Education Reform: Signs of Hope

This is in stark contrast with earlier education policies – which saw Pakistani education as a tool to forcibly remake children’s minds. 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”.


Holy shit...

Manto...say it ain`t so...

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. I guesss as long as these thugs are not back into their cantonment kennels.

Re: # 2

So according to you what should be the basis of national curriculum?

Re: # 3
According to him, everyone be forced to read Quran.

Re: # 3

A nation that has no history, has no future. The history, tradition, values and culture all define a nation. The soveriegnity of the nation means that it must have its connection established to all these attributes. The source of our values is not our culture but it is our religion - or at least that of 95% of the population of Pakistan. Culture cannot replace values because culture is an ever-changing entity; whereas values remain constant. The atheists, menatlly deranged, and those with inferiority complex look at the local values with disdain and want to replace them with cultural attributes of their their mental patrons. This is nothing but mental vassalage.

For example, in Western culture about 50 years ago homosexuality was a taboo; today it is a norm and tomorrow probably men would be sleeping with their daughters or mothers. Where is the value here? There is no value - society has started taking cultural norms akin to the values. This is the core problem with atheism, secularism and so called humanism that these -isms cannot have a vlaue system.

Since every action has consequences, the consequences for the West have been devastating in terms of family structure, which has been destroyed completely. The destruction of family structure has wreaked havoc upon the most vulnerable of the society i.e. women and children. Today in West a women is nothing but the mistress of a man giving birth to illegitimate children. As long as meat is fresh its ok, but as it starts declining the misery of woman in Western society is just heart breaking. The slogans like `freedom`` are used to exploit women and children. One should ask, why ``responsibility`` is not a slogan here? The reason is that ``responsibility` only comes through a system of values and they said adios to values long time ago.

So wouldn`t it be smart thing to learn from the mistakes of West and not repeat what they have done to bring such misery upon themselves??

Re: # 5
Thank god, you are not in a position to institute any change.

#5 by Urstruly on February 12, 2007 2:25pm PT


This is the core problem with atheism, secularism and so called humanism that these -isms cannot have a vlaue system.


You sound like an Islamic Bill O`Reilly... Bilal Al-Reilly...

of course, like the loofah man, you are a frikking hypocrite as long as you continue to pay the taxes that are going to undermine your islamist vision of pakiland`s curriculum..

#7 Take it easy - Urstruly is an involuntary immigrant.

Finally a ray of optimism shines through the gap between Pervez Hoodbhoy`s incisors. He was the one person whose pessimism I could have reliably counted on. Even he has succumbed to the power of hope. Three cheers for the good doc...

Not one to be left behind, now I too believe in miracles. If (i) Moses can part the Red Sea, (ii) Jesus can turn water into wine, (iii) Muhammad do space travel, (iv) Virgin Mary appear in the clouds above Guadeloupe, (v) Elvis shows up at a Best Western in rural Tennessee, (vi) UFOs visit trailer parks in Arizona desert, and (vii) crop circles appear on a Shropshire farm ten miles west of my village, then there is no reason to doubt that ministry of education will set up GPS monitoring systems for schools in rural Baluchistn.

I must be smart after all. What perfect timing I`ve chosen to take up Romair`s challange to move to Pakistan. The moment has arrived. Come hail or high water, next month I`m moving to Islamabad, lock, stock and barrel.

...SR

Re: # 5

[A nation that has no history, has no future.]

So, you mean that it should be based on historical events of nation to which pakistani nation claims its connection. It seems very plausible, but the problem arises when we try to figure out that what are the events that need to be part of framework that can be taken as basis. For example whole of our history (means islamic history in the sub-continent) is filled with imperial expansionism in the name of islam. You want the invasions of barbaric central asian or middle eastern looters to form the basis of our curriculum or you have something else in your mind.

SR#9: ``What perfect timing I`ve chosen to take up Romair`s challange to move to Pakistan. The moment has arrived. Come hail or high water, next month I`m moving to Islamabad, lock, stock and barrel....``

....where exactly will you be moving to, and what are your immediate plans.......another ten days or so, and i should be able to let you know if i am going also.....after that, in about one to two months i will be in the area.........

......i have researched the area quite a bit......you may want to keep yourself in a position, where you can move between the middle east and pakistan easily.......there is a whole lot of business going on in between these two areas......it is well into the billions of dollars......middle easterners are buying up everything in pakistan from telecom companies to banks to housing societies etc.....they are even buying islands and are thinking of putting up a whole city next to karachi.....malaysians are coming in quite strongly also....

......i really think the action now is in the area from saudi arabia to india........(and china).....

From what you describe, the “white paper” appears a step in the right direction. But the lack of resources is perhaps only one of the problems in its implementation. The question is: is putting together the “white paper” or even following its conclusions enough to correct the cumulative damage done over six decades of indoctrination? And how does one undo the damage of the growth of religious fanaticism without touching what was planted at its root by the original founder himself?!

Thanks for a good laugh – the idea of using satellites to identify “truant” schools. I recently used “Google Earth” software to look down at my house and yes, it looks like my house – exactly like my house – at least the way it was two years ago!

I personally think perhaps it is better to ask the affected parents to squeal.

Empower the average Joe and let him or her use his or her ingenuity to address his or her problems.

A very informative article by Hoodbhoy as usual but the question arises what can one expect from the people in the uniform who play like a monkey on the tune of `dugduggi`, taking one step forward and then two steps back. They took one step forward by demolishing (`martyring` as the mullah say) an illegally constructed mosque (Hamza mosque) and have now plunged back to reconstruct (demortify) it, as today`s news indicate, only to keep the writ of government in place, perhaps, no doubt at public cost, both ways.

Re: # 13
The education minister, Javed Ashraf Qazi, after retirement from the Army, for the last 10 years, been serving in various senior positions before becoming a senator and federal minister. Rather than debating upon the contents of the white paper, which would been relevant, Mr Shah has only rolled in useless, absurd and irrational remarks about anyone who has military back ground. He is, after all, a civil bureaucrat, albeit retired.

colonel #14: ``The education minister, Javed Ashraf Qazi, after retirement from the Army, for the last 10 years, been serving in various senior positions``

.....could you highlight which positions he has been working at........also does he have any qualifications in the academic and education field?.......

Re: # 11 bulleya {``.......where exactly will you be moving to, and what are your immediate plans.......``}

Generally speaking the idea of moving to Pakistan, at least for a few years, has occurred to me off and on since 1996, but I never got around to executing it. During my visits in the last two years I could see that the time was passing us by and that if there was going to be a move it had to be soon. Part of it also had something to do with my less than spectacular experience of having moved to the UK after spending a quarter century in America. Then, after the earthquake I had some first hand experience of what enormous potential existed to do much needed work. Besides, my hidden agenda included a wish to expose the children to the language and a to a multicultural living, which in rural England they cannot possibly get. Three years of England is now enough. It`s time to move on. I had originally kept Dubai in mind as a possible resting pad. But my recent trips there have turned me off from Dubai as a place of residence. It is a soul-less city, an open air brothel, a vulgar Las Vegas wannabe. No thank you. I still think Dubai a great place for weekend ``business trips`` and for actual commerce and trade, but not not to live.

So to answer your question I`ve set us a deadline of the end of March. By or before then we`ll be out of here regardless of whether we can dispose of our worldly possessions here or not. Most likely we`ll fly into Lahore, but I doubt if my family can adjust there. We`ll most likely find a landing pad in Islamabad. Weather, geography and atmosphere all argue for it, and against Lahore or Karachi.

The agenda is to be in the area for three to five years. No one can plan beyond that time horizon. I certainly cannot. As to what I will do there? Frankly, as yet I do not know for sure. I do know, however, that as I approach the traditional retirement age its getting to be time for me to come out of my 20 year old semi-retirment and get usefully occupied as a contributing member of society. I looked into the financial world and discovered nothing but rancid vermin, sloth and slime. Plus I am a mere ``layman`` and unless I get involved in the private sector with people I know, I have to remain a lone-ranger as I have been for all these years. So I was think more along the lines of getting involved with some NGO work related to either Public Health and disease control, etc. or to Education. I`ve spoken to people with International Agencies and NGOs etc, and have picked up the impression that there is a lot that need to be done and that could be done, particularly in Public Health and Disease Control. Since this is an area in which I am not totally illiterate, I was thinking of looking a bit deeper to see if there was something meaningful or constructive I could get involved with. I would, of course, not wish to fool with anything that amounts to being a mere paper pusher. There are plenty of those already. For me to get out of my long slumber and ``do something`` I have to feel right about it. But, the bottom line is that I am wide open to ideas.

...SR

PS: You are correct in stating that there is Billions od Dollars worth of business potential, and I agree that many fortunes can be made, but that is not my top priority in life. As long as I can comfortably feed and clothe my family and have a reasonable living I`m happy with what little I have. My wife does not demand an expensive life style and my children don`t need to shop at Oxford Street. We gladly live a spartan, contented life. If making an extra ten million means being away from my loved ones for many months out of a year, it does not interest me. We started off butt naked and we`ll end up being eaten by maggots.