Education System of Sindh, Pakistan

The education system of Sindh province of Pakistan has been deteriorating since ages and it is not getting any better but with time worsening further and further. Honestly speaking the education system is quite terrifying  and no one seems to be worried. I will not get into the roots of the past to figure out what has caused the downfall of the education standard of Sindh province but sure will highlight the current scenario and what can be done to improve the system. Here I must point out, I am discussing the School and College level only, as I believe if a student does well in first 12 years of education, he/she will not face any problems in perusing further in life.

As the Chinese proverb goes ….. If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant a trees; if you planning for life, educate people.

Current Scenario

The present scenario of the Education System of province of Sindh , which includes the Education Board, Institutes, Students and parents is quite unbelievable and hard to tell where it is leading the young generation to. No one seems to know nor care, what they are doing and what will the consequences. Every one is making money and the students have no idea what will their future be like.

The present scenario is as simple as this; parents wake up in the morning to send their children to school,as they simply want to get rid of them. They are not concerned as to what goes on in the class rooms, they are least bothered about the level of text books, they don’t care how they are being taught, they will probably never meet the teachers of their children and one day they will simply clear their HSC exams one way or the other and that’s how the story will end.

Let me give the picture of the teachers now, they will just enter the class cover the topic and rush to take class in some other school or college as they are just concerned about the amount of money they will receive at the end of month. They are not concerned about how many of their students actually understood the lecture just delivered. They simply put all the blame of students and satisfy their conscience and believe that they have done their part well. Same teachers will be seen giving private coaching in the evenings. The same students who fail to understand them in the class room are happy in their private coaching classes.

The Education Board is busy hoarding money, they grant affiliation to schools and colleges for money, the examination centers are allotted on the choice of the affiliated institutes for the sake of money. Worst part is students grades are determined on the basis of bribe offered to them. It’s nothing but the game of money making tactics. Everyone is part of this dirty game; students, parents, teachers, institutes and the education board.

The management running these institute seem to have simply given up and have preferred to go with flow, as no matter what their business is flourishing well. The institute that puts money in the mouths of the officials of Board Office; the results of students of those institutes will be far better in grades than those who will deny to be part of this corrupt system.

 Let’s Bring The Change

Tell me and I’ll forget ;Show me and I may remember; Involve me and I will understand

I do admit that I have met good students, concerned parents, amazing teachers and the management who wish to bring the changes, but unfortunately they are only few in numbers. The Education System of Sind needs to bring some big lots of changes and on urgent basis.

Parents need to be educated and made understand the importance of proper education of their children. First and foremost they need to stop supporting their children in bribing the board offices for good grades. They need to keep an eye on their children every second and instill the importance of education in them. After all the entire bribe money is received by the board office from the parents of the students. Parents need to be in constant and regular contact with the institutions, teachers and the management and stay updated of their child’s progress.

To be a good teacher; I believe teacher has to be a good student. This is 2016 and still the text books and the methods of teaching are same as at the times of our forefathers. This is the dilemma of our society. Our teachers lack motivation and sincerity with their profession. If teachers are not motivated, they will definitely fail to motivate the students. Just reading out the book in front of the students and explaining the meaning is not enough. How much student understands how much concepts are cleared to them and how much they have been able to retain in their mind is what matters.

Management of the institute needs to play their part as well. Give the teachers new ideas, different class room activities, lots of practical work, assignments, projects, research work, social work, sports activities, art and crafts. With every topic covered in class, students must be given related activities. I know it is a lot of work but not impossible. Teachers can make use of new technologies such as facebook, twitter and skype to make their lessons more interesting. Each teacher can have their own discussion forums online. The management must keep close relationship with the parents and keep updating the progress of their children. They must make sure that they visit the institutes regularly.

The examination system is like everything else age old. Fill out the answers sheets and hand it over. Thousands of copies are checked by the Government Teachers. Tiring and hectic job, I wonder if the copies are actually read and marked with honesty. Why not make the online examination system, where students can sit in from of a computer and take the exams and see their results there and then. Nothing is out of reach only sincerity is needed. We don’t just need to know how much a student has memorized but we also need to know how much conceptually sound he/she is.

We all need to change our minds and change our ways. This country is full of young and talents people and we can achieve anything. We have the resources and potentials why not utilize them. A healthy mind will make a healthy society.

With education we can change the world…..