“It is actually madrassa – house of learning – but you prefer to say school, which is essentially a European construct … Does this mean that no learning was taking place in the subcontinent before the British arrived?
– Christopher Thomas, Brazilian trainer with Family Educational Services Foundation
While he (Christopher Thomas) debated how the ‘culture of the ustads’ could be rescued from the industrial European constructs that we kind of copied and pasted into our system, Dr Muhammad Memon, a professor at Aga Khan University’s Institute of Educational Development, believed that we as a nation are more responsible for the transformation of our own system, where teachers needed to rediscover their status in society to replace the forgone ustads.
“At a time when the educational challenges in the country are huge, a single change that could transform the public education system is shifting the focus from rote learning to activity-based educational tools.
To achieve this goal, we would need to rediscover the ustads who encouraged their students to think, analyse and question. You cannot help but cry over the fact that we fail to find those great teachers anymore.”
– Dr Muhammad Memon, a professor at Aga Khan University’s Institute of Educational Development
Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy, physicist and rights activist, agreed on the point of rote learning as he asserted that it was not sufficient in a knowledge-based world that children should merely memorise their lessons.
“The very concept of education seeks to develop the inherent capacities of a child by involving them in discovery.
Over the course of history, this methodology has produced brilliant minds that have made their mark in the fields of science and technology.”
– Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy, Physicist and Rights Activist
Read the complete article at The Express Tribune | Fix the system: Revitalising the ‘ustad’ status
Published in The Express Tribune, January 1st, 2014.
About Charter for Compassion Pakistan
The Charter for Compassion (CfC) Pakistan is a cooperative effort to restore not only compassionate thinking but, more importantly, compassionate action to the center of our lives, it is a document that was drafted by a multi-faith, multi-national council of thinkers and leaders. The Charter for Compassion initiative is the result of Karen Armstrong’s win of the 2008 TED Prize
We work in diverse ways through various sectors of society–businesses, with cities and communities across the globe, within educational institutions and organizations and with religious congregations and associations–to create and establish cultures of compassion locally and globally.
In a world that is deeply troubled and polarized we are committed to making a change. Through forming partnerships and by collaborating with similarly minded organizations we are endeavoring to acknowledge that by thinking and acting compassionately we can create a just world.
About Eqbal Ahmad Centre for Public Education
The Eqbal Ahmad Centre for Public Education (EACPE) seeks to foster the use of science and reason to understand nature and society and so better enable all citizens of Pakistan to participate fully in the political, social, economic, and cultural life of their society; to exercise their democratic rights and responsibilities; to value human rights, democracy and the rule of law; to promote cultural and religious diversity; to raise awareness of global issues and the natural environment; and to advance the goals of international peace and justice.
EACPE is named to honour the life and work of the distinguished Pakistani academic, activist, and public intellectual, Dr. Eqbal Ahmad.
About The Aga Khan University Institutes for Educational Development
The Aga Khan University Institutes for Educational Development (AKU_IED) see a correlation between improving the quality of teacher education and encouraging socio-economic growth in the developing world.
With institutes in Pakistan and East Africa we give teachers the skills and opportunities they need to educate future leaders through human resource development, institutional capacity building, policy analysis and research.
To support this work, the Institutes conduct a broad array of training and academic programmes for in-service teachers, teacher educators and education managers from both the public and private sectors.
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