The flavor of the day is education because that is what we were at when I shut shop last. And, as usual, the mood of the day is glorifying culture, tradition and the communal fabric.
Seventy odd years into our national life have not been wasted.
The commons have learnt that, just as we have a web of communal links which bind our nation, our network of cultural affiliations with states and societies from the Pacific to the Atlantic lays demands on our educational priorities. The spectrum of priorities impacts language and content of syllabi as well as pedagogy and teaching methods. At the school level, it results in the variety of institutions I mentioned in an earlier blog. At the college and university level, if the variety of institutions is not so great, the range of occupations and hierarchy of credibility are wide.
From time to time the government takes up the matter of standardization. Time and time again, the society enforces its right to autonomy; sometimes by influencing the government decisions politically, at others by just flouting the writ of the state. And the state on its part, turns a blind eye; either due to apathy of the executive arm or the collusion of the bureaucrats and officials who are sympathetic to the communal priorities or collaborating with profiteers.
The elite have learnt to push for their favorite subjects in the syllabi of reading. The variety of elites has thus contributed large chunks to the course content and schools have selectively taken up portions to suit the community they serve. The state is content to spell out the roster of elitist demands and enforce a modicum of them in the formal syllabi and exams at various levels. The shortfall influences occupations and slot in the hierarchy available to a person after a specific type of schooling. Since this is what the student and parents are aiming for, it is a win for all.
Those who debate these issues, either in drawing rooms, or at the curb and corner meetings of aspirants and those affected by the system, can enjoy complaining about the overall situation, but they see no need to make a pro-active push to change things. For that matter, nor do I. So, what is the point of my raking up the issue? Well, what I want to bring to your notice is that in my case, it is not apathy that keeps me from making a push, it is that I think that the way things are is just what the “doctor ordered” for Pakistan. I also want to bring to your notice that I do want to make a push for us, You and I, to look for the common thread that should run through our syllabi to promote the “Communal Web and Cultural Networks” that bind us as a nation – both commons and elites – through all their variety and diversity.
The common threads that I can see are a commonality of communal ethics and a tolerance of cultural diversity, except in the matter of religion. Our current system supports the variety of languages that are needed for different curricula. It allows the student a freedom of choice in selecting a particular blend of traditional & modern learning. It even facilitates leaning towards a specific cultural root that we are inclined to, across the continents. Believe it or not, there is also a kind of consensus on the ethical balance between society and community; and tolerance about the work ethic that various communities live by. The greatest weakness, in my view, is the ethics of state-society-community relations and interface in our education system.
But I must clarify, that this weakness is in weaving this into our syllabi and curricula, not in its practical application by the citizens. As I pointed out in another post, community takes priority over state, and society, sometimes even family; and one communal priority may trump another at any time. In all cases, the average Pakistani will turn to a communal link in times of crisis, rather than the state or society at large. This is the common culture but it is not what we teach. At the same time, our education does not impart essential civic functions for Pakistani culture.
