Education is surely not what it ought to be in Pakistan today, where students are gravely caught in competitions struggling to keep their individuality in the society.
To put things into perspective, an average student, including me before dropping out goes through around 10 hours each day preparing for the tests that are held thrice a year.
That can additionally be separated into 6 hours at school, which encompasses on preparing the students for the finals, and 4 hours at private tuition centers where untrained tutors, as their side occupation set up the students for the school. Both's homework, then, is done in whatever time is left.
At that point, the basic development of mind and critical thinking fades in memorizing certain subjects, which too contains highly censored and biased content, often selected on the basis of publisher's wealth or current government and political conditions.
Sometimes, a curriculum may be repeated for years, or even decades due to the lack of educational budget or at times, to save it.
After months of seeking a publisher for my book last year, I came to realize that almost 80 percent of the publishers in Pakistan are only in business for academic textbooks. Much like everything else, books and publishing industry is also hampered by a low literacy rate in Pakistan.
Also read: Pakistani Literature – Evolution & trends
On the other hand, there is also an enormous divide between the education given to two main classes here: the working class and the ruling class, both finding their underlying foundations in colonial India.
Schools depicting Western atmosphere are still more preferred by the local elites and Pakistan, to this day, imports British courses for the ‘English–medium’ schools.
These British prep schools were first established in colonial India by the colonizers to make a class divide for their ruling native elites — manikins, so to speak — which they found in the Maharajahs, aristocrats and sepoys; thus, transformed them into cheap imitations of Englishmen.
After the decolonization, instead of abolishing such institutions, they were granted a prestigious rank in the societies when powers landed directly into the hands of the ruling elites, colonial intact families and institutions such as the Army.
Read more: Blurred lines: Business and partying among Pakistan’s elite
The working class, on the other end, are either sent to the government schools — state of which will shock any Western observer — or regions where government fails to operate, children, mostly boys are forced sent to madrasas where they are acquainted with misinterpreted Islamic principles, confined from the outside world.
The traditional madrasa, then, despite 86 percent of the population believing education is equally important, is the only source of schooling for the rural population in Pakistan today, who comprise a major portion of the general public in the country — 63.3 percent, to be precise.
As opposed to leaving their youngsters wandering around, children are admitted in a madrasa at an exceptionally young age, for the most part, 5–9 years and go through just about 12 years there. There are also around 25 million children out of school and the girls married off being violated from their right to education in Pakistan today.
Much like the ‘English–medium’ scholars, they are also trained to look down upon those who refuse to support their image of the world.
Though Pakistan’s educational structure varies, it is now extremely rare to find these classes involving in the business and social arenas together; the cross-breeding of thoughts and ideas stop and the country finds itself in a state of crisis, more within than outside.
Even residential areas, educational and health institutions today, though in the same country, are geographically and placably separated between these groups. [1]
Such is the atmosphere where Pakistan was born, currently shaping and most importantly, the new generation is being molded today.
Alyan Khan is a student of humanities, writer, author and sociopolitical activist from Pakistan.
© This article was originally printed in International Policy Digest.
To put things into perspective, an average student, including me before dropping out goes through around 10 hours each day preparing for the tests that are held thrice a year.
That can additionally be separated into 6 hours at school, which encompasses on preparing the students for the finals, and 4 hours at private tuition centers where untrained tutors, as their side occupation set up the students for the school. Both's homework, then, is done in whatever time is left.
At that point, the basic development of mind and critical thinking fades in memorizing certain subjects, which too contains highly censored and biased content, often selected on the basis of publisher's wealth or current government and political conditions.
Sometimes, a curriculum may be repeated for years, or even decades due to the lack of educational budget or at times, to save it.
After months of seeking a publisher for my book last year, I came to realize that almost 80 percent of the publishers in Pakistan are only in business for academic textbooks. Much like everything else, books and publishing industry is also hampered by a low literacy rate in Pakistan.
Also read: Pakistani Literature – Evolution & trends
On the other hand, there is also an enormous divide between the education given to two main classes here: the working class and the ruling class, both finding their underlying foundations in colonial India.
Schools depicting Western atmosphere are still more preferred by the local elites and Pakistan, to this day, imports British courses for the ‘English–medium’ schools.
These British prep schools were first established in colonial India by the colonizers to make a class divide for their ruling native elites — manikins, so to speak — which they found in the Maharajahs, aristocrats and sepoys; thus, transformed them into cheap imitations of Englishmen.
After the decolonization, instead of abolishing such institutions, they were granted a prestigious rank in the societies when powers landed directly into the hands of the ruling elites, colonial intact families and institutions such as the Army.
Read more: Blurred lines: Business and partying among Pakistan’s elite
The working class, on the other end, are either sent to the government schools — state of which will shock any Western observer — or regions where government fails to operate, children, mostly boys are forced sent to madrasas where they are acquainted with misinterpreted Islamic principles, confined from the outside world.
The traditional madrasa, then, despite 86 percent of the population believing education is equally important, is the only source of schooling for the rural population in Pakistan today, who comprise a major portion of the general public in the country — 63.3 percent, to be precise.
As opposed to leaving their youngsters wandering around, children are admitted in a madrasa at an exceptionally young age, for the most part, 5–9 years and go through just about 12 years there. There are also around 25 million children out of school and the girls married off being violated from their right to education in Pakistan today.
Much like the ‘English–medium’ scholars, they are also trained to look down upon those who refuse to support their image of the world.
Though Pakistan’s educational structure varies, it is now extremely rare to find these classes involving in the business and social arenas together; the cross-breeding of thoughts and ideas stop and the country finds itself in a state of crisis, more within than outside.
Even residential areas, educational and health institutions today, though in the same country, are geographically and placably separated between these groups. [1]
Such is the atmosphere where Pakistan was born, currently shaping and most importantly, the new generation is being molded today.
[1] Armytage, Rosita. “Elite Ethnography in an Insecure Place: The Methodological Implications of ‘Studying up’ in Pakistan.” Focaal: Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology 2018.83 (2018): 80–93. Print.
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Alyan Khan is a student of humanities, writer, author and sociopolitical activist from Pakistan.
© This article was originally printed in International Policy Digest.