Education system of Pakistan

Problem statement:

Education is the road to national development. It creates sense of responsibility among the people. On the basis of education people not only realize their duties but also know how to achieve their national, societal and individual rights. Today Pakistan is faced with many problems such as poverty, insecurity, sectarianism and terrorism. The reasons for these problems are lack of tolerance, lack of general awareness and illiteracy promoted by an ineffective education system.

Following are the problems of education system,

Lack of uniformity:

The system of education in Pakistan is not based on uniform principles. Different systems of education are simultaneously working in the country. The curriculum is also not uniformed which has given birth to different schools of thoughts. For example there is a world of difference between the attitudes of students coming out from the public educational institutions, Deeni Madaris and the few private elite institutions.

Education without direction:

Every nation develops its generation on the basis of vigorous training and education on social, political, economic and ideological grounds. Pakistani education system due being directionless and weak has not been able to develop and guide its people on sound political and social grounds.

Outdated curricula:

Curriculum is the tool through which the goals of education are achieved. The curriculum of education in Pakistan does not meet the demands of the current times. It is an old and traditional curriculum which compels the learners to memorize certain facts and figures without taking into consideration the reality that education is the holistic development of an individual.

Lack of professional development of teachers:

Training is essential for quality performance. Teaching is a challenging job. There is lack of training opportunities for teachers in Pakistan. Although there various teacher training institutes in the country. These institutes are either not well resourced or being poor run due to lack of fund and trained human resource such trainers and administrators.

Low budgetary allocation for education:

The education system of Pakistan has been crippled mainly due to scarce finance. The successive governments have been giving less than 2.5 percent budget to the education sector which is not sufficient for the growing educational needs of the nation in the present changing times.

Corruption:

There is a weak system of check and balances and accountability which has encouraged many criminal elements to misappropriate funds, use of authority illegally and giving unnecessary favors in allocation of funds, transfers, promotions and decision making.

Solutions:

There should be sufficient budgetary allocation for education in the national GDP. There should be quality institutions for the professional development of teachers form primary to higher levels. Curriculum should be evaluated on annual basis. There should be as less political interference as possible. This will allow the system to function smoothly and without any discrimination. The culture of research should be promoted within educational institutions. For this purpose the pace of research oriented programs in teaching and learning should be accelerated in educational institutions around the country especially at higher levels.