The concept of acquiring general knowledge has deeply stemmed its way into our educational structure. A child is considered to be a prodigy if he/she can name all continents, seasons, planets in the solar system, presidents of the world, oceans, and rivers of Pakistan. Indeed, general knowledge is necessary to remain well-informed about the world.
But it is and should not be the measure of intelligence. Rote learning can help one develop and maintain general knowledge. Intelligence, however, is developed through curiosity, conversation, observation, reflection, and imagination.
The education system during the British Raj focused on rote learning and how effectively one managed the task one was assigned. This system is still being pursued. Schools and colleges across Pakistan teach students subjects having no real value. What good will a student get by learning how to dissect frogs? How will the personality of students develop if they memorise quadratic equations?
One wonders why students are not allowed or encouraged to think in the Pakistani education system. The virtues of leadership which include critical thinking, analysis, decision-making, problem-solving, design thinking, etc., are being taught in the West. They remain to be non-existent in Pakistan. It is not the mistake of the people but those who are at the helm of affairs developing policies and procedures. The education system is outdated, to say the least. The content taught is not relevant to the future.
We are a hundred years behind what the Western is envisioning. With Metaverse, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things now a part of life, we are still teaching our students parts of a flower, the water cycle, chemical equations, and word problems. Where is the teaching that makes students learn how to increase the efficiency of an engine, that makes them identify the impact of light on plants, that helps them study the effect of colours on human psychology, that makes them investigate how handwriting exposes a human’s character?
We have to go a long way before we can even think of coming at an equal level to the social consciousness akin to that of the West. They are bringing innovation in medicine, engineering, aviation, and science. They are planning smart cities of the future, designing cars, preparing to colonise Mars, creating agile robots, etc.
The gatekeepers of our educational system need to address the challenges at hand. They have to make the school and college-going students leap into the future by radically altering the syllabus. We cannot afford rote learners in a world where jobs are given to those possessing the latest skills. We need to develop skills among the youth. The future will belong to those who can use their skills to address a problem. Those who rote learn the names of people and places will not use their minds for inventing and designing.