Other aspects to education... By Saanwal
16 November, 2012
The Pakistan government has concentrated only on the quantitative aspects of development and progress. This is principally the case in education in Pakistan, at all levels, from primary to doctorate. There are numerous universities and colleges of higher education in Pakistan; however, the quality of education they impart is rarely of a very good quality. (Barring the few private universities that only a tiny minority of Pakistan has access to.) Merit, for example, has virtually nothing to do with the admission criteria of students or for hiring of staff; recommendations work better. Even at the research level, poor practices are followed. Nothing like creativity or productivity is known to a majority of research students, owing to which Pakistan lags behind in research, though they would find it apt to put 'Dr' before their names. In this manner, Dr Pervaiz Hoodbhoy, the eminent education analyst, aptly said once, '...HEC has merely doled out PhDs...' Coming down to graduate level, one finds flaws in assessment methods. What is assessed? Memory. What is awarded? Marks. What an awful and dire picture! All this is owing to quantity considerations and virtually no emphasis on quality in education. What I aspire to assert is that the Pakistan government must consider the qualitative aspects of education if Pakistan is to become a sophisticated country like the UK or USA. India detached from us some 65 years ago with practically no technology but is now in the world top 50 countries in technology. SAANWAL KARAMAT BARLAAS
UK
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