Posts Tagged Childhood Education

BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN

( APPELLATE JURISDICTION )
C.M.A No…..11  /2013
In
the Const. Petition  37/2012
(regarding miserable conditions of schools)

Alhamdulillah, the Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan has in recent months taken Suo Motu notice of this fundamental national issue of  delivery of education in the state-run schools.

The apex  court has sought from the provincial governments as well as ICT administration important statistics  regarding  conditions & provision of facilities in schools, verification of Ghost schools, and detailed reports on implementing Article 25A of the Constitution of Pakistan. ( provision of free & compulsory education up to secondary level)

گر تو مي خواهي مسلمان زيستن
نيست ممكن جز بقرآن زيستن  ( اقبال )

[ If you would like to live like a good Muslim, it is only possible if you follow the
Message of the Quran e Hakeem.] ( Allama Iqbal )

The challenges, and serious impasse confronting our educational system at School (government/ private–grade 1 to 12) and Madrassa level and their realistic solutions may be discussed under the following heads :-

a) Ideological and visionary issues;

b) Development of Curriculum, Textbooks and supplementary aids;

c) Teacher’s training & capacity building and motivational issues;

d) Adoption of Integrated approach to Education;

e) Environmetal/Parental supportive and participatory approach;

f) Provision of financial & material resources issues;

g) Organizational,  infra-structural, logistical issues;

h) Research & development ;

3)   65 YEARS OF PAKISTAN;           OUR SCHOOLING & END HUMAN PRODUCT:

Despite very specific and pertinent constitutional provisions namely articles 2/A, 25/A,31, 37(a,b) calling for establishment of an Islamic Order based on the Quranic Injunctions and Sunnah, we as a nation and a polity are very far from those Objectives and our destination.

Barring a few honourable exceptions in all walks of our national life,  the End Human Product of our schooling system, be it the state-run, the private,  the informal or the Madrassa, is hardly up to the mark i.e. up to desired religious, educational, moral, and social standards,
individually, collectively, and institutionally.

علامه اقبال كيا خوب ياد دلاتي هين
وه زماني مين معزز تهي حامل قرآن هو كر
اور تم خوار هوءي تارك قرآن هو كر

i)  Collectively assessed in the comity of nations, regrettably, we have further suffered degradation  in the corruption & corrupt practices indicators; with wide spread deviant and bank-corrupt behavior, by no means representing an Islamic social order & culture.
( vide the Transparency International’s report, 2012)

Some other dismal indicators are as under :

ii) Our Graduates, MAs, Drs, Engrs, LLBs, and even PhDs are mostly unable to understand the verses of the Quran e Hakeem when it is recited to them, say in prayers, or when they read it themselves. What a pity !
What a serious concern !

iii)  Our graduates, generally speaking, can’t even correctly  write an application/paragraph  in Urdu or English.

iv)  Our university degrees are generally not accepted in the foreign universities for admission;

v) The youth  passing through ‘Dars e Nizami’ courses from the Madaris , have generally, their main focus on learning various disciplines connected with the Quran, Ahadees, Fiqh, etc with a strong Bias towards their respective Fiqhi outlook.

This Bias has encouraged divisive tendencies in the religious, social, and political environment,  rather than promoting Muslim brotherhood and cohesive tendencies.

Moreover,  they are generally ignorant about important contemporary disciplines dealing with science & technology and social sciences

4) Vision & Quality of education

a) Primacy of school education
( grade 1 to 12) is an irrefutable factor in character/nation building and sustainable development of any society.

b) What matters most is the Vision & Quality of education in terms of its ideological base ;

to translate these Values into Action/Practical reality.

i) To improve the Visionary Base & Quality of Education we need to focus on the Content & Structure of the Curriculum, the Textbooks and Supplementing Aids , The Teachers’ Capacity Building to deliver and Motivation to become true Role Models, and Creating of Supporting Environment in the schools, homes, and outside, including Media & Internet.”

5) Adoption of Integrated Approach to Education :

We have also to change our
Approach to education,  which is divided into religious and secular; spiritual and mundane. We have to have an Integrated Approach to Education, where all areas of knowledge are studied, explored and researched, in the context and balancing fulcrum of divine existence.
We should assign top priority to School/Madrassa  education by thoroughly revisiting the curriculums and textbooks on the touchstone of ideology and grounded in an integrated approach to education, which combines learning of Islamic Studies along with  other Contemporary subjects including Pure & Applied sciences, and Social Sciences.
ii) With the exception of a few schools in the Private sector & Madaris (they too need improvements to attain classical standards) , the School and Madrassa Curriculums & Textbooks are grossly deficient and flawed on one count or the other;
They fail to inspire the youth to thoroughly appreciate and cultivate/imbibe the Islamic values/teachings based on enlightened study of the Quran e Hakeem, Sunnah, Muslim history, Culture, and formidable Muslim Contributions to various branches of knowledge including science & technology especially between 8th to 14th centuries.
iii)  Such exposure to Islamic values and history would motivate our youth to look for Muslim role models starting from the shining examples of our Holy Prophet (SAWW) and his Great Companions, ( including men, women, and children), to imitate for character building, practicing golden tenets/values of Islam in our personal, family, & social lives, besides learning best Principles of governance and statecraft.
iv)  Our youth can draw great inspiration from the marvelous feats accomplished by the Muslim scientists, discoverers, and scholars in various fields of knowledge, including science & technology during the Golden Period of Muslim history, the hallmark of their Scientific & Technological Pursuits being research & experimentation ( basis  of scientific method )
v)  The West owes a great deal to the Muslim scholars and scientists who proved to be beacon of light in the dark ages of western world, who extensively borrowed, translated, and learnt from the books and works, and inventions & discoveries of the Muslims.
vi )  The bottom line of this enlightening school education should be such an inspiring introduction of Allah SWT that the youth are deeply impressed and spellbound by ;
a) All His Perfect Attributes;
b) His Marvelous  Creations,
Human beings occupying the central place being His masterpiece creation and His Vicegereant on earth;
c) Allah’s Sunnah ( His grand Design, Planning & perfect Methods) in creating and administering the boundless universe according to His divine Wisdom & Will.

6) Provision of Adequate  Resources :

Since we have now a constitutional obligation to provide for free and compulsory education to 5 to 16 years old students, the federal government have to provide huge sums of financial, and logistical  resources to meet this national obligation. Besides,  provision of large human resources by recruiting and training teachers for schools is   a fundamental obligation of the federal government.
Therefore, we must raise the GDP percentage of expenditure on education from shamefully low percentage of less than 2% to at least 8% for the next 25 years.

How could we achieve  multi-dimensional ideal benchmarks in education without providing adequate financial resources on regular basis?

Currently Cuba is spending more than 18% of GDP on education, thus setting a great example for the whole world.

7 )  we have also to focus on the character building of youth, based on Islamic values, in schools and madaris by creating activity based supporting environment by motivating the teachers to become role models for their students.
8)  Parents have also to contribute in developing the character building module by providing their active support to the students and their teachers.
9) The ministry of education and most of its functions have been devolved to the provincial governments under the 18th amendment of the constitution. But the federal government must not absolve itself of their responsibility towards this fundamental state obligation of providing free and quality school education to the youth of the country.The federal government must provide adequate resources to the provincial governments to enable them to fulfill this very fundamental obligation in the best possible manner, in the spirit of collective partnership.
10) Also in the wake of the 18th amendment, there are certain pertinent questions which have to be addressed.( vide annex A )
PRAYER :-
11) In the light of above submissions, it is proposed that a high level Permanent Commission on Education headed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan and comprising eminent educationists, well reputed religious scholars, Judges and public servants be set up :
A ) To thoroughly revisit and review the prevailing School Education System ( Public, Private, and Madrassa ) and
B ) To take all necessary measures (immediate, short & long term) to ensure establishing an ideal school education system in the country, which is fully responsive to and capable of meeting our national aspirations as well as cognizant of all challenges as discussed in the preceding  paras;
C ) To permanently supervise and guide the newly established system of school education to ensure its smooth working.

Wassalaam,
Saleem Tariq Lone.
(Retd) IG Police.
0300-5193678