Navigating the future trends in education for the next decade

Pakistan spends only 1.7% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on education whereas the minimum requirement is 4%. Some countries like South Korea spend 6.4% on education whereas Norway 6.6%, Australia 6.1% and U.K 6%. It is not only how much a country is spending on education but how the resources allocated in that field are utilised. What matters for providing standard and quality education are integrity, planning, expertise, innovation and creativity.

In its 76 years of history, Pakistan's literacy rate has not surpassed 58%, indicating that almost half of the population is illiterate or can barely read or write. In contrast, Sri Lanka boasts a literacy rate of over 90%, while Bangladesh and India are at the rate of 75% and 77%, respectively. Alarmingly, 26 million children in Pakistan are out of school, and those with access to primary education often lack a proper foundation. Government and semi-private schools struggle to provide quality education, and only about 5% of school-going children have access to elite institutions.

Navigating the future of Pakistan means addressing its youthful population, which constitutes 60% of the country. However, serious flaws are evident in the foundation of youth education, spanning primary, secondary, and high school levels. The majority of school-going children in Pakistan lack access to good quality education, making it highly difficult for them to be part of an innovative and creative learning process. If state-owned educational institutions were modernised, Pakistani students enrolled in the Cambridge system wouldn't need to spend billions of rupees on tuition and examination fees for 'O' and 'A' levels. Over the past four decades, mishandling by state authorities and commercialisation of education have jeopardised the present and future of the country.

On paper, federal and provincial governments are spending several hundred billion rupees on education, but the results are appalling. In the Sindh province, there are several hundred ghost schools and the situation in Balochistan is no different. Punjab and KPK may be better in terms of educational standards, but on the ground, there is erosion in teaching methods, adequate classroom facilities, laboratories, libraries, and transport. Corruption, nepotism, wastage of resources, and lack of accountability are destroying most of Pakistan's educational institutions. In most cases, the lack of merit in hiring staff and faculty leads to further degeneration of education in Pakistan.

In terms of higher education, state's apathy is obvious. No university of Pakistan, whether public sector or private comes under 100-300 level which raises serious questions about the standard of higher education in Pakistan. On the top of it, since the last 10-15 years, instead of focusing on improving the condition of existing major universities, provincial governments in order to promote their political constituencies oblige local stakeholders by establishing universities in every district of province. This put a drain on resources and compromises on standard of education. Realistically speaking the federal and provincial governments should have focused on strengthening primary and secondary education so that the foundation of students is built on solid footing.

In 2002 when Higher Education Commission replaced University Grants Commission, there were 100,000 students studying in various universities of Pakistan. Now, 22 years down the road, the number of students studying in state owned and private universities has swelled to more than 1 million but there is no positive transformation as far as the standard, caliber and quality of teaching and research.

One can analyse prospects for education in the next decades from three angles. First, declaring education emergency, as was done by the current Prime Minister, is not the solution. The way out to pull Pakistan from its educational quagmire is adherence to strict merit and zero tolerance for corruption and nepotism. Untill strict merit criteria is not followed in admissions and in appointments, one cannot expect a paradigm shift in Pakistan's educational landscape. In a population of 240 million, where youths constitute 60%, the absence of compulsory, quality and free education to all the school going children is highly deplorable.

Individuals appointed as heads of educational institutions must demonstrate integrity and competence. Every rupee allocated to education must be strictly accounted for, as resource wastage is unacceptable. Declaring an education emergency on paper is insufficient; it must be enforced with clear objectives aimed at producing tangible outcomes within a five-year timeframe. This necessitates recruiting high-quality teachers with appropriate financial incentives and admitting students on merit.

Uniformity in educational institutions is crucial in the coming decade. Instead of reflecting social stratification and being divided into government, private, semi-private, elite, and madrassa-level schools, there should be only one category: State-owned schools. These schools should focus on promoting analytical skills, critical thinking, reading habits, writing skills, work ethics, adherence to the rule of law, and hygiene. Instead of allocating 1.7% of GDP to education, this needs to be increased to 4.5%, with zero tolerance for corruption and nepotism.

Making education compulsory, free, and quality-oriented will ensure that 26 million children are not out of school. From primary to high school, the focus should be on imparting standard education and character building. It will take 10 years to yield positive results from a policy focused on innovative skills and critical thinking instead of rote learning. If the elite and resourceful classes send their children to government schools, the standard of these schools will elevate, leading to the closure of private, semi-private, and elite-centric schools.

The coming decade requires eradicating inferiority complexes, crises in confidence, and low quality from the generation that will emerge to lead the country. This is only possible when the elitist culture and feudal mindset that negate proper education are eradicated. A classless education system, with a uniform curriculum and responsible, well-educated leaders, will help Pakistan excel in economy and governance.

Pakistan's way out of existential political disorder, economic fragility, and crisis in governance is to excel in education. Setting a 10-year target for the new generation to take over and bridge the gap with the developed world is essential.

Lessons from countries like Bangladesh, India, China, Sri Lanka and countries of the Asia-Pacific region must be learned that how qualitative change in their educational system took place which resulted in their fast economic progress. What is required in Pakistan is an honest, hardworking, intelligent and visionary leadership which is above contradictions. Only then innovative and creative trends for education in coming decades could be set.

_ The writer is Meritorious Professor of International Relations and former Dean Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Karachi. He can be reached at: amoonis@hotmal.com