STEP – Science, Technology, and Education in Pakistan

The etymology of the word “education” is found in the Latin word educare, meaning to “bring up” or to “bring out”. The reality of our system of education today is that it has less to do with “bringing out” and more with “putting in”. Students are exposed to a wealth of knowledge but the pedagogy prevalent in our schools values the regurgitation and memorization of facts, rather than development of an individual’s unique abilities grounded in those facts. This article makes the case for an alternate reality argued and advocated by Ken Robinson, a prominent proponent of creativity in education, in his TED talks.

In the context of Pakistan, it may seem rather frivolous to point out the short comings in the quality of our educational system. After all, unlike the developed world, access to basic education, let alone further education, still remains a privilege, and not a right in our country. However, as the private provision of education expands in Pakistan, the monetization of education has systematically transformed the inculcation of education to an industrial process. Students are churned out of the production lines of primary, secondary, and tertiary schools degrees, allegedly armed with the skills required to succeed in life. But are they?

As a teacher with a background in development, I am increasingly frustrated to see how education in Pakistan, nay around the world, far from “bringing up” the best talents of individuals, actually discourages any investment of time and effort into the individual’s interests. Rather, what is considered socially acceptable or economically pragmatic is assigned the greatest degree of importance. This can be seen in the hierarchy of subjects that we are all familiar with: Sciences and mathematics at the top, languages and social sciences in the middle, and arts at the very bottom. Ken Robinson, traces the genesis of this to the industrial revolution. “The whole system,” Robinson argues, “came into being to meet the needs of industrialism.” So, it is no surprise that “our educational system today, churns out students to fulfill the requirements of the Industrial Age” rather than those of the coming Information Age.

The result of this out-of-date education system, says Robinson, is that “we are educating people out of their creative capacities.” Creativity demands some level of risk-taking, but that is not what our education system values. “You’ll never come up with anything original if you’re not prepared to be wrong”, says Robinson. “Picasso once said … that all children are born artists. The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.” The challenge for us, therefore, according to Robinson, “is to remain an artist as we grow up”, and not allow ourselves to “get educated out of it.”

At times the word creativity gets a bad rap in Pakistan because it is associated with the arts or music. While arts and music are two forms of creative expression, creativity is required in every field. Is there any successful scientist or social scientist who can claim that his or her success was independent of his or her ability to comprehend the world beyond the status-quo?

So, how can we create a culture that values creativity in our education system? Robinson makes the case for a revolution, not reform, in education. “I think we have to change metaphors”, says Robinson. “We have to go from what is essentially an industrial model of education — a manufacturing model that is based on linearity and conformity — to a model that is based more on principles of agriculture. We have to recognize that human flourishing is not a mechanical process, it’s an organic process. And you cannot predict the outcome of human development. All you can do, like a farmer, is create the conditions under which [students] will begin to flourish.”

The thrust of Robinson’s arguments is to promote an educational system that recognizes and rewards individual interests and talents and values creativity in all its forms. Students would be best served if our educational system “brought out” and nurtured their talents, regardless of what they maybe, enabling them to confront the intellectual and economic challenges of the future.

These arguments are particularly relevant to Pakistan. Over the past 20 years, curriculum reform has come to a standstill. It has been reduced to debates on whether there should be a chapter on Jihad or not, or whether the Chief Minister’s message should be inserted into text books. The proliferation of O- and A-level curricula has been viewed as a positive measure, as it offers the opportunity to study a foreign curriculum. However, the same system that we have adopted is considered outdated and in need for urgent review in the UK. We have not only divided our educational system between the have and have not’s, O-/A-levels vs. matriculation/intermediate, public vs. private Universities, even within these dichotomies we remain obsessed with the hierarchy of subjects and viewing intelligence in relation to outdated examination grades or standardized testing.

So where do we go from here? After viewing the talks above, I would hope that you would share (to some extent) my belief that we should value knowledge and education regardless of the subject concerned. That means valuing Theatre Arts with the same degree of relevance as Computer Science, or Tapestry Design with Mathematics! Why? Because in our schools we are producing students skilled for decades passed. As we can never be certain with what the future holds, we need a generation of students motivated in and enthusiastic about their talents.

So the next time your son, daughter, niece or nephew, friend or relative asks for advice or shares their aspirations – don’t recommend or reject professions or subjects. Instead, ask them “what are you really interested in”. Wait for the answer, resist the urge to pass judgment and respond “great!”

Syed Nadir El-Edroos is currently a teacher of sixth-form economics at Bellerbys College, London. He completed a Masters in Global Politics at the LSE and has an interest in education and its role in social and economic development.