Education system in Pakistan
Afia Rashid (F2017077041)
Life and learning (C3)
University of Management and Technology
December 27, 2017
Abstract
Education empowers the individual by providing basic information, skills and cognitive abilities to make decisions and choices which affect their political, social and economic life. This paper highlights the different stages of education system, types of school systems,barriers and problems in education system of Pakistan and future challenges for the education provision in Pakistan. Our country is facing educational crises ever since its beginning. Also, Pakistan is one of those countries of the world where the rate of illetracy is really high which is a matter of concern. There are so many issues in education system like poverty, difference between Government and private sector, lack of facilities, untrained teachers etc. Government could not pay attention and current situation of literacy and education in the country is far away from satisfactory. Government should consider educational crises seriously because education produces skilled manpower. This paper also explores solutions of problems in educational sector.
Keywords: Education, Government, Teachers, Quality, Curriculum
Introduction
Education is very important for any country because it is education through which any country can progress. The main purpose of the education is to develop, train and prepare the young generation for future. The importance of education for the development of an individual’s potential, as well as for the socio-economic development of the society hardly needs emphasis. A high literacy rate catalyzes the social, economic and technical development of a country. Therefore, it is highly desirable to aim for high literacy rates for any country.
The development of education and the literacy rate in Pakistan has consistently been a controversial issue since the independence of our country therefore Government should focus on education.
LEVELS OF EDUCATION
The levels of education are:”
1. Preschool”
2. Primary School
3. Middle
4. Secondary
5. Intermediate
Preschool:
Preschool plays a very significant role for education and developemnt of children because it is the time of the growth of brain, learning new things and understanding basic concepts. Preschool student’s age is about 3 to 5 years. There are many other names of preschool e.g. KG (Kindergarten) and Montessori school, Play group, nursery school and prep etc.
Primary School:
Primary school is of 5 years from grade 1 to 5. The age of the students who enroll in primary school is about 5 to 9 years. The motivation of the primary education is to reinforce and develop the base for students and to satisfy the adapting needs of the students and to build their mindset.
Middle:
Middle education is of 3 years (the grade 6th, 7th and 8th). In middle, parents like to send their kids in separate schools of boys and girls. Students study basic Urdu, English, computer science, maths, science, social studies arts, Islamic studies. They are fimiliarized with all the basic subject in order to identify their particular interest.
Secondary:
Secondary education is of 2 years which includes the class of 9th and 10th. In the secondary education, students sit in the board examination which is compulsory. Students choose science, arts or computer science according to their interest and future plans. Secondary education is compulsory for the high levels of education
Intermediate:
Compared with primary and secondary education, college as well as university education made more progress in quantitative terms. Intermediate is the stage of class 11th and 12th. Student chooses their subjects of interest from the disciplines of arts, medical, engineering and computer sciences. Intermediate prepares students for further study of university up to bachelors and masters in the same subjects they are interested to develop a future in.
TYPES OF SCHOOLS
Types of school systems are:
1. Government Schools
2. Private Schools
3. Madrassas
Government Schools:
Government schools are those schools who are under the legislature and government financally support these schools and pay the instructors, however the condition of government schools is slightly below average in Pakistan and Government school are not preffered when it comes to selection between the government and other types of school. The issue here is that Instructors are untrained and can't educate with proper technique and skills. In Government schools, the curriculum is of PTB. The standard of government schools is low, in this manner guardians want to send their kids in private sector instead of government sector. The individuals who send their kids to government can't afford the charges of private sector.
Private Schools:
Private sectors contribution in education is empowering. Government doesn't provide funds to private based schools. The greater part of the private based schools selects their syllabus and reading material uniqueand different in comparison to the public schools. Private based schools are generally charging high expenses from students. A large portion of the schools are unregistered; in this manner, certificates issued by these organizations are not perceived by government. The majority of these organizations are giving training in the leased building.
ISSUES/ PROBLEMS IN EDUCATION SYSTEM
Today, system of education in Pakistan is facing many genuine issues and problems and they are arising day by day. Some of the major problems are described below:
Gender bias in education system
One of the major issue is gender differences in education which is extremely normal more often in undeveloped territories, guardians don't realize that education is also mandatory for females. According to them, a female must be expert in household activites, since one day she will get married and education isn't imperative for her, subsequently they teach their young men rather than young ladies on the grounds that young men will serve them in future. Guardians take the wrong idea of Islam that females should remain in homes yet in our religion education is necessary for females as well as the education of men will develop him and women are the source of education for the whole family and ultimately the next generation. Our general public conceives that there must be separate schools for men and women; Men can't ponder in a ladies' school and ladies can't even think about studying in men's school. In a few areas, just young men's schools exist. Because of gender discrimination, guardians don't send their girls in co-training. The male and female must have same rights to study. Government should make some genuine move about the enlistment of females as well and it's our duty to educate guardians about the significance of female education.
Untrained teachers/ low qualified teachers:
There is a widespread dissatisfaction regarding the level of competence and achievements among newly trained teachers and the slow pace of change in teaching methods and the lack of research based insights into the processes and practices of teacher education. The examination on staff individuals working in various schools, demonstrates that at the school level a number of teachers don't have satisfactory capabilities. A good proportion of science teachers do not possess adequate qualification to teach science. Even in some cases, those teachers are teaching science subjects who themselves had never studied this subject even in SSC level. Although at the higher level the quality of the teachers is better but no fully up to the mark. The graveness of the problem increases further if one takes into account the inadequacy of the teachers’ training programs. A continuous supply of trained teachers is needed to meet the demand of expanding system of education as well as to fill the position of teachers retiring in the future.
Low budget for education sector:
Legislature of Pakistan spends just 2.3 % of the aggregate GDP on education. Most education budget use comprises of pay rates of teachers and workers and less is utilized for improvement. Due to low budget for education, government organizations are confronting many issues; no Generator or UPS, no appropriate furniture and because of this, the current circumstance of government foundations is hopeless and poor.
Low income/ poverty:
In view of low pay and neediness, guardians typically can't manage the cost of education of their kids. In undeveloped zones, guardians are unaware of the significance and advantages of getting education. Population is expanding and parents think that if they spend their cash on each youngster for education, their cash would be squandered in light of the fact that sustenance and sanctuary is their best need. Along these lines, guardians send their kids to work. Private based schools give education at high cost which just rich individuals can manage like Beacon house, city school etc.
Language issue/ Use of native vs. international language:
The greatest hurdle in the course of growth in the education sector which is generally disregarded, yet is vitally important, is the language issue. Our native languages are i.e. Urdu, Balochi, Sindhi, Pashto, Kashmiri and our national language is Urdu. But instead of speaking Urdu in our everyday life, we always try to speak English. It is very difficult for a student to master an English language. This argument can be put forth more vigorously in the case of those students who do not have an English language environment and whose teachers themselves do not have a much needed command of the English language. Despite English being a compulsory subject all through education, the majority of the students either fail in English or in those subjects that demand a high vocabulary in English. In Pakistan, Now English is the compulsory component of curricula. It is highly unfortunate that this decision is taken without considering the difficulties of the students and the teachers. English should not be favored at the cost of our own languages.
Low enrolment and high dropouts:
Dropouts are the students who leave schooling without completing it. One of the issues confronting education system of Pakistan is a high rate of dropout of children at different levels of education, coupled with a low enrolment rate in early years of schooling. A large number of children who enroll in class 1 does not reach the terminal stage of school, rather they dropout before enrolling into next class. There are many factors responsible for this some of them are:
Lack of physical facilities in schools
Overcrowded classrooms
Boring environment of the school
Long travelling hours of school from home
Learning issues of youngsters
low quality of education sector
Teacher’s absenteeism and irresponsibility
One system for All/Unequal curricula:
The basic purpose of curriculum is to meet the national aims and objects of education which are based on ideology of Pakistan. The system of education in Pakistan is based on unequal curricula or different variety of syllabus in Government and private sector. Private schools use oxford syllabus while public schools utilize PTB books to educate students.This results in enormous distinction in the mentality of student of Public and private division. Youngsters studying in the private sector consider themselves modern, accomplished in light of the fact that they are contemplating oxford books when contrasted with the individuals who ponder PTB books. In Pakistan, children from high class follow the O and A levels curricula rather than national curricula. The national curricula are considered of low quality. Therefore, there is a need to bring Pakistani curriculum up to the global measures and there must be one framework for all in education sector to create a balanced and powerful nation.
Quality and Quantity:
Our system of education concentrates on the amount of syllabus instead of value and quality. There is the diversity of subjects yet no quality of education. The quality of education relies on what is being educated in institutes according to the mental growth of children and how it is being educated, student-teacher proportion, achievement of students and teachers, etc. Curriculum is modified after every 10 years in Pakistan but there is no improvement in the field. Accordingly, what is arranged does not deliver wanted outcomes. Everything in the training framework has encountered a few changes with the exception of showing strategies in schools. This is the real viewpoint that is decaying the quality of training in the nation.
SOLUTIONS
Education departments should launch motivational campaigns to attract the children towards education and its need. along with developing awareness parents regarding he importance of education.
Policies on teacher education are fragmented, incomplete and sometimes non-existent. A coherent, financially sustainable and widely accepted education policy should be put in place to meet the demand of newly trained teachers. Teacher education curriculam should include the important aspects of good interpersonal skills and growth.
The curriculum should be slimmed down to focus more on understanding the main and important concepts from a learner’s viewpoint according to their mental abilities.
The textbook boards are earning a huge profit on publication of the textbooks. Some of this profit should be invested in improving the quality of the books.
The examining boards are performing just the ministerial jobs, receiving admission forms, getting examination papers prepared, conducting examinations and declaring results. They do not play any guiding and training role for the appearing candidates. These boards should not only hold the seminars and training workshops for the teachers so they could understand and solve issues for the students at different level. Also, they should conduct research and surveys to understand and solve problems in the field of assessment in Pakistan.
Condition of public schools is very poor. Government should invest more funds on the betterment of education so that their condition can be improved.
Conclusion
Education is the basic right of everyone living in the country. The government should introduce standardized and consistent policies to keep the appropriate ratio of enrolment at different levels of education for every student. The system of education in Pakistan can only be improved if the importance and role of education are properly recognized at governmental as well as social level. A stable education system can make our country a developed nation.
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REFRENCES
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4. Louis D. H., ‘The crises of Education in Pakistan’, Lahore, Vanguard Book Ltd., 1987.
5. Iqbal M., ‘Education in Pakistan’, Lahore, Aziz publishers, 1981.
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