pakistani Education System

A uniform system of education should be introduced gradually to eradicate the problemsof multiplicity of systems of education. Two important things that the government shouldattempt in this regard are:

Introduce one medium of instruction. In the international environment ofcompetition today, English has assumed unprecedented importance. AlthoughUrdu will perhaps remain a language of our people for a long time to come, Englishhas to be given preference.

The government should evolve an integrated system of national education bybringing Deeni Madaris and modern schools closer to mainstream in curriculumand the contents of education.

Reform issues also relate to the curriculum, textbooks, examinations, teacher training,school administration etc. Here, instead of reinventing the wheel, we need to speedilybegin the process of implementation after critically evaluating the detailed reports andrecommendations made by specialist international and national teams. Over the lastdecade every major educational issue has been the subject of numerous costly anddetailed studies. Some are excellently done while other are only fair. But whatever onesopinion on the final recommendations made in these reports, the professionals who

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authored them set out problems in clear and concise terms, marshaled data from varioussources and identified various options. However, astonishingly no such study wasreferred to at any time in any meeting of the Education advisory board although thesestudies had been commissioned by the Ministry of Education.

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1. I am often accused of just being critical and not coming up with any solutions for theproblems that I **** about.

Well, I have decided to tackle this false and vicious accusation against me with a proposalto set the educational system right and here is that proposal.I know that I am going to have to live through the equivalent of WATER BOARDING by thezealots of Status Quo Ante but so what.

Policy Statement.

The ministry of Education will be placed under an educational Czar who will have tenure of 10

years and legal rules will be established so that he will be immune to any and all kinds ofpressure from any quarter. The selection of the individual will be made.

And here this proposal is based on the assumption that that Czar is myself, Shimatoree.

1. All Private schools will be abolished completely. Profit making in education will be against

the law.2. Running a private school will be made a capital offence punishable by public guillotine.

3. All Madrassahs will be abolished without regard.4. A system of egalitarian schools will be established in every corner of the country

5. Education will be free and compulsory for the young as well as the old.6. The furniture (if any) will be the same in all the schools. If chairs then chairs for every

school. If mats then mats for every school.7. After the primary education is completed, the students will be required to take courses in

Honesty and, Morality and ethics. Throughout the time of education, the one thing will beimpressed upon as being HONESTY.

8. History will be taught as a factual subject and not as a concocted re-written history. Theevents as they took place in an un-biased and objective manner.

9. The history of Pakistan will be taught from the days of Mohenjo-Daro and onwards notonly including the history of the Islamic period but also equally of the period before that

when the Hindus and Buddhists ruled.10. Socrates, Plato, Diogenes and Anaxagoras and other ancient Greek philosophers and their

teachings would be compulsory throughout secondary, higher secondary, college andprofessional education.

11. Literature and poetry and music and art will be taught as a compulsory subject includingbut not limited to the arts of all countries and their past.

12. Great men of all of humanity of all civilizations will be promoted to teach ethics.13. Islamic history will be taught as an open subject for discussion and debate with the idea

to promote critical thinking.14. No allowance will be made for anyone trying to provide or promote his or her own brand

of the religion of Islam.

15. Mullahs will be eliminated by attrition as they would be forbidden to propagate their owndistorted views about society and they will be denied the pulpit in mosques or the Internetor TV or video conferences.

16. All schools will be run on a co-educational system. All boys and girls will learn in the sameinstitution.

17. Girls will be taught and made aware of their 100 % humanity and they will be taught notto accept the notion that somehow they are only half as good as boys.

18. The main aim will be to promote intellectual honesty and inculcate critical thinkingamongst the citizens of the country.

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Problems of Education system: (Outline)

1. Introduction2. Historical perspective: Mistakes and lessons

3. Status of education system4. Problems of education system

a. Inadequate fundingb. Parallel education systems

c. Disparities: Elite and poor

d. Creativity and researche. Facultyf. Personality needs

5. Suggestiona. Realization of Policies

b. Proper financing

c. Standardized education systemd. Practical trainings and research

e. Improve standard of faculty

Conclusion

Essay: Education plays an important role towards political stability, economic development and socialprogress. It brings political stability in the way that it realizes the people their national rights and duties.

When the people are aware of their rights and duties, a conducive environment is created for better

implementation of the policies and to ensure healthy participation of the people. Education bringseconomic development because it enhances the productivity and efficiency of the people, and provides

them necessary skills. This way people assume their respective roles and fulfill them efficiently, and

eventually support the sustainable economic growth of the country. Education shapes the personality ofthe people to integrate them rightly into the society. It seeks them moral obligations and duties, so they

can play their part in the society.

The under-developed education system of Pakistan has created many evils in the country. According tomost of the social scientists and experts, poor role of education system is critical factor of political

instability, economic upheavals and social disorganization. Nevertheless, vital role and significance of

education system is largely neglected in Pakistan unveiling a plethora of problems and challenges.Although, blessed with tremendous resources and vast manpower, Pakistan is considered in the list ofpoor nations, even in the South Asian region. It has become a victim of terrorism; it witnessing poor

economic growth of nearly 3% of the GDP and even experiencing severe political instability. Undoubtedly,there would be also some other factors responsible for instability in Pakistan but education is the crucial

one.

Education system of Pakistan is facing some serious problems. First, it is lacking adequate funds forproper infrastructure development. Second, there are many parallel education systems existing in

Pakistan which foment discrimination and create disparities among the people. Third, there is lack ofcreative and practical education which could provide fuel for research and innovation in the society.

Fourth, education system is unable to meet personality needs of students to make them true humanbeings who can serve the society. Fifth, faculty is lacking proper training and shows negligence towards its

duties. It is unable to provide a role model for the students.

Prior going into the problems pertaining to education system, we need to see the historical evolution of

education system to identify the inherent problem in it. The Muslims of India ruled under the foreigners fornearly two centuries. They were introduced with Western education system which was nearly imposed on

them. Modern education institutions were founded in big cities which provided education to elites of thesociety, but poor and some orthodox Muslims continued Madrassah education system. Later degraded with

time due to lack of funds and proper infrastructure, and its scope was limited to religious education.

Although, some visionary Muslims tried to blend traditional education system with modern, these effortscant bring any substantial change. After establishment, Pakistan inherited divergent education systems.

The new governments imitated foreign systems which had little or no relevance with Pakistani society,giving two extreme systems which abused each other. This gave birth to parallel education systems which

still exist in the state: creating many disparities in the society.

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Historically, a bundle of education policies have been introduced in Pakistan which envisaged ambitiousgoals, but most often, they lacked true implementation. Educational budget remained close to the margins

of 2% due to constraints of financial resources. Only a few governments paid some extra attention toeducation system, but they cant end the dilemmas of education,

Conclusion:

The world has become a global village and trends of market-based economies are setting. Now we are

living in a competitive environment and average systems have no space to survive. Changing dynamics of

world calls for a vigilant education system, equipped with modern facilities, to produce competitive andproductive human resource for the markets. Modern banking system, multi-national firms and businessinstitutions require quality human resource to make their systems efficient and enhance their services and

productions. Modern societies need well-mannered and disciplined members who could fit into the societyand serve it well. Illiterate, unskilled and undisciplined people have no room to live and they are soon

rejected by the society. Education systems must realize the changing dynamics of World and must be

well-updated to make their space in the World.

A problematic education system would not serve Pakistan. The government and civil must play their parts

to improve quantity, equity and quality in the education. Such an education system is the need of time,which provides equal opportunities to all and makes the students true human beings. It is a time, not for

new policy, but implementing the existing ones with sincerity and determination. One needs to mobilize allthe existing resources and make their proper utilization. Optimum spending would be the right way when

the economy is already strained. It is the time for educated and better Pakistan.

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Outline:

1. Introduction2. Standard

3. Causes of Downfall4. Remedies

Introduction:

Education is the third eye of a man

Education is only the weapon by which one can fight and conquer the battle of life. The education hasbeen a very essential part of the different civilization of the world in historical perspectives. In olden

times, cave men had no ideas regarding communicating themselves with one another; the first step was

taken in this regard was the formation of language, and it had become the very inceptive source ofcommunication in the earliest history of mankind. They came to know that they had already been

bestowed upon a tongue as a source of communication by the Allah Almighty, and now, it was their

emphatic job to be civilized and moral etiquettes were required to be shaped.

Then, the early sages made a format of alphabets and thoroughly worked on philology. Thus, gradually

grammar was made up, in which, different bifurcations were made; as, man could easily operate thelanguage as a source of communication.

Since then, the world has witnessed the outflow of knowledge that has crossed the boundaries of thedifferent regions and made a world like a global village in recent times, all it was done by the untiring

efforts of mankind that has been imparting valuable contributions in different walks of life especiallyEDUCATION.

Here, it is necessary to focus on the system of education in Pakistan; and how long this department has

been a victim of negligence by the people from different strata of our society and it will be observed, beingan individual, who is responsible for the downfall of education in the country.

Before independence, in 1875, a Primary School was established at Ghazipur, (India) by Sir Syed AhmedKhan, later a High School was established at Aligarh by the same mighty man. But through out India,

Muslims were denigrated and the basic needs of life were denied to them by the English. Keeping this inview, Sir, Syed Ahmed Khan aimed at to open a college for the Muslims of India so that they may be able

to get the best in higher education. In 1876, Mohammadan Anglo College was established at Aligarh as to

meet the demand of education of Muslims of India.

The college was affiliated to the Culcuta University; degrees were conferred upon the graduates by

Culcuta University for about 43 years, and in 1919, the colleges was upgraded upto a university level and

renamed as Aligarh University. The university produced thousand of graduates who spread throughout

India and started to champion the cause of un-educated and fought for the freedom for a separatehomeland.

The Muslims of India, of course, were backward in education than their Hindu counterparts. The Muslimcould not follow the way that was directed by the English and the Hindus, as, it was against their religion.

The poor type of education made the Muslims unable to get good jobs in English offices; hence, theyremained out of politics for they had the scarcity of consciousness. This came to them through the light of

education and they went successful in getting the freedom of Pakistan.

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Standard of Education in Pakistan:

In Pakistan, unfortunately the people have been introduced the double standard of education. The one,

which prevails through out the country is related to public sector and the other is an out come of privateinvestors.

Let us examine that how far the public sector has fulfilled the requirement of the people of Pakistan by

providing them in education. The country had got independence 58 years ago, since then, the contribution

imparted by this sector is a little bit worth to be mentioned. The result produced by the sector is very poorand the quantity has outdone quality as far as the contribution and creation is concerned. The educationsystem in Pakistan faced enormous problems after independence. A little attention was paid in this

respect. The education has remained an orphan child in our society by facing double standard and hascreated an atmosphere of frustration among the young ones.

Government has established schools, colleges and universities throughout the country that have been

imparting education in different respects and studies of life. The students from these departments are

wandering due to lack of opportunities. Everywhere they are denied services because they bear a label ofgovernment academies. Now one can imagine that why the government system of education is being

neglected throughout the country and why the establishment has allowed private sector with its tails up tointroduce another standard of education.

Parents are scared about their children and they even do not allow their children to be admitted in publicsector school, they prefer their child to get education in private sector as, it suits them more. This does

not mean that public sector schools are not producing the cream of the future, most of our genius andsages who are imparting their valuable services, are out come of public sector schools. The only submitted

reason by their parents is lack of management in public sector schools. The well management is offered atprivate schools.

The relation between teacher and student is sacred. Children are taught social and moral etiquettes with

more comfort at private schools, the behaviour of teachers is quite frank and the student can come indirect contact to their teachers. On some scale, this is true that contact between learner and learned lacks

in public sectors but the thing they are learning must be the same for both sectors, I mean the curricula.The Curriculum Board has been established but it has allowed private sector to run their own syllabus.

Now, the degrees are same but the scope of knowledge got by the two is too different to be compared.Here, students face many complications by studying under different curricula. This has created a big rift

between the two sectors.

Causes of Downfall:

There are enormous causes for the downfall of education in Pakistan which are discussed under different

sub-headings.

Economical Negligence:

Since its inception, Pakistan has remained a weak economy of the world for it has got nothing in its justassets that were aggressively snatched by India. The conflict between the two countries over Kashmir

issue has hardly allowed the government to consider and allocate funds in budget for other sectors, theeducation is not an exception in this regard. Still, only 2% of GDP is allocated for the welfare of education,

which is quite inappropriate to meet the demands of education. And it is worth to note that this allocationbudget is too not spent for educational purposes, the whole money is taken away by using unfair means

by the concerned officials. All these funds are not given through a proper channel so that a false auditreport is submitted that the utilization of funds has been spent on requisite purposes.

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Rapid growth in poverty:

According to 2002 Economic Survey of United Nations, Most of the inhabitants of Pakistan are poor and

40% of them live under poverty line, about 70% of its population dwells in villages. About 300,000, youngones are jobless. They have no access to good education. The reports shows that how much difficulties

and troubles have been faced by this poor and suppressed class of the country. Their main occupation isagriculture and its yearly out put cannot meet their daily and basic needs of life. It is worth to note that

only 1% landlords hold almost 95% of lands in Pakistan. This unjust division of land further creates

economical problems not only for the poor but also the government does not get the lions share in thisrespect.

Political Negligence:

If you want to destroy the future of any nation, no need to wage war with them; defunct their education,they will remain no more live on the map of the world.

No politician has paid attention in improving the standard of education so far, as far as the question ofhistory of development of education in Pakistan is concerned. In case of Sindh, in early 1970s, lingual riots

took place and a new cancer of copy culture was introduced and boosted up by politicians to prevailamong the people. No official steps were taken in curbing this fatal disease. Now, the result is that

throughout the country Sindhi students are understood the out come of copy culture and basic rights inevery walk of life are denied to them, because however, they may be genius and creators but the fact

remained that they lack in management and unable move the economy of the country just because theybear a title of COPY CULTURE. It was a political conspiracy based on totally bias. Being a Sindhi, I do not

favour Sindhis that they are not given a proper share in different walks of life, whatever is happening tothem is the only out come of wrong and misled policies which have been blindly followed up by them.

Patriotism is the very hinge for all virtues, living in the same country every one at first is Pakistani thenSindhi, Punjabee, Balochee and or Pathan, respectively. So, now it is our turn to turn a new leaf and pace

with our other provincial brothers to improve the management of our beloved country Pakistan, believingin united we stand, divided we fall. Education has become a question of survival for us; less developed

man cannot bring the change in improving the skills that are vital for the uplift of the education.

Irrelevant Induction of Staff:

It has been a dilemma of our educational system that it has embodied irrelevancy in inducting its staff;

broadly speaking, I personally have come across enormous experiences in my minute observation, as ithas been generally observed that if a person has some specialization in some particular subject but he

seems to be teaching something else. More openly, if some one has got his/her masters in English

Literature, he seems to be teaching Mathematics to his/her students. The fact remains that studentscannot learn first hand and ground information regarding their subjects. Nepotism is kept on priority while

inducting staff, the induction of staff on quota system has made impotent the working format of theeducation system, ministers choose their relatives for induction without thinking that either they could

serve better or will create complications for others.

Misconception of Purpose:

It is also a dreadful fact that todays young ones have changed their motives pertaining to acquiring

education. Actually, the education should be for the purpose of getting education as it has been wiselysaid; but, we have changed the slogan, education should be for the purpose of getting jobs. If, we keep

on remaining this theory in mind then we will be digressed from our way and education will be out of ourreach. By getting education we come to the ways that how we could be able to lead our lives in the best

and a possible way.

Unemployment:

Unemployment is on full swing throughout the country. Country has been facing huge economicalsetbacks since its independence. The poor economy of the country cannot meet at once the demand ofemployment of the countrymen at once. On the one hand the disappointed youth, keeping their degrees in

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hand, wander the whole day in search of job but No-Vacancy sign boards inflate their disappointment onthe other. This situation creates negative creation of thoughts in their minds; concluding, they come out

as dacoits to waylay and let their names to be enlisted in criminal list; and society faces much moretroubles through this kind of misshapenness.

Remedies:

Every one of us takes things differently, so there is a room for different suggestions. All of us should aim

at to abreast and pace ahead to take the task of improving the education system in a systematic way byimplementation different programmes. Awareness should be created amongst un-aware fellows, theimportance of education must be expounded in real terms but in an easy way, different literacy

programmes should be commenced throughout the country in order to provide assistance pertaining theimpediments faced by the poor. Government should take an active eye and spend much more money for

the improvement of primary, secondary and higher education. More schools, colleges and universities,

medical and engineering colleges are needed to be opened. Special attention must be paid on thedevelopment of scientific and technical education so that the settled trend of people in getting academic

education may be diverted to the technical education. Subject relevancy must be paid in mind while

induction of staff for the concerned posts. Politics must eliminated from education department. Studentshould pay attention much more on their studies than chalking walls in propagation of different leaders, by

doing so they are just wasting their time; nothing can be got by nefarious means. Honesty of purpose andquality in work should be our motives. Every one of us (parents, students, teachers and the supreme

government) should root out the copy culture from top to bottom from educational system that has beeneating away the fresh brains of our youth for the times unknown. The education must be got for the

purpose of education not for getting jobs. Text books must be updated with current topics and rapidlychanging of the scenario of the world must be given in the textual books. These suggestions are not

enough but whatever has come in my mind I have honestly jotted down; there is a room for suggestionsas already has been mentioned. In the last but not the least let us work together for bringing

revolutionary changes for the effective function of educational system in the country. Let us pray to AllahAlmighty may He enable us to bring and get our desired results by putting our entire efforts in this

respect.

God helps those who help themselves

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Education System in Pakistan

13.CENTRAL ISSUES AND PROBLEMS IN PAKISTAN EDUCATION SYSTEM AND THEIR NEEDED

REFORMS:

The existing education delivery system is not meeting the needs and aspirations of the society as suchparticularly, it is a challenge to the provinces and districts for the 21st century. Moreover, prior to

devolution, the policy and planning have been undertaken by the central and provincial governmentswithout taking into account the ground realities and without the participation of community. The main

objectives of the devolution plan is to empower the community at the grassroots level in planning,

management, resource mobilization and utilization, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of theeducation system to improve the service delivery at that level. The main inherent issues of educationsystems are: teachers absenteeism, high drop out rates particularly at primary level, high repetition rates,

low completion rates, inequalities by gender, location and social groups, low literacy rate and

unsatisfactory performance of schools, these issues have been addressed under DOP throughempowerment of local communities.

The present government has initiated political and administrative devolution under its reforms agenda

under Local Government Plan 2000. The Local Government Ordinance was promulgated on 14th August2001. Under devolution, political power, decision-making authority, and administrative responsibilities

have been moved as closes as possible to the village, union council, tehsil and district levels, with only themajor policy-making, coordination, and special service functions being retained with the central and

provincial governments. The main purpose of the devolution is to improve the service delivery at the grassroot level in various sectors.

It is believed that highly centralized system of education is greatly hampering the efficiency andeffectiveness of delivery service at the grass-root level. Successive governments addressed this problem

in their policies and plans since 1947.

The present government has envisioned with a clear commitment to reform a number of aspects of

education system framed within the 1998-2010 National Education Policy and ten year perspectivedevelopment plan 2001-2011 to increase educational opportunities for all children, to enhance the

efficiency and effectiveness of delivery service at grass root level. ESR is an Action Plan for 2001-2005,has been fully integrated into the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and about 80% of the ESR

packages covers adult literacy, Education for All and technical education. Devolution plan is the mainframefor implementation of ESR. The education sector reforms (ESRs) have been design to address the

following areas of education system:

1. Comprehensive literacy and poverty reduction program.

2. Expansion of primary elementary education.

3. Introduction of technical stream at the secondary level.

4. Improving the quality of education through teacher training.

5. Higher education sector reforms.

6. Public-private partnership.

7. Innovative programs.

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Policies and Goals of Education System in Pakistan

Policies and Goals of Education System in Pakistan:

Since independence, attempts have been made to relate the education system to the needs and

inspirations of the country. All Education Conference was held in 1947 as per directives of the founder ofPakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He provided the basic guidelines for the future

development of education by emphasizing interalia, that the education system should suit the genius ofour people, consonant with our history, culture and instill the highest sense of honor, integrity,

responsibility, and selfless service to the nation. It should also provide scientific and technical knowledgeto build up our economic life. This was followed by the appointment of various commissions, which

submitted their reports periodically. The 1959 Report of the Commission on National Education enjoys apeculiar position in the history of educational reforms. There were several other commissions and policy

statements up to 1973.

In 1973 the civilian democratic government came up with a 1973 constitution which provided that thestate shall:

(a) promote unity and observance of the Islamic moral standards;

(b) promote with special care the educational and economic interests of backward areas;

(c) remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory secondary education within minimum possible

period;

(d) make technical and professional education generally available and higher education equally accessibleto all on the basis of merit;

(e) enable the people of different areas, through education , training, agriculture and industrial

development , and other methods to participate fully in all form of national activities including

employment in the services of Pakistan;

(f) ensure full participation of women in all the spheres of national life.

The above-mentioned goals were pursued by various policy documents announced by subsequent

governments who came into power from time to time. Each policy stressed on:

(a) Islamic ideology and character building;

(b) the universalization of primary education and promotion of literacy;(c) science education;

(d) quality of education; and

(e) reduction in inequalities of educational facilities.

Formal System of Education in Pakistan.

In formal education system, there are a number of stages, which are illustrated in the diagram inAnnexure-I as described briefly below:

Pre Primary Schooling: Pre-primary education is functional and managed in schools through out country.Public schools provide pre-primary education as part of socialization process. The students attending pre-

primary class are called Kachi. National Education EFA Action Plan Policy, 1998-2010 provided recognitionto Kachi class as proxy for early childhood education. According to National Education Policy, 1998-2010,

the Kachi class will be introduced as formal class in the primary schools. The age group for pre-primary is5.

Primary Schooling:

This stage consists of five classes I-V and enrolls children of age 5-9 years. Since independence, the policy

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makers pronounced to make primary education free and compulsory. According to Pakistan IntegratedHousehold Survey (PIHS) 1998-99, the gross participation rate was 71 percent in 1999, for male it was 80

percent and for female it was 61 percent. For urban female it was 92 and for rural it was 50 percent. Thelowest participation rate observed for rural female in Sindh Province that was 33 percent. The net

enrolment rate was 42 percent, for urban male it was 47 percent and 37 percent for rural female.

Middle Schooling:

The middle schooling is of three years duration and comprised of class VI, VII and VIII. The age group is

10-12 years. The participation rate at middle school was about 34 percent during 2000-2001. Males were36 percent and females were 33 percent.

High Schooling:

The high school children stay for two years in classes IX and X. The Board of Intermediate and SecondaryEducation conducts the examination. A certificate of secondary school is awarded to the successful

candidates. The participation rate at high school was about 22 percent in 2000-2001 of which, 24 percent

were males and 20 percent were females. Vocational Education is normally offered in high schooling.There are varieties of trades offered to the students and after completion of the course they get jobs as

carpenters, masons, mechanics, welders, electrician, refrigeration and similar other trades. There are 498vocational institutions with an enrolment of about 88 thousand in 2001-2002.

Higher Secondary Education:

The higher secondary stage is also called the intermediate stage and is considered a part of collegeeducation. Higher Secondary Education consists of classes XI to XII. During two years stay in this cycle of

education, a student at the age of 16 years in this stage can opt for general education, professionaleducation or technical education. The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) conducts the

examination and awards a Certificate of Higher Secondary School Education (HSSC). According to 1979Education Policy, all schools were to be upgraded to higher Secondary Schools. Middle sections of high

schools were to be linked with primary schools (designating elementary education). This system haslimited success and some problems were experienced. Keeping in view the problems this system is being

introduced gradually.

Higher Education:

To obtain a degree, 4 years of higher education after 10 years of primary and secondary schooling is

required. Students who pass their first-degree stage are awarded a Bachelors degree in arts or science,typically at the age of 19 years. In order to complete an honors course at Bachelors degree level an

additional one years study is required. Further, a two years course is required for Masters degree whohave completed two years Bachelors degree. A doctoral degree requires normally 3 years of study after

the completion of a masters degree course.

Professional and Technical Education:

The duration of post secondary education varies in technical and professional fields. The polytechnic

diploma is a three-year course. A bachelors degree in medicine (MBBS) requires 5 years of study afterintermediate stage (12 years of schooling). Similarly, a bachelors degree course both in engineering and

veterinary medicine is of 4 years duration after the intermediate examination.

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Madrassah Education:

Side by side with modern education system there is also religious education system, which provides

Islamic education. These institutions have their own management system without interference from eitherthe provincial or federal governments. However, grants-in-aid are provided to these institutions by the

government. During 2000 there were 6761 religious institutions with an enrollment of 934,000, of which132,000 were female students in 448 institutions (Khan, 2002). Efforts have been made by the present

government to bring the Madrassah in the mainstream under Education Sector Reforms. The main

purpose of mainstreaming Madrassah is to enlarge employment opportunities for their graduates. PakistanMadrassah Education Boards are established to regulate the Madaris activities.

Non-formal Education:

There are millions of people in Pakistan who have no access to formal education system. It is not possiblefor the formal system to meet educational needs of the rapidly growing population. Non-formal Basic

Education School scheme has been introduced for those who have no access to formal education. This

scheme is very cost-effective. Under this scheme primary education course is taught in forty months. Non-formal schools are opened in those areas where formal schools are not available. Government provides

teachers salary and teaching material whereas community provides school building/room. There are 6371NFBE schools functioning in the country.

Examinations:

Examinations are usually held annually, which are the main criterion to promote the students to higherclasses or to retain them in the same class. However, recently a system of automatic promotion up-to

grade-III has been introduced in some schools. In the primary classes, examinations are conducted by therespective schools. However, at the end of the fifth year of the primary stage a public examination is held

by the education department for promotion to the next grade. Another examination is held for theoutstanding students to compete for the award of merit scholarships. Similarly, the examination in Middle

Schools are held by the individual schools but there is a public examination at the end of grade VIIIconducted by the Education Department for awarding of scholarships. The Board of Intermediate and

Secondary Education (BISE) conducts the examinations of Secondary and Higher Secondary. The degreelevel examinations are conducted by the respective universities.

Teachers Training:

In Pakistan, there are 90 Colleges of Elementary Education which offer teachers training programs for

Primary Teaching Certificate (PTC) and Certificate in Teaching (CT) to primary school teachers. Forsecondary school teachers, there are 16 Colleges of Education, offering graduate degrees in education and

there are departments of education in 9 universities which train teachers at the masters level. There areonly 4 institutions which offer in-service teachers training. Besides these, the Allama Iqbal Open

University, Islamabad, offers a very comprehensive teachers training program based on distance

learning; its total enrolment is about 10,000 per annum of which 7,000 complete various courses every

year.

Private Education Sector:

Private sector involvement in education is encouraging. The Federal Bureau of Statistics survey (1999-2000) indicates that there are 36,096 private educational institutions in Pakistan. About 61 percent of the

institutions are in urban areas and 39 percent in rural areas. The percentage share of private sector inenrollment is 18 percent at primary school level, 16 percent at middle school level and 14 percent at high

school level.

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It has been observed that most of the private schools select their own curricula and textbooks, which arenot in conformity with public schools. Majority of the schools are English Medium which attracts the

parents for sending their children to these schools. Most of the schools are overcrowded and do not haveadequate physical facilities. These schools are usually charging high fees from the students. Most of the

schools are unregistered; therefore, in most cases the certificates issued by these institutions are notrecognized by public schools. Majority of these institutions are functioning in the rented buildings.

The National Education Policy 1998-2010 proposed that there shall be regulatory bodies at the nationaland provincial levels to regulate activities and smooth functioning of privately managed schools andinstitutions of higher education through proper rules and regulations. A reasonable tax rebate shall be

granted on the expenditure incurred on the setting up of educational facilities by the private sector.Grants-in-Aid for specific purposes shall be provided to private institutions. Setting up of private technical

institutions shall be encouraged. Matching grants shall be provided for establishing educational institutions

by the private sector in the rural areas or poor urban areas through Education Foundation. In rural areas,schools shall be established through public-private partnership schemes. The government shall not only

provide free land to build the school but also bear a reasonable proportion of the cost of construction and

management. Liberal loan facilities shall be extended to private educational institutions by financialinstitutions.

Despite all shortcomings of private education mentioned above, PIHS survey indicates that enrolment

rates in public schools have declined since 1995-96 particularly a large decline has been observed in ruralareas. It is generally perceived by parents that quality of education in private schools are better than the

public schools, therefore, those parents who can afford prefer to send their children to private schools.These trends indicate that the public education system is unable to meet public demand for providing

quality education in the country.

Administrative and Supervisory Structure and Operation

According to the Constitution of Pakistan (1973), the Federal Government is entrusted the responsibilityfor policy, planning, and promotion of educational facilities in the federating units. This responsibility is in

addition to the overall policymaking, coordinating and advisory authority; otherwise, education is theprovincial subject. The Federal Ministry of Education administers the educational institutions located in the

federal capital territory. Universities located in various provinces are administered by the provincialgovernments, but are exclusively funded by the federal government through the Higher Education

Commission.

The Federal Ministry of Education is headed by the Minister of Education. The most senior civil servant in

the Ministry is the Education Secretary assisted by Joint Secretary and Joint Educational Advisors of eachwing. There are 6 wings in the Federal Ministry of Education and each wing is headed by Joint Educational

Advisor

The provincial Education Departments are headed by their respective Provincial Education Ministers. The

civil servant in charge of the department is the Provincial Education Secretary. The provinces are further

divided into districts for the purpose of administration. The head of the Education Department in a districtis Executive District Officer (EDO). Literacy Department functions separately in case of Punjab and Sindhonly it is headed by Executive District Officer (EDO) literacy. In the Provinces of NWFP and Balochistan,

literacy is the part of Education Department. The hierarchy then runs down to the District EducationOfficer, Sub-district Education Officer, Supervisors or Assistant Sub-district Education Officers .

At the grass root level (the union council level), Learning Coordinators (LCs) provide academic guidance

as well as supervise the schools. The administrative structure has been decentralized under the DevolutionPlan. Village Education Committees (VECs)/ School Management Committees (SMCs) have been set up in

the provinces at grass root level.

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Present Scenario of Education in Pakistan

The government of Pakistan recognized that education is the basic right of every citizen; therefore, access

to education for every citizen is crucial for economic development and for poverty alleviation. The presentgovernment has given much importance to education sector it has not only emphasized raising the

present literacy rate but also emphasized improving the quality of education. The over all estimated

literacy rate was 50.5 percent, for male 63 percent and for female 38 percent during 2001-2002. Urbanliteracy rate was 70 percent and rural literacy rate is 30 percent during the same period. Pakistan netprimary enrolment rate was 66 percent (male 82 percent, female 50 percent) and gross enrolment rate

was 78 percent (male 91 percent, female 64 percent) during 2000-01. About 45 percent children whoenrolled in grade-1 drop out before completing primary education cycle (male drop out 45 percent, female

drop out 54 percent). There are about 4 million children of 5-9 age group who are left out of school. The

left out includes those children who never enrolled and those who drop out.

Enrolment at primary level was 16.63 million during 2000-01. The gross enrolment at middle level was 34percent, male 36 percent and female 33 percent in 2000-01. The gross enrolment at secondary level was

22 percent, 20 percent for female and 24 percent for male. The total number of Arts and Science collegeswere 916 (male 536 and female 380) with the enrolment of 763,000 during 2000-01. There are 68

universities in Pakistan with the enrolment of 1.1 million. Out of the total universities, 40 universities aremanaged by public sector. There are 203,439 educational institutions in Pakistan of which 36,096

institutions are run private sector and the share of the private sector is about 18 percent.

The major issues and challenges of the education system include low literacy rate, high drop out rate,

wide spread teacher absenteeism, weak management and supervision structure, shortage of trained andqualified teachers specially female, lack of teachers dedication, motivation and interest in their profession

and lack of physical facilities. Moreover the curriculum is mostly outdated, irrelevant and does not fulfillthe requirements of present day.

Education For All (EFA):

Education For All refers to the global commitment to ensure that by 2015 all children would complete

primary education of good quality (Universal Primary Completion), and that gender disparity would beeliminated in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005 and no later than 2015. This

commitment was made at the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal in April 2000 and reaffirmed in

the Millennium declaration in New York in September 2000. The Government of Pakistan is attaching toppriority to EFA. The country has ten year Perspective Development Plan (2001-11) to visualize the long

term macro-economic and sectoral growth strategies, Poverty Reduction and Human Development is thepriority area of the Plan. Sector-wide development approach covering all the sectors of education has been

adopted under the Perspective Plan. In order to address the EFA implications linkage plan focusing on

development of other sectors of Education has also been prepared.

Nearly 80% of the ESR covers different goals of Education for All by 2015, reducing illiteracy by 50

percent with a focus on reducing the gender gap by 2015, life skills and learning opportunities for youthand adults; and early childhood education. The targeted groups for EFA goals belong to disadvantaged

communities with minimal opportunities. These groups are highly vulnerable, without access to learningfacilities, or public sector facilities, which are functioning at sub-optimal levels.

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Wake up Pakistan- The Education System

An educational system isnt worth a great deal if it teaches the young ones how to make a living but doesnt

teach them how to lead a good life.

Pakistan has always been criticized for its education system. It has been 63 years since independence, yet we are

unable to establish a comprehensive and effective education structure. It cannot be said that efforts were not

made but the people who did or doing something special are targeted on political or credit scoring basis. Aswith Pakistan, the policy usually exists, its the execution part which is always missing.

Education can be classified into two categories, lower education (elementary, secondary, intermediate andgraduation) and higher level education (professional education, post-graduation). Lets leave the discussion for

higher education to a later post and focus on the lower education.

In Pakistan 1.3 % of GNP is assigned to Education from which 93% is given to lower education and 7% to

higher education; whereas in other developing countries at least 4-6 % of GNP is reserved for education. It isevident that the Governments primary focus is on lower level education but where are the results? Lower level

education is discriminated by the private and public schools education quality differences. In a country where

more than 50% of the population is living on or below the poverty line, how could they even think of privateschools when they face a continuous struggle to meet both ends?

In terms of overall progress lower level education is on the worse line. Now how can we improve our education

system and wipe out the discrimination in the schooling system. The answer is very simple, give every child

same and equal chance of education, as in Singapore the Government has outsourced the education to OxfordUniversity (up to O levels and A levels). In my opinion we should do the same and outsource the lower level

education so that everyone has the same education.I do require your comments so as to know what do think

about the suggestion of outsourcing and whats your thought on its impact whether it will solve our educationsystem problem..

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Pakistan's Existing Education System:

Guest Post by Mr. Fida Hussain Sayani

Before I elaborate on the existing education system, it is important to highlight the system we inherited

from the British Raj in 1947. A classic example is NJV High School on Bunder Road, presently MohammadAli Jinnah Road. I joined the school in 1949, at that time this Sindh Government School was considered the

elitist school where the cream of the crop of Sindh used to send their children for education from class 5 to

11. After graduation the student had to move to the college for intermediate education. This school was

not only for the children of elite of Sindh but also for the children coming from all walks of life including the

orphan children of Vazir Rahim Boarding. The School by having the children coming from different strata of

Sindhi culture both Hindus and Muslims and gave them the same standard education, hence a bond was

created between the rich and the poor resulting in a homogenous environment.

Today the government school system does not offer that environment and opportunity. Ours is a verydivisive education system which has created a huge gap between the have's and have not's, hence we

have Babus and Seths. This divisive system having penetrated deeply in to our culture, the results of which

are right in front of our eyes. The different tiers have been created in our system over a period of 60 years

to facilitate the hold of the elite over the governing of our nation. Until and unless drastic action is taken to

correct the education system we are bound to end up in chaos, the rays of which are already showing.

Today our multiple tier education system can be highlighted in the following categories:

Cambridge Education system: This foreign education system is exclusively for the children of very rich

so that they can after graduation go overseas for higher education on the foreign exchange provided to

them by Pakistan Sate Bank.

Pakistan Secondary Education system: This is provided by private and government schools, one for

the middle class and other for the poor. The one for the middle class has medium instruction in English and

the other one in Urdu. The children from these institutions, if they happen to have good grades and the

parental financial capital go to the colleges of their preference and the rest either become clerk/ cashiers/

sales person in a shop/ worker in the factory/ any other work which comes in there way.

Maderessah Education System: This is supposed to provide religious education; however, the results in

front of us provide a very dangerous scenario.

This one has no name and consists of children who are born in misery and die in misery.

Can this above scenario be corrected? Definitely YES.

Can it be done in one Massive surgery? Definitely NO.

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The course of action is that it has to be corrected over a longer period of time; any quick method in

correcting the present different tiers of this system will create a chaos which will dwarf the nationalization

of banks and insurance companies by Z.A. Bhutto.

The most immediate action would be to create a one tier system on paper after thorough research to be

done by educationalist and men of science, technology, business, finance, law, agriculture and others.

Once the system is in place, the next stage will be to bring the existing government schools in compliance

with the new one tier system of education. This goal can be achieved in 2-3 years if done in a crash

course. Once the middle class comes to know that the free government schools are offering a same or

better education than the private schools charging fees, they will immediately switch the school for there

children, Once this is achieved, the time will be perfect to ban the Cambridge system of education in

Pakistan.

In a unified Pakistan, there has to be one education system for all the children of Pakistan. This will lead us

to Unity, Faith and Discipline. The cry of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Quaid-e-Azam.

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2nd Part:

Primary and Secondary Education in Pakistan, its Deficiencies and Rectification:

Education is a must for civilization. Today a dark clouds hovers over Pakistan, where illiteracy is on theincrease due to negligence of the government of Pakistan, which spends only 1% of the GDP on education for

160 million population of the country. The illiteracy level which is tied to the poverty level goes hand in handand the tragedy of Pakistan is that all the successive administrations since its birth 61 years ago have failed to

address the issue of Education.

To address the subject of this paper, it is important to identify the relevant issues which have brought the

illiteracy to this elevated level. In this high tech world this elevated level of poverty and illiteracy is notacceptable and it is important to identify the weakness of the governments approach to the present level of

education and rectify the situation.

1. Quality of education at the time of independence.2. What went wrong over a period of 61 years.

3. What a mess we are in at the present stage.

4. How to face the Education carnage and provide rectification

1. Quality of Education at the time of independent.

Government Primary Schools ( Grade 1-4 ) and Secondary Schools ( grade 5-11 ), before the birth of Pakistangave a quality education in the Province of Sindh which attracted children of the elite as well working class

parents. After all Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Quaid-e-Azam, creator of Pakistan is a product of Sind

Madressah School, Karachi. He, after completing his Metric level schooling, proceeded to London and returned

as Bar-At-Law. NJV High School, Karachi, also gave another Bar-At-Law, who is a renowned Attorney ofPakistan, Mr. Abdul Hafeez Pirzada. In the early 50's the same school had sons of Dr. Shams Daudpotta and

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many elites of Sind were on the school ledger. This heritage of good education left by British very soon started

evaporating and degenerated to a present level where even the ordinary citizen of Pakistan shy away fromsending their children to a govt. school for primary and secondary education.

2. What went wrong over a period of 61 years?

Greed and corruption were the two major factors which brought a well thought out British Raj system ofeducation to its knees, while India and Sri Lanka managed it well. In the case of India, they advanced theirengineering, technology and medicine to such a high standard that today they compete with the most advanced

nations of the world and many American and European organization outsource their work to India.

In Pakistan the teachers were the major factors in lowering the standard of education in the primary and

secondary schools, the main factor was greed. They would not provide a good education to the students in theclassroom. Instead they would encourage their students to take tuition at the home of the teachers, so the

teacher could generate more money in his/her pocket; other teachers were purely corrupt, they would take

money and help the student in getting the upgrade in there mark sheet. Some would let the students use unfairmethods in the examination hall. When a teacher indulges in these unfair methods he looses self respect in the

eyes of his student.

As Pakistan was getting older the students in Pakistan were getting bolder, and at one stage they used knives

and guns to get the kind of grade they wanted from there teachers. When the government school lost theircreditability, the carpetbaggers moved in the private sector. Now this does not mean that all in private sectors

were bad. Then came Bhutto's

How to Improve Our Educational System

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