A snapshot of education in Pakistan

A narrow focus on access and quality is eliding a vital discussion on the purposes of education.

It seems as though the gap in research and public debate in education left by the universities is being filled by the think tanks operating in the non-governmental sector.

There are such exceptions, of course, as Aga Khan University’s Institute of Educational Development (AKU-IED), which is known to be a producer of high-quality education research.

… there is very little discussion on what should be taught to our children in most subject domains including social and Pakistan studies and citizenship education.

There are fewer debates on purposes of education that are best suited to Pakistan’s peculiar context.

There are hardly any broad-based discussions on the shared values that must be inculcated in the young children.

There have been concerns expressed but no systematic conversations so far on how the spike in private education may be fragmenting the already sharply divided Pakistani society and what must be done to stem this tide.

In fact, a narrow focus on access and quality, though important, may be eliding a vital discussion on the purposes of education.

By Irfan Muzaffar for The News. Published September 6, 2015.

The author works independently as a teacher/researcher and is interested in politics of education reforms. He can be reached at imuzaffar@gmail.com

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