‘Education should be about learning, not degrees’

Karachi
One of the major reasons for the prevailing cheating culture in examinations is because the aim of education has been reduced to obtaining a mere paper qualification which proves to be the licence of a lucrative job while no attention is paid toward creating a zest for knowledge, the actual purpose of education.
This, in a nutshell, was the consensus among speakers at a panel discussion titled “Increase in cheating culture: why are just Allama Iqbal’s Shaheens to blame?” held under the auspices of the Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman Memorial Society at the Jang/Geo offices on Tuesday evening. The function coincided with Allama Iqbal’s death anniversary.
Educationists hailing from various institutions and organisations including the Board of Secondary Education, all lamented the dishonesty and mafioso tactics which had permeated the examination system and made the cheating culture virtually acceptable.
Dr Faraz Wajidi lamented that cheating was getting a fillip because education had become a business proposition. He said greed had permeated the fabric of society as a result of capitalism, whereby leakage of papers in return for lucrative sums and helping candidates copy from books during the examination was becoming so commonplace.
Besides, he said, the teaching standard had become “third class” and all that was considered was as to how fluently a prospective teacher could speak English while cultivating knowledge required much more than that. He said another factor was moral turpitude on the part of teachers whereby teachers struck love affairs with their students and married them.
Hoor Mazhar, the secretary of Board of Secondary Education Karachi, said a major reason for the spread of the cheating culture was commercialism gripping the society as a result of capitalism coming with a vengeance.
She said a child’s main educators were parents and the school came later. She said grooming began at home.
She admitted that the main responsibility devolved on the state and the requisite authorities to nip evils such as cheating but they were least bothered with. According to her, “high rise” schools established over 80 square yards, which were such a common site these days, were just interested in minting money and as such they formed a pact with similar schools to encourage cheating in their schools and make quick bucks.
Professor Muzaffar Ali was of the opinion that the maximum responsibility lay on the parents who had to acquaint children with the noxious nature of cheating. They had to inculcate in their children a zest for knowledge whereby students would not be induced to cheat, but write papers to exhibit their knowledge and mastery.
Unfortunately he said, parents nowadays didn’t have the time. They had left the children to the care of the television or the internet which were claiming a heavy toll on their intellectual development.
Advocate Ranaa Khan, head of the faculty of law, at the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences and Technology, blamed the emerging trend of commercialism towards the institution of examinations and narrated how she went over to the office of Board of Secondary Education to settle some dispute about her daughter’s result and came across agents who offered to get her first-class marks for only Rs10,000.
Besides, she too was of the opinion examinations had been turned into a stepping stone to acquire a paper qualification which in turn would guarantee a good financial start in life. She said that the ultimate aim of education was learning and not just getting a degree.
Among others who spoke were Geo reporters Kanza Baig and Qurat-ul-Ain Ali who also narrated their experience of seeing for themselves cheating going on in schools during the examination.
Attiya Rizvi did the Tilawat while Syeda Zainab presented three Naats. Zakia Yousufi presented the national song “Watan ki Mitti”.
Chairman of the Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman Memorial Society, Arshad Sabri, conducted the proceedings while Dr Nasir Ansar presided over them.