Educational Reforms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

http://pashtunwomenvp.com/index.php/2013-01-28-03-21-27/current-issue/307-pakhtunkhwa

 

It is interesting to note that the ‘working groups’ formed by the provincial government of Khyber Paktunkhwa for ‘reforms’ have almost made their recommendations public to some extent with the exception of education, especially curricula and textbooks. It seems recommendations of working group on curricula and textbooks have been shrouded in a weird kind of mystery. Hence, one can base analysis only on the sporadic hints that appear in media on and off.   

Only cursorily mentioning of the issues of access and governance, which may be pivotal for achieving Millennium Development Goals, what seems evident from the press reports since working group for reforms in education was formed in July 2013 is that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ( PTI), Jamati Islami (JI) and Qawmi Watan Party ( QWP) coalition in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has focused only on the following areas of quality of education:

1-      Medium of instruction

There seems to be an intriguing lack of understanding to differentiate between language education and medium of instruction. Two views seem to be prevailing in the government circles. The JI view, which might in all probability, prevails to achieve uniformity of education through imposing Urdu language as medium of instruction. The next step in their plan might be to nullify the Languages Act passed by the previous Provincial Assembly mainly represented by Awami National Party (ANP) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The Act had introduced indigenous languages like Pashto, Hindko, Seraiki, Torwali and Khwar as compulsory subjects in public schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The JI might also keep pushing for nullifying the Act on Languages Authority and might convert it into something like National Languages Authority with a focus on Urdu, Persian and Arabic.

The PTI dominant view in this regard seems to introduce English as medium of instruction so that graduates are able to be absorbed by the job market. Besides lack of capacity of majority of teachers to teach in English, this view utterly confuses English Language Education and medium of instruction. The working group has so far not touched English Language Teaching reforms, if press reports are to be believed.

2-      Curricular Narrative

The JI might push for doing away with the indigenous icons in Social Sciences replacing them with pan Islamist icons. Not only this, they seem to have an inclination to include those pan Islamist icons who might be remembered for their achievements in wars and imposition of their brand of religion on indigenous communities. The JI may also push for including verses from the Quran and Traditions of the Holy Prophet that relate to Qital with a specific perspective. For example, the JI ideologues in the working group might go for Sura Anfal and Sura Toba for 13 and 14 years old learners. Both of these Suras had been revealed for specific circumstances and cannot be used in a generalized manner according to scores of interpreters of the Quran. This seems to be in sync with the Salafi jihadist narrative that has brought about a shift in religious authority with respect to ‘Jihad’. On the one hand the Salafi Jihadists have equated ‘Jihad’ with ‘Qital’ and on the other hand they have authorized privatization of that ‘Qital’.                  

The JI and some in PTI might, in all probability, lobby to segregate curricula leading to religious, sectarian, gender and ethnic marginalization in terms of the discourse of representation. The JI might also manipulate to have more quantity of Salafi religious contents in Islamic Studies. Pan Islamist narrative of history might be incorporated into the textbooks with the argument to fulfill the demands of ‘Islamic Education’ enshrined in the constitution of Pakistan. The social sciences and Islamic Studies textbooks might be re-written with the intent to purge them of indigenous narratives, indigenous history, modern civilization and critical thinking. Liberal arts will most probably be curbed in all levels of education.

3-      Academic environment

What seems ahead is that through mainstream media and through religious educational networks, pressure would be exerted on educational institutions of all categories to ensure gender segregation. This discourse seems to be manipulated in media in the shape of a popular demand for ‘pure’ and ‘sacred’ education. The walls of public schools and their class rooms might again be decorated and painted with the verses of Iqbal that teach Muslims to conquer the world, especially India, Israel and America. The overall environment will again be closed a little more leaving no space for any kind of rational debate. Questioning in the class-room and entertainment outside the class-room might be strangulated in the garb of a particular interpretation of Islam. The first victims of this educational paradigm might be women and ethno-lingual and ethno-religious minorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Rahman Baba, Khushal Khan Khattak, Ghani Khan and Bacha Khan might again be banished from the academic world on the one hand and the indigenous discourse of non-violence and pluralism might be undermined on the other hand. The emphasis would remain on recruiting those as teachers who more or less think the way the JI ideologues think.

4-      Higher Education

It seems all the centers of excellence, educational boards and administrative positions would be manned by those who pay allegiance to the discourse of segregation, jihadization (Qital), and centralization. For this to happen, they would probably burry the constitutional obligation of a Provincial Educational Council on the one hand and push for Amendment to the Universities Act on the other hand.

Research proposal on Free Masons, Indian Evil Designs on Pakistan, the 3rd World war, features of Islamic Society, Islamic Banking, and wars by the Muslim generals would be encouraged in the faculties of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Shouldn’t the working group on education make their recommendations public, especially those that pertain to curriculum and textbooks?

The writer is a political analyst based in Peshawar. Email: khadimhussain565@gmail.com Twitter/@khadimhussain4