School reform with equal rights against hatred
Educators, activists and experts met yesterday to discuss the government's national education plan for 2021. One goal is to correct past mistakes that have led to discrimination and abuse. In order to achieve full educational development, the role of Christian schools should be recognised. The decision to teach Arabic should be reviewed.
Islamabad (AsiaNews) – A meeting sponsored by the Centre for Social Justice was held yesterday in Islamabad, bringing together activists, experts, educators and Christian leaders. This followed a call by the Pakistani government for suggestions and recommendations from stakeholders and ordinary citizens concerning its education policy for 2021.
Participants stressed the need to recognise the role of Christian schools in the educational development of Pakistan, remove all hate speech and discrimination from textbooks, and review the decision to enhance the study of Arabic.
Some of the leading activists and educators who took part in yesterday’s meeting in the Pakistani capital have advocated for years the development of education as the only way to avoid the Talibanisation of the country.
Yaqoob Bangash, A H Nayyar, Zeeba Hashmi, Anjum James Paul, Peter Jacob, Afshan Human, Abraham Murad and Anjum James Paul brought their expertise and experience to the discussion, stressing how education is the way to guarantee “dignity and social development for all human beings”.
The meeting focused on the analysis of six past government educational plans and the corrections needed to ensure pluralism, equal dignity and rights.
There was no lack of criticism against some “unreasonable experiments” of recent years, like the nationalisation of schools in 1972 and the policies that “damaged the quality and level of education” of students, combined with the lack of adequate resources and funding.
For the experts, this is one of the reasons Pakistan ranks low in terms of literacy, educational standards and quality of teaching.
Participants reiterated their commitment to education in Pakistan, and called on the government to consider five points when formulating its national education policy for 2021.
First of all, the policy should recognise the role of Christian schools in the history and development of Pakistan.
Secondly, it should fully apply the decentralisation plan approved in 1980 but not yet fully implemented, which mainly concerns the Province of Punjab and Catholic or Church-run educational establishments.
To this end, it should ensure adequate funding for Catholic schools, which are mostly non-profit organisations unable to obtain the necessary resources only through tuition and school fees.
The government should also remove material that promotes hatred and intolerance on the basis of gender, religion, language or ethnicity, ensuring that there is no preference for any one group.
Finally, the authorities should review the decision to enhance Arabic teaching by consulting with experts, linguists and teachers on its feasibility.
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