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Monday February 24, 2025

British education system caused our downfall: Imran,

August 26, 2021

‘English medium system mental slavery’

By News Desk

By Our correspondent

Ag APP

LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan said Wednesday that integrity and honesty are the hallmarks of a true leadership and stressed the need for making the young generation acquainted with the Seerat of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).

Addressing the Punjab Education Convention here, he said besides imparting quality education to young people with the use of modern technology, it is imperative to guide and educate them about the supreme qualities of Seeratun Nabi (PBUH) for their character building.

He regretted that the past rulers never laid emphasis upon the education sector as it was not their priority. No one ever thought of one curriculum in the country, he added.

In the past democratic culture, the rulers always prioritised short term projects like Metro to get publicity for election campaigns, he added.

Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, provincial ministers, provincial authorities and a large number of people were present on the occasion.

The prime minister said the English medium education system introduced in the country by the British rulers has alienated the students from their basic culture. After Independence, they should have worked on an education system with one curriculum, but they ended up having three parallel education systems — seminaries, English medium and government-owned schooling.

In the past, best intellectuals were groomed in government schools, but later the system waned and the private sector thrived, making “us servants of an alien culture”, he observed.

Cautioning the negative impacts upon the society from the use of internet, he underlined that it is a prerequisite for them to train children and make them fully acquainted with Seeratun Nabi (PBUH).

The prime minister said the world had high esteem for the distinct characteristics of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). He was a Sadiq and Ameen and the whole world respects him, he added.

Criticising the policies of past rulers, he said the elite always thought that their children would get English medium education, then avail employment opportunities and would be treated as a privileged class. By opening an English education institute of foreign repute, people reaped huge profits, he added.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said it “pained” him to see the Minar-e-Pakistan incident in which hundreds of men assaulted a woman on the Independence Day, and called it a source of “shame” for the country.

“The Minar-e-Pakistan incident, when I saw it, I was ashamed, it pained me to see it. No one could have imagined such an incident taking place [in Pakistan] when I was growing up,” the PM said and stressed educating the youth in line with Islamic teachings. The premier said he has travelled across the world, and while he was growing up, he had observed that Pakistanis respected women much more than the Western world.

“The downfall that we are witnessing is because our children are not being educated in the right manner. This is not part of our culture and neither of our religion,” he said, referring to the behaviour that was displayed by the mob at the Greater Iqbal Park in Lahore on August 14.

He said “sex crimes” in Pakistan are on the rise, and blamed it on the negative side of the use of mobile phones. “In human history, we never witnessed the kind of exposure to things that children have nowadays,” he said.

He noted that to curb such incidents, there is only one way. “Children must be taught about the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH),” he said, adding that people read about successful people to learn of the secrets of their success and no one in history is as successful as Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). “Which is why we have been told in the holy Quran to learn from his life. [The children must be taught] how he brought about a historic revolution. What his qualities were. How he was honest and trustworthy and how no person has become a great leader without these qualities,” the prime minister said.

The premier said Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and former president of the South African Republic Nelson Mandela were regarded as honest and trustworthy even by their rivals. “So these qualities, which made him so great, should be taught to our children in schools. The prime minister lauded Punjab Minister for Education Murad Ras for his “passion” for the field of education and for starting the implementation of the single national curriculum in the province. He hoped that in the next two years, Ras will be able to fully implement the new curriculum and “lift the standards of government schools”.

The prime minister also heaped praise on Chief Minister Usman Buzdar for his works in the province. “The past governments would do little work but trumpet their horns to no end over it,” he said. “However, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar does not want to boast of his good work,” the PM added.

The prime minister said the Ravi River Urban Development Project, besides its environmental benefits, is expected to generate $40 billion revenue for the country. The project will not only prove beneficial for Lahore but for the entire country in addressing the environmental and financial problems, he said at the launch of the country’s first Smart Forest near Sheikhupura, under the Ravi Urban project. He said the project would stop the sewer water seeping into the River Ravi, which ultimately flowed up to the River Indus passing through Sindh.

Under the Ravi Urban project, he said, around 10 million trees would be planted besides construction of three barrages at the river. Filtration plants will ensure provision of clean water to the public, he added. He asked CM Usman Buzdar to remain undeterred amidst challenges and work towards timely completion of the project. He termed water scarcity, deforestation and glacier melting biggest challenges for the country, which was among the ten most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. He said massive forestation is vital to save the country for the coming generations. “If we want to hand over a green and clean Pakistan to our next generation, plantation is the foremost solution,” he said and regretted deforestation in the country over the time, terming it disastrous in terms of climate change.

He recalled that Lahore, once used to be called a city of gardens, has turned into a polluted place with pollutants touching the hazardous levels. Therefore, the Ravi project is not only important for Lahore but for the entire country, he stressed.

The prime minister said the growth of every plant would be monitored in collaboration with the tech giant Huawei. He said sensors would keep a vigil on ruthless cutting of trees and expressed confidence that the project would be replicated in other parts of the country. He said that in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one billion trees have been planted and highlighted the ongoing countrywide campaign of planting ten billion trees to make the country green.

Earlier, the prime minister planted a sapling in the forest, which is first of its kind being equipped with technology sensors and surveillance systems. Usman Buzdar and senior officials of the Punjab government were present.

The Rakh Jhok Forest is a project of the Ravi Urban Development Authority covering 24,000 Kanals.

On the other hand, Punjab Chief Secretary Jawad Rafique Malik and Inspector General of Police Inam Ghani called upon the prime minister and briefed him about the overall law and order situation in the province. Usman Buzdar was present in the meeting, the PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.

The prime minister was apprised of the steps taken for the protection of women. The prime minister directed strict and immediate steps for ending incidents against women. Immediate measures must be taken to ensure stringent punishment to the culprits, he said.

During the meeting, the prime minister was also briefed over the administrative steps taken against land grabbers, price hike and hoarding in the province.

Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar met the prime minister and apprised him of his meeting with European Parliament members, Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority and various other matters including university reforms. Sarwar told Imran he is in contact with the Vice President of the European Parliament, Fabio Massimo Castaldo, and other members of the European Parliament for extension of GSP Plus status and will soon visit the European Parliament for this purpose.

The prime minister directed the governor to expedite the projects of the Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority and said the provision of facilities to people in health, education and other sectors is the top priority of the government for which all resources are being utilised. Pakistan is also becoming economically strong due to the effective policies of the government.