Education Reform: Signs of Hope

[An official document, issued eleven years ago by the same ministry, had required that school children be taught to “make speeches on jihad and shahadat”; be aware of “India’s evil designs against Pakistan”; that they must “demonstrate by actions a belief in the fear of Allah”; go on field trips to “visit police stations”; and must “collect pictures of policemen, soldiers, and National Guards”. ]

As part of education reforms, the government should remove any reference to ``India`s evil designs against Pakistan``. This nonsense must stop. There are other countries and ethnicities in the world that have shared borders and ongoing tussles, but torturing the youth to brain wash on the ``evil designs`` is way too misleading. When this prejudiced youth lands in other parts of the world where they have to deal with different ethnicities, they do not know how to assimilate and appreciate diversity. This is not true in all cases, but is a prevalent mindset.

I am not sure about the signs of hope - I guess that is a relative term. An old friend`s father took a lucrative position at a university in Pakistan after spending over 30-35 years in North America. He had kept his ties with his roots and wanted to see how he could contribute. Now, in his 60s, he accepted a prestigious position at a university in engineering. Last I heard, he is extremely frustrated with the lack of professionalism, ethics and politics. I guess he forgot the core mindset of his roots.

Last but not least, I strongly believe that there should be more course options for the students. Some of the compulsory courses should include what matters to us as human beings in our daily lives -- the subject of nutrition.

#61 urstruly: Poverty was not introduced 40 years ago in Pakistan. Like I said, it was here 100 years ago, 200 years ago, 4000 years ago and so on.

If you want to argue economic growth - then it was bhutto that put the brakes on pakistan`s economic growth in the 1960`s by nationalizing everything but the kitchen sink (which he would have, if he hadnt been hanged before he could get to it).

And if the military goes - rest assured there are no mullahs who are going to take over. Mullahs were convenient idiots who will not last a day longer than their usefullness to musharraf. They are violent and loud - but empty vessels make the most noise. They lack popular appeal and lack even basic political savvy - and are on the retreat after having crested in the years prior to 9/11. Thus, only today Dawn reported that MQM has quietly backed down from its threat to walk out of the NA if the Protection of Women Bills was passed. They demolished a couple of mosques that had been illegally built - and after huffing and puffing the mullahs agreed to a face saving compromise (to have mosques built somewhere else).

And your desire (and no doubt that of the mullahs it is going after in waziristan) to see the Pakistan army beaten and humiliated is shared only by the enemies of Pakistan. No patriotic Pakistani would ever write such a thing, regardless of how much he/she is against military interference in politics.

Re:arjun2#68

[..so the paki army has it`s fingers in all aspects of the corporate pie? No wonder Pakiland hasn`t produced a single company that can hold it`s own in the world...]

They call us hindus banias, when their entire army is a bania army!! At least our army focuses on fighting rather than being shopkeepers.

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Since we are comparing pakis and hinuds all the time - here is one more: every second paki we see here is either an army brat or somehow connected to paki army.... where as very few indians have an army background...

Isn`t that interesting?...

Re: # 46
[...Pakistan with army rule is still better than India with civilian rule. ...]

He he... no wonder pakis are so f****ed up... :)

#63 by SR

I think that this is a very valid debate. It seems that there is a chance that we get a progressive basis for education in Pakistan, but there are folks who lament that the new system is alien to our society and so long as it is being imposed from the outside it would never work. This is a very valid and worthwhile point which needs to be debated extensively. What I am concerned though is that all the liberals, agnostics, atheists and apostates have crowded out the mullahs, muftis and jihadis from chowk. It serves no purpose if fear of ridicule would prevent anyone from expressing their viewpoint fully; this is not good for anyone.

Defence housing societies:

The army claims the choicest land for its schemes, which they are able to obtain at next to nothing prices. They are able to subvert the government to provide all the services like sewer, electricity, water, telephone, internet, parks and the other myriad of infrastructure items which are essential for setting up a successful community at bargain basement prices or nothing for their scheme. More over with their dunda they can ensure that everything gets completed on time. Of course the top brass gets the plots at 2 cents on a dollar, which they cash in.

Why its wrong is that, no private entrepreneur has this ability. They have to pay through the nose for the land and all the services. Fact of the matter is that nearly all such private firms who are in the property development business nowadays employ retired colonel and brigadier sahibs as “liaison officers” to interact with the bureaucracy to facilitate getting services.

The original article by the good doc was about hope in the area of education reform in Pakistan. But as it always happens, the debate has be hijacked by all sorts of other interests. Fine.

I just want to introduce someone, a great man, an American, whom some may already know, who has single handedly done for education in Pakistan what the general-minister can only dream of. This Azeem Insan, Greg Mortenson, has shown that even one sincere person can make a difference. Please buy his book and read about this man`s positive contribution and strengthened hope... It`s a well written book and a good read.

Besides your local book store, Three Cups of Tea is also available at Amazon dot com.

...SR

Mr. Urstruly,
Thank you for your response.
You can not shift between faith and history as if they were one. You seem to speak of Adam as if he is a well known historical personality. We know absolutely nothing about Adam or Eve. Even men like Moses are shrouded in mystery. What we do know for a fact is that Mecca was a polytheistic society and their norm of worshipping many Gods was well established through values, economy and tradition. One may argue from your perspective that Hazrat Mohammad had an inferiority complex and imposed on his Arab nation, a Jewish idea of God. Perhaps Mr. Urstruly that is what you would have done as a proud citizen of Mecca? My point is that your stand on this issue is nationalistic, reactionary and tribal. It is not based on actual thought, but vents in a more fancy way the simple anger of being conquered by the west. Also you said that ideology defines a human being. But the human being may also alter and define the ideology an example set by Hazrat Mohammad.

Re: # 60

The reason for poverty should absolutely be pinned upon the military, since it has been ruling the country for 40+ years out of 60 years of its existence. During this time, all military dictatorships had absolute political power to bring about any social change but they have failed. Instead, their only acheivement is the establishment of the dreaded military industrial complex, which is now almost impossible to dismantle without the aid of Iran like revolution. So unless army is defeated, humiliated, and downsized through a civil war or a foreign invasion they will not relent any powers to the people of Pakistan. They will keep ruling this country thru corruption, torture, and murder. This is a vicious cycle, which will not end from inside the military complex - but it is a pressure cooker.

#56 urstruly: you write ``The military industrial complex, run by these two goons, is the cause in the first place that has brought the people of Pakistan to this level....How did they justify their budget, when everytime it has become surplus; and why was not this surplus budget spent on developing Paksitan`s nuclear and technological arsenal?``

1. Poverty has been the lot of the vast majority of mankind (including in Pakistan) for ages. So you cant pin this particular problem on the military.

2. Pakistan has had a nuclear deterrent since 1998, and for this the credit goes to all Pakistani leaders since Bhutto (who pushed this program forward after 1971 demonstrated that Pakistan could not hope to match the population advantage of India in conventional warfare).

There are of course real problems and real issues to be concerned with. But these are not it.

Re: # 57

Excellent paradox, which proves the point that ideology is what defines a human being. As I indicated in my post, the atheists, mentally deranged, and vassals with inferiority complex are trying to enforce their ideology in Pakistan and there are forces who are opposing their ideology.

As far as the ideology of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) is concerned, it was not a new ideology or curriculum replacing an exiting ideology of Polytheism; but the fact is that the ideology of Mohammad (pbuh) was the oldest ideology in the history of mankind. It was the ideology of Monotheism, which was first propagated by the first human being, Adam (pbuh), and then it passed over to many many Prophets, known and uknown, in every society of the world. Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) was the last in the line of those who prpagated that ideology. So even though the basic premis of your argument is wrong, an anology can be established. The british occupation and colonialism of Hindustan has created a false ideology in our land (just as Polytheism overpowered Monotheism of Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus) and now our challenge is to defeat and expell this ideology, and those who propagate it, from our land, even by force, just like our Prophet (pbuh) did.

#56 by Urstruly on February 14, 2007 1:33pm PT


and why was not this surplus budget spent on developing Paksitan`s nuclear and technological arsenal?


why? it`s not like your going to war with India for the whole Kashmir banega Pakiland thing...and you`re not going to do anything about NATO in afghanistan repeatedly ``probing`` you...

Mr. Urstruly,
You wrote:
Makes me wonder, how long a curriculum that has no roots in the society, its norms, and history and which is enforced upon the nation by half a million gun totting criminals, would last.

Islam was in complete contradiction with the norms and history of the people of Mecca. They went from worshipping hundreds of Gods to just One God. And that curriculum has lasted for a very long time. Had you been alive when Hazrat Mohommad was preaching, would you have opposed him because he attacked the norms the roots?

Re: # 53

There is nothing positive about it. The military industrial complex, run by these two goons, is the cause in the first place that has brought the people of Pakistan to this level. As bulleya has correctly pointed out, that if military has surplus money to run business ventures, then why that money wasn`t used to provide social services in the first place. What right do they have to steel our money from us in the first place. How did they justify their budget, when everytime it has become surplus; and why was not this surplus budget spent on developing Paksitan`s nuclear and technological arsenal?