The neglect of education

[Solomon2]

The neglect of education
By Talat Masood
Published: January 21, 2014

The writer is a retired lieutenant general of the Pakistan Army and served as chairman of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories Board

Shahbaz Sharif’s laptop scheme is a valuable contribution in incentivising the young to be computer literate and be a part of the globalised world. So is the scheme launched by the prime minster to distribute loans to the underprivileged youth, who through entrepreneurship, can start their lives and make a new beginning. The Metro in Lahore and perhaps, similar facilities in future in Islamabad and Karachi would be wonderful gifts to the people. Even if these schemes have strong political underpinnings, it is only natural for politicians to indulge in these ventures.

But there is something far more important and more fundamental that the leadership of this country, whether it is the Sharifs, Zardaris, or for that matter the previous military and civilian rulers, have grossly neglected and continue to do so, which is education. It is time that our leaders, at every level, invest heavily in education and treat it as a number one priority. Most of the problems that Pakistan faces today — militancy, a distressed economy, poverty and poor health can be linked to lack of education.

There is a virtual global consensus that education is the key to development. The answer may appear to be self-evident but it is not merely a question of just spreading knowledge and some skills or being able to read and write. Access to education is the key to empowerment, self-confidence and dignity of the individual. It is this empowerment that gives the underprivileged the courage to bring down class barriers. It is education, which propelled Barack Obama and Bill Clinton to rise to the pinnacle of power although they were from humble backgrounds. In Pakistan, too, we have experienced how education has transformed individuals, even if they came from modest backgrounds. It is the same empowerment that enables educated women to overcome gender discrimination and raises expectations of overall socioeconomic betterment. Educated societies provide the climate for rule of law, meritocracy, hope for the future and the all-important belief that we may create a better future for our children. We have to look at countries like Singapore and South Korea and to see how education has transformed the destiny of their people. It is the bedrock of successful nations and Pakistan without it cannot expect to succeed.

If we look at the state of education in Pakistan, it becomes obvious why we are lagging behind other nations and why so many of our people are deeply frustrated and alienated. It also helps explain why our national security — if not our national identity — is in such a mess today. Look at the state of education in South Korea and you will also understand immediately why the Koreans have surged among nations as a model of modern development. I have been to South Korea and other countries of Southeast Asia on several visits and would attribute their progress to good planning, positive cultural attributes and highest priority accorded to education. One could argue that the Japanese, Koreans and the Thai are different, and it may not be correct to make comparisons with them. But when we compare ourselves with India, we find we are truly lagging behind them in education. One of the reasons for India’s recent efforts to get into the great power leagues is that it has a critical mass of educated population.

But it is not necessary to go that far to explain the problem. When I was chairman of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) Board, a clerk who worked in my office made a genuine effort of investing in his family’s future — with access to quality education for his family, thanks to the positive policies of the POF. Humble as his origins and status may have been, he helped ensure that his children built on their Pakistani education and studied abroad. They are all doctors and engineers in Pakistan and abroad today. By failing to provide quality education to our people as a whole, we have cheated ourselves as a nation, condemned countless millions to poverty and helped create the conditions that brought violence and misery to millions more. It is high time that our leaders sincerely endeavoured to reform our educational system root and branch, and our people need to be empowered, for our very survival as a country.

The continued denial of education to the girls and women of Pakistan in many parts of the country is one of our great failings. Besides being a violation of basic human rights, it is a monumental waste of human potential. I admire young Malala Yousufzai for her crusade for the cause of education. She has become a symbol of the struggle for the right of every child in Pakistan (and in the world) to education.

There is no doubt that education alone will not reverse our continued decline into chaos and stupor, but surely, it will play a major role. It is crucial that our educational system be based on an appreciation of modern science and technology. Without progress in science and technology, Pakistan’s economy and its future will remain bleak. However, this need not be at the expense of our culture and language. How often have our students spent more time trying to master English than the subject at hand? Engineering can be taught in Urdu as well! If the Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Finns and Turks can master engineering and scientific subjects in their own language, why can’t we? Of course, we need English to meet the challenges of globalisation and to take our rightful place in the international community, but we also need to nurture our roots. As a nation, how will we value our great contribution to civilisation, like the poetry of Iqbal and Ghalib, if we are not also masters of our own language and culture? Moreover, by learning science and technical subjects in one’s own language, the concepts and understanding becomes much clearer and it inculcates a scientific and modern culture in society.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22nd, 2014.

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[Chronos]

Yeah. And the recent report published indicates that quality of rural education had dropped despite this UPA pouring money over it.

 

[EyelessInGaza]

Education is the way to go, the only way to go. But unfortunately it's not a subject that is 'cool' to debate or implement and hence it always gets sidelined or ignored.

I don't blame anyone, this is how most of us are. I mean even on this forum it is likely to be a neglected topic and thread, forget what happens in the real world.

 

[kṣamā]

We in India have a saying that a person needs "Roti, Kapda, Makan" (ie, Food, Cloths And Refuge) to survive. But its becoming very clear that untill and unless one adds, Education and round the clock Electricity, to it, no region/state can survive.

 

[bunty8591]

I am happy someone is from India on this forum, good to have you here. Pakistan has missed the education path, which is very unfortunate for the country. Level of education is also not very good in India. Only difference India created is they make some good quality institutes and students from those institutes are going abroad e.g. Europe and America.
I think both of the countries could focus on their education and build this region as economic giant just as European Union.
Anyway as far as Pakistan is concerned, i think they should really focus on education and implementation of education.
Political appointment of the Vice Chancellors by the Shareef brothers should be stopped. All these politicians think these education institutions are their personal property. One thing i have learned from my experience is, people who are not themselves properly educated, they can't understand the importance of education. So it is useless to talk about shareef brothers they both are not properly educated.
Ultimately it is fault of common man, who select politicians like this. So basically common man has to change.

 

[Solomon2]

...All these politicians think these education institutions are their personal property. One thing i have learned from my experience is, people who are not themselves properly educated, they can't understand the importance of education. So it is useless to talk about shareef brothers they both are not properly educated.
Ultimately it is fault of common man, who select politicians like this. So basically common man has to change.

"I have been to South Korea and other countries of Southeast Asia on several visits and would attribute their progress to good planning, positive cultural attributes and highest priority accorded to education."

It is very interesting to compare South Korea with Pakistan. South Korea's economy had been ravaged by the 1950s Korean War. The Koreans had known slavery at the hands of the Japanese, but not industrialization. Through the 1960s South Korea lagged behind Pakistan; indeed, its officials would visit Pakistan to learn some of the latest advances in agriculture - I have the pics in my Encyclopedia Britannica. South Korea was also famous for the corruption of its officials, corruption centered on placing the well-being of one's family ahead of that of the community.

So how did the South Koreans overcome their handicaps? By looking at cultures around the world to see what useful and desirable characteristics they could emulate in themselves. What the Minister Masood doesn't tell you, but surely learned from his visits, is that looking at different cultures around the world, the South Koreans focused on the Jews:

“We were very curious to find the secret behind the Jews’ great academic achievements,” explains the South Korean ambassador to Israel, Yang Sum Ma, who was a guest in the program “Culture Today”. “Jews, as a nation, are highly represented as Nobel Prize winners in all fields: literature, sciences, and economics. They have great achievements. We wanted to understand: What is the Jews’ secret? How did they — more than any other nation — succeed in achieving the truly impressive? We came to the conclusion that one of their greatest secrets is the study of Talmud.”

“The Jews learn Talmud from a young age — and this, in our opinion, allows them to fulfill and acquire great potential. This understanding brought us to the conclusion that we must also teach our children Talmud. We believe that if we teach our children Talmud, we will also be able to be great geniuses. Lo and behold, this has begun happening since we encouraged people to have a copy of Talmud in every South Korean home.”

Yang himself explains that he began learning Talmud at a very young age. “[Talmud] is considered a very meaningful course of study,” he emphasizes. “As a result, more South Koreans have a Talmud in their homes than Jewish Israelis. For example, I myself have two sets of Talmud: one is a gift from my wife and the second was a gift from my mother in-law.”*

*Koreans value the Talmud not only because they see it as promoting genius, but because they found that its values are very close to their own.

“Jewish tradition place great importance on family values,” explains Yang. “We even see this today, whereby they greet every friday night/Shabbat with a family meal. Our country also values family values. The relationships Jews have with elders, and the respect Judaism places with them, corresponds to our own respect for the older generations in South Korean culture.”
“Another very important aspect is the similarity in educational values. In Jewish tradition there is an obligation to teach the next generation, the children, and much time and effort is devoted toward that effort. Education is also high on the South Korean parent’s list of priorities. I think this is also evident today within the South Korean immigrant community in the U.S., who have followed their Jewish immigrant forbears and are beginning to excel in the same fields.”

The Talmud, much reviled and misrepresented in today's anti-Zionist Muslim cultures, puts a premium on critical thinking and analysis - the qualities one needs for scientific excellence and for a society with a functioning justice system. Pakistan's leaders propose making Arabic, the language of the Koran, mandatory as a counter-terrorism measure. As implemented by the Saudis in their own jihadi rehabilitation program, such teaching emphasizes obedience of the individual to the central government in matters related to jihad. The Sauds' have hundreds of billions of dollars of oil money to lubricate the wheels of society; indeed, in response to the Arab Spring, they increased subsidies further. Pakistan's government, by contrast, depends to a large extent upon foreign aid and cannot even collect taxes.

South Korea passed Pakistan by over three decades ago. Is Pakistan really going in the right direction if it wishes to emulate South Korea's successes? Or is it the other Korea that Pakistanis truly wish to emulate?

 

[AhsanAmin]

Please, it does not have to do anything with religion. Scholarship is well regarded among many Jews, but it has nothing to do with being 'right' in the Arab-Israel conflict. When a nation or people wrong another nation/people, the story cannot become rosy very easily after that. I am not an advocate of 'Hamas' but Israelis have to take every share of the blame for their policies over the decades. And to cite love for scholarship, as an evidence for 'being right in everything we do' would be truly misleading especially again in the context of Arab-Israel conflict. All ambassadors like to say good things about the countries they are deputed and this is most important part of their job.

Here is what I think about the problem in our country. Prosperity of Pakistan, Pakistan-India Relations, and Pakistan Army | ahsanamin2999

 

[AhsanAmin]

Solomon sorry! I did not read your post carefully. I read the first half and I saw the word 'anti-zionist muslim cultures' so I did not want to read the rest in detail and gave my quick reply.

Yes, I am sure there must be good things in Talmud since most religions were intended to benefit humanity and that is why they made a following. But people who follow a religion see their own religion from the perspective of 'being in that community and part of that community' which highlights most good things and their own understanding of it and why it is a good religion while people of other religions see different religions mostly from the perspective of 'being in some sort of conflict with different religion/different community', and try to highlight bad things about it.

 

[Spring Onion]

When in a country the left outs from other professional degrees/subjects/institutes join TEACHING brigade what do you expect ?

same pathetic condition of education in Pakistan.

Education sector in Pakistan has become another corporate sector at private level whereas at govt level you see the most unable persons joining it for employment.

 

[Solomon2]

...people who follow a religion see their own religion from the perspective of 'being in that community and part of that community' which highlights most good things and their own understanding of it and why it is a good religion while people of other religions see different religions mostly from the perspective of 'being in some sort of conflict with different religion/different community', and try to highlight bad things about it.

I don't think you can generalize like that. Only a very few South Koreans are Jews; that doesn't stop them from studying the Talmud. (And you have to study it, and reason with it, not just quote from it, or else you don't learn Talmud - which is pretty much why the South Koreans are fond of Talmud study as a tool to develop excellent thinking.)