Morals, manners and ethics

Ethics may also be defined as knowledge and relationships, especially those dealing with mutual social relations that are considered to be morally acceptable or not.

In Markham’s words (see Part I of this series), there are certain actions that are considered appropriate and which don’t depend on any professional or social status.

Our own sage, Shaikh Saadi, said that a child’s school or place of learning is his/her home and the good habits (manners, morals and ethics) learnt there will leave an impression on them for the rest of their life. As a matter of fact, this training, or lack thereof, becomes an asset or a curse in the future.

Former US president Calvin Coolidge once said that people could buy the most expensive house, the most expensive car and could get a degree from the best university, but they could not buy good manners at any price. By this he meant that good manners were taught by parents during the process of early learning.

British Professor Peter Tymms said that research had revealed that early education was the key to later development, intelligence, etc. Even though full attention should be given to every year of education, the first five years were the most important in a child’s development.

According to a World Bank analysis, early education has many positive effects on a child. It lays the foundation for future prosperity and wellbeing. Initial (childhood) education and training is extremely important for the future of the child. Prof. Amartya Sen, the Nobel Laureate economist, emphasised the importance of childhood education, which he says promotes a healthy, happy, well-mannered and prosperous nation.

I had emphasised earlier that, despite Quranic edicts, Hadith and the last sermon of our Prophet (pbuh), we Pakistanis are almost totally devoid of manners, morals and ethics. Both educationists and religious scholars have miserably failed in this respect. There is an urgent need to introduce a new education system with emphasis on manners and ethics. Students need to be told about our cultural and moral heritage.

More than 70 countries now have ethics as a compulsory subject in their curriculum. Singapore is a case in point. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s youth has been left in the wilderness, victims of an inferiority complex and lack of identity. Our outdated educational system needs a drastic overhaul.

To start with, mass literacy, as prescribed in our constitution and in Quranic edicts, should be ensured. It is not necessary to attempt to educate everyone up to the university level. Basic education up to middle school is enough for many. In the first four years (up to the age of 10) they should learn Urdu, basic religious knowledge, basic mathematics and basic knowledge about Pakistan. Morals and manners should also be discussed and implemented.

In the next four years there should be more elaborate mathematics, basic sciences, geography, history, religious knowledge and ethics. With this basic education, they would be able to obtain meaningful employment. After this, those who cannot or do not want to study further should be offered a three-year vocational training course in various fields. This will give them the necessary skills for vast opportunities of employment. During these three years of training, ethics will also be required.

Those who are capable of pursuing further education up to the higher secondary level of four years should be given proper education at a reasonably advanced level. Subjects such as English, Urdu, history, geography, biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, physiology, anatomy, Arabic, Persian, ethics, etc should be taught. This is the most import period of one’s career formation. Those who want short-term professional training can go for bookkeeping, associate engineering draftsmanship, etc. In western countries, this trained manpower is the backbone of their industrial growth.

After higher secondary school, able students should get a chance to go for higher education, viz engineering, medical, accountancy, commerce, etc. Those who are unable to maintain good academic records should not be allowed to take up university space. Of those who are lucky enough to make it to university, ethics must be a compulsory subject because it is of great importance in their professional lives.

It is very unfortunate that Muslims have now acquired terrible habits – lying, cheating, fraud, adulteration, terrorism, exploitation, molestation of children, rape, acid throwing are the order of the day. All forms of wrongdoing have become more or less a national policy. Political leaders and religious scholars are all party to this decadence of our national character.

Unless manners, morals and ethics are inculcated in our youth, we will never be able to return to our exemplary past. At the moment we are going from bad to worse at a fast pace and there doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel. We should never forget that a blind person can never experience that which a seeing person can. An illiterate person can never be the same as an educated one.

So too, a person without good manners, morals and ethics will never be equal to someone who has these noble qualities of character. Concluded

Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com