Dialogue on education reforms

LAHORE: Discussion on education reforms often hinge on quantity alone. Figures on dropouts and other indicators are discussed repeatedly.

While this much is fine, focusing on quantity alone, at the cost of quality, cannot achieve social harmony. Instead, deliberate attempts shall be made to improve quality of education, especially for the sake of peace.

These thoughts came in a series of five two-day dialogues with teachers on social harmony in Lahore, organised by Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based think tank. Teachers came from University of Education, Lahore and Multan campuses; Bahauddin Zakariya University, Lahore; Islamia University, Bahawalpur; and Punjab University, Lahore.

The dialogues noted how there is too little attention given to the quality of education in our discourse on education policy and reforms. Even though we have to achieve much in terms of numbers, different tiers of education demand different types of investment.

The dialogues, however, stressed the importance of holding such activities properly, perhaps making them mandatory for students, and linking them with the requirement of the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

The participants in the dialogue wondered why, despite the existence of a need to promote social harmony, the realisation of its importance is taking time and those who promote peace and harmony are suspected of having some ulterior agenda. Teachers emphasised on more cross-cultural interactions, not only among students, but also among teachers.

They expressed concerns over the conflict among students on the campuses and recommended that these can easily be overcome with proper orientation meetings, celebration of each other’s cultures, and other inclusive activities.