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Wednesday, August 5, 2020
#Pakistan - Education: PTI’s plan exposed – Pervez Hoodbhoy
BE prepared, Pakistan! Imran Khan’s government is poised to inflict damage upon this country’s education system in a manner never seen before. Its so-called Single National Curriculum (SNC) hides systemic changes going far deeper than the ones conceived and executed by the extremist regime of Gen Ziaul Haq. Implementation is scheduled for 2021.
At first glance a uniform national curriculum is hugely attractive. Some see it striking a lethal blow at the abominable education apartheid that has wracked Pakistan from day one. By the year, a widening gap has separated beneficiaries of elite private education from those crippled by bad public schooling. So what could be better than the rich child and the poor child studying the same subjects from the same books and being judged by the same standards?
But this morally attractive idea has been hijacked, corrupted, mutilated and beaten out of shape by those near-sighted persons now holding Pakistan’s future in their hands, and who, like their boss, kowtow to the madressah establishment. Prime Minister Khan was widely criticised in 2016-17 for making huge grants to madressahs of the late Maulana Samiul Haq, self-professed father of the Taliban who was murdered by an associate in mysterious circumstances.
The SNC massively prioritises ideology over education quality and acquisition of basic skills.
As yet only SNC plans for Class I-V are public. But the huge volume of religious material they contain beats all curriculums in Pakistan’s history. A column-by-column comparison with two major madressah systems — Tanzeemul Madaris and Rabtaul Madaris — reveals a shocking fact. Ordinary schools will henceforth impose more rote learning than even these madressahs. Normal schoolteachers being under-equipped religiously, SNC calls for summoning an army of madressah-educated holy men — hafiz’s and qaris — as paid teachers inside schools. How this will affect the general ambiance and the safety of students is an open question.
The push for a uniform national curriculum idea derives from three flawed assumptions:
First: It is false that quality differences between Pakistan’s various education streams stem from pursuing different curricula. When teaching any secular subject such as geography, social studies or science, all streams have to cover the same topics. While details and emphases obviously differ, each must deal with exactly seven continents and water being H2O.
Instead, learning differentials arise because students experience very different teaching methods and are evaluated using entirely different criteria. So, for example, a local examination board will typically ask a mathematics student to name the inventor of logarithms whereas an ‘O’-level student must actually use logarithms to solve some problem. The modern world expects students to reason their way through a question, not parrot facts.
Second: It is false that a hefty dose of piety will somehow equalise students of Aitchison College and your run-of-the-mill neighbourhood school. The legendary Mahmood and Ayyaz prayed in the same suff (prayer line) and established a commonality without ending their master-slave relationship. Similarly, rich and poor schools will remain worlds apart unless equalised through school infrastructure, well-trained teachers, high quality textbooks and internet access. How the needed resources will be generated is anybody’s guess. Under the PTI, defence is the only sector seeing increases instead of cuts.
Third: It is false that school systems belonging to the modern world can be brought onto the same page as madressahs. Modern education rests squarely upon critical thinking, and success/failure is determined in relation to problem solving and worldly knowledge. Madressah education goals are important but different. They seek a more religiously observant student and a better life after death. Understandably, critical thinking is unwelcome.
While some madressahs now teach secular subjects like English, science and computers, this comes after much arm-twisting. Soon after 9/11, madressahs were spotlighted as terrorist breeding grounds. Musharraf’s government, beholden as it was to America, ordered them to teach secular subjects. Most rejected this outright but others were successfully pressurised. However, madressahs teach secular and religious subjects identically; reasoning is sparse and authoritarianism dominates.
While the new Class I-V SNC document also discusses secular subjects, much of this is pointless tinkering with the minutiae of teaching English, general knowledge, general science, mathematics and social studies. They are not accompanied by plausible plans for how the necessary intellectual or physical resources will be garnered and the plans implemented. Still bigger changes are around the corner. The Punjab government has made teaching of the Holy Quran compulsory at the college and university level. Without passing the required examination no student will be able to get a BA, BSc, BE, ME, MA, MSc, MPhil, PhD or medical degree. Even the Zia regime did not have such blanket requirements. To get a university teaching job in the 1980s, you had to name all the wives of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and recite some difficult religious passages such as Dua-i-Qunoot. Still, students could get degrees without that. That option is now closed.
Starkly inferior to their counterparts in Iran, India and Bangladesh, Pakistani students perform poorly in all international science and mathematics competitions. Better achievers are invariably from the elite ‘O’-/‘A’-level stream. More worrying is that most students are unable to express themselves coherently and grammatically in any language, whether Urdu or English. They have stopped reading books.
Significantly, as yet the PTI’s new education regime is mum on how it will advance its goal of closing a huge skill deficit. So poor is the present quality of technical and vocational institutes that private employers must totally retrain the graduates. That’s why private-sector industrial growth is small and entire state enterprises, such as PIA and Pakistan Steel Mills, have collapsed. Pakistan’s space programme flopped but Iran has just put a military satellite into orbit and India is well on the way to Mars.
Empowered by the 18th Amendment, Pakistan’s provinces should vigorously resist the regressive plan being thrust upon the nation by ideologues that have usurped power in Islamabad. Else Pakistan will end up as the laughing stock of South Asia, left behind even by Arab countries. Pakistan’s greatest need — and its single greatest failure — is its tragic failure to impart essential life skills to its citizens. To move ahead, the priority should be to educate rather than score political points.
https://lubpak.net/archives/358590
To stop cross-border violence, Pakistan and Afghanistan must put an end to militant sanctuaries
The latest spate of terrorist attacks in Pakistan’s tribal areas has once again brought into the focus the issue of cross-border militant sanctuaries becoming a major source of violence in the region. The attacks on the security forces in North Waziristan and Bajaur border districts are traced to Pakistani militants who have found safe havens in Afghanistan.
According to a UN monitoring committee report from last month, some 6,000 militants, mostly members of various factions of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), are operating from their bases in Afghanistan. Safe havens across the border give them greater freedom of movement. The long, porous border makes it much easier for militants to escape any crackdown. These groups are not only involved in terrorist activities in Pakistan but also in Afghanistan.
These cross border sanctuaries have been a major reason for the latest escalation of terrorist attacks both in Pakistan and Afghanistan. While many recent incident of violence in Pakistan’s border regions have been traced to TTP splinter factions, some of the fugitive militants have joined the Daesh, a group that has its origins in the Middle East.
Daesh are not only fighting the Afghan and American forces but are also in conflict with the Afghan Taliban. The original leadership of the Khorasan chapter of the outfit emerged from the ranks of the TTP fugitives in Afghanistan.
The Daesh have been able to launch some spectacular raids in capital Kabul and parts of eastern Afghanistan, where they have the strongest presence. The UN report estimates their membership in Afghanistan to be 2,200.
There has been a marked escalation in Daesh activity in Afghanistan since the signing of a peace deal between the United States and the Taliban in February. The main objective of these attacks seems to be disrupting the fragile Afghan peace process for which the peace agreement raised hopes. To create fear, Daesh have been mainly targeting civilians, not even sparing hospitals.
The increased activity of TTP splinters on both sides of the Pakistan-Afghan border raises some serious questions. It’s not only the TTP but also groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), whichhave been involved in some recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan, that are using Afghanistan as its base for cross-border actions. Pakistani security officials alleged that BLA has been receiving financial and material support from Indian intelligence services.
According to a UN monitoring committee report from last month, some 6,000 militants, mostly members of various factions of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), are operating from their bases in Afghanistan. Safe havens across the border give them greater freedom of movement. The long, porous border makes it much easier for militants to escape any crackdown. These groups are not only involved in terrorist activities in Pakistan but also in Afghanistan.
These cross border sanctuaries have been a major reason for the latest escalation of terrorist attacks both in Pakistan and Afghanistan. While many recent incident of violence in Pakistan’s border regions have been traced to TTP splinter factions, some of the fugitive militants have joined the Daesh, a group that has its origins in the Middle East.
Daesh are not only fighting the Afghan and American forces but are also in conflict with the Afghan Taliban. The original leadership of the Khorasan chapter of the outfit emerged from the ranks of the TTP fugitives in Afghanistan.
The Daesh have been able to launch some spectacular raids in capital Kabul and parts of eastern Afghanistan, where they have the strongest presence. The UN report estimates their membership in Afghanistan to be 2,200.
There has been a marked escalation in Daesh activity in Afghanistan since the signing of a peace deal between the United States and the Taliban in February. The main objective of these attacks seems to be disrupting the fragile Afghan peace process for which the peace agreement raised hopes. To create fear, Daesh have been mainly targeting civilians, not even sparing hospitals.
The increased activity of TTP splinters on both sides of the Pakistan-Afghan border raises some serious questions. It’s not only the TTP but also groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), whichhave been involved in some recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan, that are using Afghanistan as its base for cross-border actions. Pakistani security officials alleged that BLA has been receiving financial and material support from Indian intelligence services.
There is a long history of Pakistan and Afghanistan offering sanctuary to each other’s opponents — a major source of bitterness and mistrust between the two neighbors.Zahid Hussain
The ongoing war in Afghanistan and regional conflicts make it easier for foreign agencies to operate and use militants as proxies. The dangerous approach of "my enemy’s enemy is my friend" has provided terrorists greater space to operate, thereby threatening the entire region. The Afghan government says it does not have the kind of control needed to take action against militant sanctuaries because of the ongoing conflict in the country. But the danger is that outside interests could exploit this situation. Many of the militants of all hues, who have reportedly turned into mercenaries, are being used as proxies in the regional conflict. It is indeed a very dangerous situation.
It’s not just about Afghanistan but also militant sanctuaries inside Pakistan allegedly engaging in cross-border terrorist activities. The presence of militant sanctuaries and involvement of foreign interests could weaken the country’s sovereignty. Indeed, there is a long history of Pakistan and Afghanistan offering sanctuary to each other’s opponents — a major source of bitterness and mistrust between the two neighbors.
Undeniably, cross-border sanctuaries are major obstacles in the fight against insurgencies and terrorism. It is not only true for Pakistan, but also for Afghanistan confronting the rising violence. Hostile relations between the two neighboring nations have certainly made it much more difficult for them to deal with the scourge of terrorism.
Pakistan’s move to secure the borders and restrict illegal cross-border movement is understandable, given the serious security situation. But its efforts cannot succeed with the current state of tension with Afghanistan.
Both countries must end this destructive war of sanctuaries in order to formulate a joint strategy to confront the challenges of terrorism and violent insurgency. A joint anti-terrorism policy is vital to the interests of not only Pakistan and Afghanistan, but also the regional and global fight against the terrorist menace.
It’s not just about Afghanistan but also militant sanctuaries inside Pakistan allegedly engaging in cross-border terrorist activities. The presence of militant sanctuaries and involvement of foreign interests could weaken the country’s sovereignty. Indeed, there is a long history of Pakistan and Afghanistan offering sanctuary to each other’s opponents — a major source of bitterness and mistrust between the two neighbors.
Undeniably, cross-border sanctuaries are major obstacles in the fight against insurgencies and terrorism. It is not only true for Pakistan, but also for Afghanistan confronting the rising violence. Hostile relations between the two neighboring nations have certainly made it much more difficult for them to deal with the scourge of terrorism.
Pakistan’s move to secure the borders and restrict illegal cross-border movement is understandable, given the serious security situation. But its efforts cannot succeed with the current state of tension with Afghanistan.
Both countries must end this destructive war of sanctuaries in order to formulate a joint strategy to confront the challenges of terrorism and violent insurgency. A joint anti-terrorism policy is vital to the interests of not only Pakistan and Afghanistan, but also the regional and global fight against the terrorist menace.
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