Policing education policy
Ironically, the White Paper (education policy) misses out on reporting and articulating the educational concerns and needs of those whom the ‘white colour’ of our flag represents
Pakistan has a population of over 160 million, made up of a complex mix of indigenous / tribal peoples and successive waves of migrants. The national language is Urdu. English is an official language and widely spoken by educated Pakistanis. Regional languages such as Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Seraiki and Balochi are widely used.
In Pakistan, the process of education is highly biased and politicized on the basis of religion. Because of that, the nine education policies that have been articulated since the inception of Pakistan are full of contradictions. The education policies are a reflection of the process of Islamization in Pakistan initiated by military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq. Though it is claimed that:
‘Recognizing education as a right of the citizen, it is the aim of the state of Pakistan to provide equal and ample opportunity to all its citizens to realize their full potential as individuals and citizens through an education that enriches the individual with values / skills preparing him / her for life, livelihood and nation building’
There is no mention of education for indigenous people or the deprived communities, specifically. In fact, there is no concept of indigenous people or ‘education for indigenous people’ in the federal, provincial or local governments in the country.
Says the constitution
Article 37 of the Constitution of Pakistan directs the state to promote, with special care, the educational and economic interests of backward classes or areas; remove illiteracy; provide free and compulsory secondary education, and; make higher education accessible to all on the basis of merit. Further the state is to ensure inexpensive security, just and human conditions to enable people of different areas to participate fully in all areas of national activities, including government service through the provision of education, training, agricultural and industrial development.
Articles 20 and 22 of the Constitution provide that no one will be required to receive education of a religion other than his own and, subject to law, no denomination will be prevented from imparting religious education to its own community through its own schools. Further, no citizen shall be denied admission on grounds of race, religion, caste or place of birth – to any educational institution that is receiving aid from public revenues.[1]
The Government of Pakistan in its reports to Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) claims that at the federal level, the education policy targets improvements in the educational infrastructure at all levels. A special fund has been established to achieve optimal induction/enrollment of talent from (religious) minority communities in academic institutions. Applications for scholarships from this fund are invited each year through the press. These applications, after scrutiny, are processed and scholarships are awarded to eligible applicants. In 1998, in addition to the scholarships, the Prime Minister of Pakistan announced Merit Scholarships for Minority Students.
The reports say, in recent years, literacy levels in Pakistan have registered improvement albeit at a moderate pace.
Education policy and the (over-celebrated) Islamic Ideology
In the 2006 education policy document issued to stimulate discussion and debate on the National Education Policy, the Government of Pakistan admitted that “although, constitutionally all citizens are equal before the law, in practice there is discrimination in various forms in the education system, mostly due to social customs and poor implementation of education programs. Poor children, girl students, students from rural areas and students from minority areas are particularly affected by inequalities and inequities in the education system.”[2]
Given the above admission it remains a pertinent point that the draft of the National Education Policy makes no specific mention of how to correct for this circumstance of discrimination. In its final (draft) version the document neither mentions precise minority education policies designed to combat such discrimination nor does it deal resolutely with the problems associated with education for those falling outside the Muslim majority; the proposed policy is primarily for the Muslims of Pakistan.
In its ‘Overview-Process and Policy’ the draft document says:
Every state has an ideology, at least for a predictable time frame. Therefore,every Education Policy must have an ideological base. In the context of Pakistan,
this ideological base is essentially and naturally, the religion Islam. Education
plays an important role in the sensitization of the individual to the ethical demands
of our lives. We must recognize the value and importance of our ideological base
while framing the Education Policy for the coming generations.
It further says:
When determining the relevance of education to a specific national condition,
the current milieu of the society and its future aspirations determine how
education is made relevant to life, livelihood and nation building. In Pakistan, the
ideological base that governs the life of the majority is Islam. So education for life
must provide the growing citizen full opportunity to be exposed to an unbiased and
progressive code of values driven essentially from the religion. The duty of the
state is not to cater to peculiar and individual family nuances of rituals and
procedures in religion, but it is the obligation of the state to sensitize the
individual to the value system ordained in Quran, governing his or her life as
an individual and as a member of society.[3]
On January 31, 2007, in a letter to the Team Leader of National Education Policy Review Team, the Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE), a civil society coalition, commented:
…in its effort to talk about Pakistanis, the paper ends up discussing Muslims in Pakistan. Ironically, the White Paper misses out on reporting and articulating the educational concerns and needs of those whom the ‘white colour’ of our flag represents (i.e. religious minorities) …Disadvantages in access to education based on gender, geography, physical ability, religious and socio-economic status need to be identified, addressed and eliminated.[4]
It is pertinent to mention here, that the Convention against Discrimination in Education has not been ratified by Pakistan so far.
Apart from the common denominator of Islam and national cohesion, the statements of vision and purpose for the national education system in Pakistan have tended to reflect the dominant political paradigm. Most of the noble assertions have remained rhetoric. Some of the policy documents were results of extensive research but implementation left so much to be desired that there is little evidence (qualitative, quantitative, anecdotal) to determine whether any of the policies were able to achieve the stated goals within the timetables prescribed for achievement. As a social and political consequence, human development has not been uniform across the country creating islands of privilege in a sea of disempowerment.
Despite the state’s focus being largely on Islamic education, and therefore education for the Muslim majority, there are reports to suggest that religious education by any sect or denomination in Pakistan is optional. There are several educational institutions managed and run by members of the minority communities, particularly Christian missionaries, without any hindrance or discrimination. Many educational institutions run by missionaries that were nationalized during the 1970s have now been returned to their original owners.[5] It is the position of this paper that privately run schools are an important part of the educational landscape, and yet, the provision of education for all citizens remains the primary responsibility of the government. Thus, while the government of Pakistan is not hindering the operation of schools which cater to religious minorities it is important that there be a policy shift which ensures that the government of Pakistan work to provide publically-funded education for these minority groups, as well.
Urban bias and geographic disparities
There are vast differences in education services between rural and urban areas which continue to broaden the gulf between the urban elites and the marginalized and disadvantaged rural population. Unfortunately, the issue of quality service delivery in rural areas receives scant attention and it has been seen that the worst public sector schools are in the rural areas. This needs urgent attention with incentive based improvement in quality education service delivery in the rural areas.
In addition to the issue of quality service delivery in rural areas, curriculum material also demonstrates a serious urban bias. This means that the context of the rural setting is not adequately dealt with within the curriculum, and, as such, disadvantages the rural-learner by removing subjects from a relevant context.
In certain areas, Urdu is perceived as an imperialist language. As a result, there has been confusion at the policy level regarding the medium of instruction and half-baked measures in tangential directions have been periodically introduced. In 2008 the Ministry of Education found another answer to the issue by declaring Urdu as the medium of instruction at the middle and secondary level for social sciences and English as the medium of instruction for mathematics and natural sciences at the same level of education. Policies before 1971 (the year of secession of Bengali-speaking East Pakistan) were more concerned with developing a harmonious relationship between Bengali and Urdu and since then the matter of the medium of instruction has not really been addressed thoroughly or academically.[6]
What is needed?
In order to ensure appropriate recognition of the rights of indigenous and tribal people in all areas of participation, including education, as well as to move Pakistan towards the achievement of EFA goals for all its citizens there are numerous challenges to face. While this report focuses recommendations on specifically indigenous education related areas it is worth noting that progress towards achievement in education would be significantly aided if there was concurrent and sustained progress in other areas, including the ratification of all relevant international declarations and conventions, recognition of indigenous land rights and aid effectiveness principles by all parties working in Pakistan (especially the government). To advance educational experience and outcomes for indigenous and tribal people this report recommends the following: i) The Government of Pakistan must adopt both in spirit and letter a “National Policy on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples.” Reliable data regarding indigenous and tribal education achievement should be collected in order to undertake evidence-based planning and policy. ii) Indigenous mechanisms of learning, as well as indigenous culture and context should be part of the curriculum to adequately address the needs of minority-learners. iii) Regional languages of Pakistan must be recognized and dealt with in the education context, particularly in early childhood and elementary education. A language policy in education should be adopted that promotes cultural and linguistic pluralism and also provides state support for the regional and minority languages in Pakistan.
Furthermore, the education objectives of Pakistan should reflect the international commitments entered into in the form of the Millennium Development Goals and the Education for All (EFA) goals. This means that in addition to universal primary education for all citizens, Pakistan should be working to increase basic education for all by increasing adult literacy, creating life skills programs to reach out of school youth and adults, work to achieve gender equality in primary and secondary schooling, and ensure adequate provision of early childhood education for all. These goals should apply to all citizens irrespective of family income, geographic reach, gender, religion and ethnicity. The achievement of these goals entails not only the physical availability of schools to indigenous and tribal children, but also insurance that cultural and economic factors do not hinder the pursuit of education. Apparently, large increases to enrolments accompanied by measures to curb the drop-out rate and enhance completion rates will be required to meet the MDG and EFA targets by 2015.
A law for free and compulsory education up to Class Ten must be enacted by each province, a right also guaranteed under Article 37(2) of the Constitution of Pakistan. It should also include a provision for protecting rights of children. Access to education should be universal and equal. Gaps in investments, over a predictable time frame, should be identified in the implementation plans. Investments should be prioritized and re-directed on the basis of these identified gaps. Remedial teaching must be arranged for the indigenous teens that have missed out on primary education. Efforts should be made to bind remote school to mainstream schools so that exchanges of students, teachers can expose sub-standard conditions. Scholarships and stipends to promising students of poor indigenous and tribal background must make up a part of the government program to help under-privileged students realize their potential. These scholarships should be in addition to substantial investments in rural and remote areas in education infrastructure, teacher training and recruitment. NGOs workers should be provided with opportunities for training in advocacy with indigenous people and government, Sufficient resources, human and financial, should be provided to NGOs engaged with indigenous communities for their socio-economic development. Education networks should specifically prioritize their campaigns for indigenous education.
Better understanding for better measures
After the creation of Pakistan, millions of Urdu and Punjabi speaking men and women migrated to the newly formed country. The elite of migrated people, particularly civil and military bureaucrats, ruled the country through its early years and formed policies designed to strengthen their hold over the state and the society, and treated the native majority as second class citizens. The process of Islamization, promotion of the ideology of “oneness” (one religion, one language and one nation), and martial laws rejected diversity of people languages and cultures, and resulted in the emergence of popular rights movements in all the four provinces and Northern Areas of Pakistan. The Baloch tribes have gone through five prolonged military operations during the past six decades.
Though the Constitution of Pakistan (Article 27) directs the state to promote, with special care, the educational and economic interests of backward classes or areas and remove illiteracy by providing free and compulsory secondary education, the Constitution has been violated by successive governments. Pakistan has neither ratified ILO Convention 169 on the Rights of Indigenous and Tribal peoples nor the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education. Except religious minorities, the state does not recognize “indigenous and tribal people” as separate entities and hence there is no recognition of their linguistic, cultural, economic, political and territorial rights.
In Pakistan, the process of education is highly biased and politicized. The state does not recognize rights of indigenous and tribal people. Hence, there is no concept of “education for indigenous people” or education policy for indigenous and tribal children. The NGOs working in remote areas with poor people are hardly aware of the indigenous and tribal peoples’ rights. Pakistan has made some minimal, positive progress over the last two decades in address the abysmal situation in education. However, much remains to be done in order for all the people of Pakistan to be the beneficiaries of education policy designed to meet the EFA goals by 2015. Specifically, indigenous and tribal people need to play a larger role in national policy formulation, both as participants in the policy process and as intended recipients. In addition to the need for raising awareness in regard to the concept of indigenous peoples’ rights there is the equally pressing task of increasing the quality of those rights, themselves. Without concurrent steps to achieve both of those goals the reality of indigenous and tribal people in Pakistan will remain bleak and any progress towards the accomplishment of the MDGs or EFA goals will likely not reach indigenous and tribal citizens of Pakistan.
References:
[1]Constitution of Pakistan-1973
[2]Javan Hasan Aly and National Education Policy Review Team. “Education in Pakistan:A White Paper, Document to Debate and Finalize the National Education Policy.” December, 2006
[3]Javan Hasan Aly and National Education Policy Review Team. “Education in Pakistan:A White Paper, Document to Debate and Finalize the National Education Policy.” December, 2006
[4]Critique, feedback and recommendations on “Education in Pakistan – A White Paper” by Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE), Islamabad, 31 January, 2007
[5]Reports submitted by states parties under Article 9 of the Convention to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Twentieth periodic reports of States parties due in 2008, Pakistan, CERD/C/PAK/20, 31 January, 2008.
[6]Javan Hasan Aly and National Education Policy Review Team. “Education in Pakistan: A White Paper,Document to Debate and Finalize the National Education Policy.” December, 2006
| Mazhar Arif is a senior journalist, media critic, researcher, writer and people’s rights activist presently working as Executive Director, Society for Alternative Media and Research (SAMAR), an organization seeking space for voices of the voiceless in the media and engaged with promoting media literacy to enable readers, viewers and listeners to understand and analyze media contents. |