It is amazing to see that before 1980 the curriculum in Pakistan was much more diverse and inclusive. The learning experiences designed for students were much more rich and contextualized. We were growing up when the radicalization and indoctrination begin to happen in this country. The way school curriculum was injected with a fixed mindset, changed the narratives of the next generation. I must say that the curriculum planners were intelligent enough to infuse all sorts of hidden curricula within textbooks. Recently me and my research fellows conducted a research in Rawalpindi district only to identify the skillset which can be included at middle and secondary schools curriculum. We identified more than 100 skillset within these categories - industrial skills, occupational skills, arts and crafts. After completing the research we started to look deeper into the education of Arts and Crafts. We found various models around the world where curricular and co-curricular activities are designed to enable the children for learning local arts and crafts in such a way that they can become economically active on the basis of these skillsets. Only in the region of Rawalpindi we found 39 different art and craft categories which could be taught at school age. These skillsets ranged from older crafts of namda bani to the recent ones like computer graphics. It was amazing to see there are so many forms of performing arts which could be taught easily at school level but the over emphasized religiosity has completely taken over the education. Music, singing, drama and dancing are some of the skills which were taught at schools in the first thirty years of independence but then these were slowly and gradually removed from all curricular and co-curricular activities. I have conducted studies with my graduate students in the areas of peace education and health education and can clearly see how the removal of all healthy and peaceful activities from our curriculum impacted the two generations who studied in schools beyond 1980. Glorification of war and power as well as religious intolerance was infused in such a way that the learners and their parents could not directly see what is happening but the outcome is visible to all of us and who can say that we did not face the music. Recently I heard education minister of Punjab has proposed things like "a cap for boys and a scarf should be made a part of uniform as well as there should be no co-education in private institutions". Hence in the 21st century when on the one hand me and my research fellows are trying to make local skillset included in the curriculum to enable our learners compete in global markets; on the other hand the leaders of the country are pushing this nation back into the same radicalized and polarized social scenarios through the same indoctrination. As an educator I believe that the art, craft and any other cultural activities help us to think beyond the text books, express our independent thought and the power corridors are not willing to have such freedom of thought and expression because it threatens them. True democracy has never been experienced by our elders and they don't want the next generations to experience it ever. At the end I must encourage all those private institutions and small groups who are keeping the arts n culture alive in this country and breaking through the hegemony.
Friday, February 4, 2022
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
How policies hinder development?
I am working at AIOU since 2004. I got my initial training at AIOU via Commonwealth of Learning and through the department of Distance and Non-formal Education at AIOU. I learned about the course development, course review and revision, as three of the major job assignments for course coordinators alongwith its conduct through multiple media sources. Since then I loved reviewing and revising the courses that I coordinate. Before I went to do my PhD in 2009, I continued a routine of revising at least two courses each year. When I returned in 2014, I again proposed two courses to be revised at MA level and one at M.Phil. I was able to do this and then I proposed two more courses of MA. soon after that I came to know about the policy of HEC to close admissions in MA and only continue with 4 years bachelors program. Thus I stopped revising MA courses and started developing new courses for the new programs being offered. Today after 06 year I see that every year HEC allows to announce new admission in MA. Thus for past 06 years and further 04 years we won't be revising the MA courses and but the students enrolled in these courses will be studying older contents only.
In Pakistan I see many policies being made and reverted or delayed. I have no idea that why we have not yet realised the reality of the word "policy". We treat it as a wish list of one regime and then the next regime of governance comes and changes it, reverts it or delays its implementation.
I was never in favor of closing admissions in 16 years Masters programs, while having a huge number of people out there with 14 years bachelors degree in hands. But I am also not happy with the undecisive policy planning that happens at higher education in Pakistan since HEC came into being.
Another similar example is B.Ed 1.5 which was launched only as a pathway for subject teachers to get licensed for teaching. All those who have attained a Masters degree in any other subject and want to be a teacher were offered this program to begin teaching. It was clear that they are eligible to do M.Phil and PhD only in their area of specialization which they had in Masters program. B.Ed 1.5 was only a professional program for teaching. But then HEC reverted and gave equivalence to this program as M.Ed and announce that these candidates are eligible to apply for M.Phil in Education. For heaven's sake on the one hand we are now offering 04 years Bachelors in education to enable them for higher education and on the other hand we are giving permission to someone who has not earned even half of the specialization credits for education.
Latest but not the least is the policy announced by HEC last year to enroll graduates of 4 year bachelors in PhD programs. Also to give enrolment in MS without considering background specialization. Both of these policies were discussed and debated at various forums and have neither been reverted nor adopted. Hanging in the air these policies are only making our lives difficult as the students keep sending queries and complaints on PM portal.
For all of you to smile once here is the last thing: I received a complaint from PM portal stating "I have done MS in xyz subject, am I eligible for PhD in EPM at AIOU?" The complaint management system send all these queries to the relevant department and when I received it with so many signatures on front and backside of the page, I only gave URL of the website where the admission criteria is stated very clearly. But I kept thinking why would someone ask this question on PM Portal and why on earth the whole line of authorities send this one liner question to me as a "Complaint" to be addressed?