One of the reasons for Pakistan’s poor literacy rate is the absence of educational reforms and the lack of decorum in institutes. Cheating, deception, fraud are commonplace in most examination boards of the country — especially amongst the high schoolers during board examinations. Even university students are promoted based on forged results.
Although rote learning, memorising and cheating allow students to progress from one academic level to another, they cannot achieve much in life without any real knowledge or skills. Often students cheat or rote-learn because of lackadaisical teaching. Teachers either simply read the content of the textbooks or assign tasks to students without any proper instructions. Resultantly, students’ grasp of concepts is weak and quells their creativity and curiosity. Poor teaching outcomes often compel students to opt out of education and start working to support their families. However, they usually end up in low-skilled jobs and cannot move up the social ladder later.
Our weak education system is the chief reason behind Pakistan lagging in overall societal and economic development. There are fewer individuals that are equipped with the knowledge and skills to contribute back to the economy, which will continue shrinking if the education system is not reformed. The government must overhaul the entire system from primary schooling up to the university level. Strict measures should be enforced to alleviate cheating and bribes in institutes. There should be regulatory checks on administration and teaching faculty to ensure that they are fulfilling their duties.
ZAKIR ULLAH
MARDAN
