By: Jalal uddin kakar
Twenty six million out-of-school children and unabated unemployment have forced people belonging to the middle financial stratum to question the worth of education in terms of securing a bright future in a country with a revolving-door democracy and a politically challenged economy.
On cue, It is the inevitable aftermath of social thought that conflates education with money. When bank balance becomes the sole yardstick to gauge success, education is achieved with a mistaken view to earn money, which is the by-product of education and a worrisomely ill-attempt of education to civilize the masses.
More strikingly, the current economic slump is the aftermath of this flawed mentality that prioritizes running small business shops over getting a higher and more skilled education. Given the lesser absorption of educated youth into commercial markets, parents are smug about setting up small shops for their children, who spend their whole lives without any branching out.
Concomitantly, all this ends up on the dearth of skilled human resources, a prerequisite for boosting the economy of a country. An education laced with professional and contemporary relevance never lets down its adherents. Thereby, 40% of Pakistanis are illiterate.
Moreover, the deprecating view of education is based on the so-called educated individuals who are degree-oriented. Literate individuals devoid of creativity and practical learning bring discredit to genuine education. Education being imparted in our part of the world does not impart any soft skills to the learners. To change the nature of education, campaigners stress the importance of ties between education and employers.
The all-encompassing concept is that our education system has not braced itself for the changing scenario where the growth of automation and artificial intelligence will make creative skills and adaptability all the more important. Qualified workers are the backbone of an industry that guarantees high exports. Economists rue the increasing number of youth being self-employed in small shops. This would enhance imports, a dampener for the national economy. More imports nudge away indigenous products. It was its dependence on indigenous products that paved China’s way to progress. Now China has become the largest exporter in the world.
To cap it all, only education engenders empathy for the countrymen and a patriotic spirit in the nation, which are prerequisites for putting the country on the path to progress and development.
The writer is a student of public administration at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
