Reimagining education
Pakistan’s education system and the outcomes it produces are among the worst in the world, with 26 million out-of-school children. Those who do attend school mostly do not learn the…
Passing tests, failing systems
Much of Pakistan’s public discourse remains fixated on the issue of out-of-school children (OOSC) and the challenge of bringing them into the formal system – but what of those who…
Education at the crossroads
Hardly any conference or event discussing socio-economic and political challenges of Pakistan goes without acknowledging its vast, untapped asset – the youth. While it is encouraging to see government officials…
Educational divide
WHILE basic education is a constitutional right of every child in Pakistan, millions of children and youth remain deprived of this fundamental means of living a quality life. The recently…
People vs the system
MUCH will be written about the budget’s specifics, but there is something else on my mind this year. This budget marks nearly a quarter century of back-to-back, virtually nonstop IMF programmes that Pakistan…
Education emergency: a social X-ray
THE prime minister recently declared an education emergency, a much-needed and welcome call to action. Our education system is in critical condition and experts must now step forward to revive it.…
Bad ‘education’
IN 1970, prominent sociologist Basil Bernstein asserted that education could not contribute to society. Because our education system is interwoven with and increasingly influenced by the economy, it is unable…
Resetting the system?
THE move speaks volumes about Prime Minister Imran Khan’s politics of religiosity. The man he has chosen to head the newly established National Rehmatul-lil-Aalameen Authority (NRA), as part of his effort to…
Early education
FOR all the talk of higher education institutes being reservoirs of research, in Pakistan at least, these institutes are severely criticised for both the production and reproduction of fake knowledge.…
Pakistan, Islam & education
WHEN a patient’s condition turns critical, doctors often say it is time for dua (prayer) more than dawa (medicine or treatment). Current Pakistani conversations across all classes about the state…
