A unified education system?
October 30, 2012
A new age
Pakistan’s education system is fragmented, divided and torn along many lines. There is a difference in language, there is a difference in curriculum, there is a difference in terms of what is offered in different geographical boundaries of Pakistan, and there is a difference in class. English Medium, Urdu Medium, A Level and O Level, Matric and FSc, Religious, Non-Religious, Private, Public, Elite, Middle Class and many other divisions exist.
A simple solution suggested is to manage all these issues is to unify our education system. “We need one education system!” is the common rhetoric. Yet, we seldom unpack the actual consequences and meaning of this statement.
Firstly, whenever a unified education system is demanded, it is our secondary education system that is being focused on. It would be absurd to demand a unified higher education system, where the diversity of the courses and different research areas being explored make higher education unique and in a way this difference and diversity is the cornerstone of the higher education system.
So what would a unified education system achieve? What will it not?
A unified education system at the secondary level, will attempt to counter the difference in curriculum taught at these levels. It will help ensure that there is one medium of instruction and that the curriculum is comparable at all levels. It will also help curb the difference in curriculum based on province and cities one resides in. It will also help curb elitism by removing expensive international qualifications from the mix. It will ensure fair competition in a way amongst the masses. Education will be a level playing field.
Yet, the problem will arise as with creation of all monopolies is that what mechanism of quality would there be. What benchmark would the system be compared to. Obviously it is impossible to create a perfect system, but creating an imperfect monopoly has its own pitfalls. There will be no standards of competition and comparison left.
Secondly, the problem perhaps is not just the division in terms of education system. But the lack of resources to ensure a quality standard across all these class and geographical divisions is the bigger problem. Even if one system is created, the challenge of uniform implementation then would remain, especially in terms of guaranteeing the same standards across the board. While it will be easier to guarantee the same exam standards the same teaching standards are and will still remain the biggest challenge.
Therefore perhaps what is needed more than just a uniform education system, which will do away with competition and bring about a monopoly, is perhaps a couple of nationally available education standards. These would not only ensure quality through competition, but also be available to all. The need is also to ensure a baseline standard for these systems. Divisions particularly those based on geography need to end. Obviously some systems which are totally off the mark will need to be revamped or removed. But the focus needs to be on unified quality across the board, and not just to create an education system which maybe unified but may also present a unification of all problems plaguing different education systems already.
The writer is Youth Ambassador of Geo and Jang Group.
Email:am.nawazish@janggroup.com.pk
Facebook: facebook. com/ ali.moeen.nawazish
Twitter: @amNAWAZISH
Pakistan’s education system is fragmented, divided and torn along many lines. There is a difference in language, there is a difference in curriculum, there is a difference in terms of what is offered in different geographical boundaries of Pakistan, and there is a difference in class. English Medium, Urdu Medium, A Level and O Level, Matric and FSc, Religious, Non-Religious, Private, Public, Elite, Middle Class and many other divisions exist.
A simple solution suggested is to manage all these issues is to unify our education system. “We need one education system!” is the common rhetoric. Yet, we seldom unpack the actual consequences and meaning of this statement.
Firstly, whenever a unified education system is demanded, it is our secondary education system that is being focused on. It would be absurd to demand a unified higher education system, where the diversity of the courses and different research areas being explored make higher education unique and in a way this difference and diversity is the cornerstone of the higher education system.
So what would a unified education system achieve? What will it not?
A unified education system at the secondary level, will attempt to counter the difference in curriculum taught at these levels. It will help ensure that there is one medium of instruction and that the curriculum is comparable at all levels. It will also help curb the difference in curriculum based on province and cities one resides in. It will also help curb elitism by removing expensive international qualifications from the mix. It will ensure fair competition in a way amongst the masses. Education will be a level playing field.
Yet, the problem will arise as with creation of all monopolies is that what mechanism of quality would there be. What benchmark would the system be compared to. Obviously it is impossible to create a perfect system, but creating an imperfect monopoly has its own pitfalls. There will be no standards of competition and comparison left.
Secondly, the problem perhaps is not just the division in terms of education system. But the lack of resources to ensure a quality standard across all these class and geographical divisions is the bigger problem. Even if one system is created, the challenge of uniform implementation then would remain, especially in terms of guaranteeing the same standards across the board. While it will be easier to guarantee the same exam standards the same teaching standards are and will still remain the biggest challenge.
Therefore perhaps what is needed more than just a uniform education system, which will do away with competition and bring about a monopoly, is perhaps a couple of nationally available education standards. These would not only ensure quality through competition, but also be available to all. The need is also to ensure a baseline standard for these systems. Divisions particularly those based on geography need to end. Obviously some systems which are totally off the mark will need to be revamped or removed. But the focus needs to be on unified quality across the board, and not just to create an education system which maybe unified but may also present a unification of all problems plaguing different education systems already.
The writer is Youth Ambassador of Geo and Jang Group.
Email:am.nawazish@janggroup.com.pk
Facebook: facebook. com/ ali.moeen.nawazish
Twitter: @amNAWAZISH
