When Socrates was asked, “why nations fail?”, he pointed out, with clarity, towards an idea that nations fail when the inhabitants of the state lose their ability to think independently. Interestingly, it is a multifaceted wealth of wisdom that Socrates left us with to ponder upon. Nonetheless, as a nation, we picked it up in letter and put it, proudly, in our discussions. However, down the line we lost sight, and never internalised it in spirit. Unfortunately, a quick glance over the deteriorating educational system of Pakistan indicates that we have lost our ability to produce independent thinkers on a mass scale.
The loss in our ability to practice independent thinking is not a recent one. The demise of critical enquiry in the Muslims of subcontinent started at the time of Mughal rule, though, there was great emphasis placed by Akbar the Great during his rein on development of curricula that democratised knowledge and encouraged critical enquiry as part of regular teaching in schools. This resulted in the Mughal empire achieving excellence in architecture, literature and military warfare for a short stretch. However, by the mid-1700s, rulers became increasingly disinterested in governance or maintaining intellectual diaspora in society. Ultimately, the disregard triggered a spiral of intellectual degradation in the general educational system of the Empire. For instance, the education of a female child was restricted to homes, curricula that incorporated multi-culturalism of the Indian population were discarded and replaced by a curriculum that suited the emperor’s inclinations. Likewise, intellectual excellence was restricted exclusively for the elite of the society. Such conservative policies deprived the Muslim masses from absorbing and analysing multiple perspectives to form critical opinions around the challenges of an intellectual world.
On the contrary, there are multiple competing views that sway in favour of the Mughals and propagate that Mughals alone cannot be held accountable for the negligence, on their part, to educate the masses. Equally guilty were the foreign powers that invaded India with their vested interests and systematised the prevalence of illiteracy amongst the population of the Sub-continent.
Likewise, at the conclusion of the great revolt of 1857, the British forced their dominance on the Indian Subcontinent. Their focus remained on creating an intellectually impotent nation of Indians that they could rule easily. Therefore, the educational system developed and passed on by British, considered an overall score of 33 percent as sufficient enough to pass an examination for a common man of Indian subcontinent; compared to a minimum of 50 percent for a student of British origins. Sadly, the lowered passing criteria, according to the British masters, was solely established to compensate for the inability of Indian people to think analytically and critically.
Today, the situation of intellectual distinction in Pakistan is no different from where it started, 73 years ago, at the time of Independence. We inherited a Muslim country with depleting intellectual abilities and have continued to pay negligible importance towards developing critical minds as a nation. Every year, in the country, universities produce around 445,000 graduates. In an ideal scenario, these graduates should become the powerhouse for social and economic growth of the country. Unfortunately, we are not doing that. The quality of education is sub-standard, and most graduates lack the ability to integrate themselves into the already deteriorating economic system of the country.
Though on a legislative level, article 25-A of The Constitution of Pakistan, highlights that the state must take responsibility of not just providing education to children aged 5 to 16, but also make sure that the education provided is of highest quality.
In 2003, the Government of Pakistan established the National Education Assessment System (NEAS), a body that monitors the learning outcomes of the students across the country. In essence, the institution defines how well the curriculum translates into knowledge and skills development of the nation. However, in reality, based on the current educational system, the only thing considered “skill” is the ability of youth to reproduce the material that is thrown at them. A metric that clearly does not judge the real intellectual capital of a nation. Therefore, the pressing question to ask is not how much of the information in books our students know by heart, rather, finding out if the knowledge imparted enables the learner to think critically.
In this regard, government entities can utilise design thinking methodology to revamp their efforts to formulate a comprehensive plan to tackle the problem. Much practiced in the corporate sector of Pakistan and around the globe, this method allows for quick testing of ideas and getting feedback from the end users (in our case students). Likewise, rather than going the traditional route of developing policies that guide development of systems, and the systems ultimately deliver the final outcomes.
Pakistan can rise up the ladder of progress if the importance of education and a critical mindset is realized by the ruling elite of the country. We are a resilient nation that can break free from the slavery and sit at par, face-to-face, with the global world. The only push we need now is the realisation that independent thinking can provide us with the necessary fuel to kickstart our revival.