RESEARCH PROPOSAL
THE DETERIORAT DE TERIORATING ING STA S TANDARDS NDARDS OF EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN
Submitted by Jawad Abbas
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Abstrat
TA!LE OF CONTENTS "# (# .# 1# '# 3# 6# -# 5#
I$tr%duti%$&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&#' Stateme$t %) t*e +r%b,em&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&Ob/eti0e %) t*e study&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&#Hy+%t*esis&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&#&###Study desi2$&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&#&4easureme$t +r%edure&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&#&5 Et*ia, %$siderati%$&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&###5 Resear* 7uesti%$ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&###5 Resear* met*%d%,%2y&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&####5
5#"# P%+u,ati%$ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&####5 5#(# Sam+,i$2&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&####5 "8#Data a$a,ysis&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&"8 ""# 9%r: s*edu,e&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&#####"8 "(#Re%mme$dati%$s&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&"8 ".#C%$,usi%$s&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&##"( "1#Re)ere$es&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&#&##".
I$tr%duti%$ At independence in 1947, Pakistan inherited an under-developed educational infrastructure from the British. Education was unevenl distri!uted, with rural areas almost deprived of access. Educational standards have !een a !i" source of discussion amon" educationists and educational reformers since partition. Ever person of the societ views this concern for the standards of educational product. #he educational standard is a !urnin" issue amon" the educationists and the people at lar"e in Pakistan. #he "overnment is trin" its !est to raise the standards of education at all levels. $n the !roadest sense a standard is anthin" used to measure% for e&le a standard of conduct, a standard of wei"ht or len"th etc. A standard is that which has !een selected as a model to which o!'ects or actions ma !e compared. (tandards ma !e devices or instruments. $nternational Encclopedia of Education )19*+ defines educational standards in the followin" words
;I$ t*e eduati%$ %$te> .
#he deterioratin" standard of education in Pakistan is cause enou"h to make an sensi!le countrman sweat with worr. #he are deterioratin" da ! da at an e&treme level. #he misplaced priorities of followin" "overnments have !adl suffocated the "rowth of education. Admittedl, the present da structure that includes !oth primar and hi"her education is in a mess. nfortunatel, Pakistani education is not at that standard currentl as it should !e. #o clarif the concept of the educational standards we have to answer man /uestions. 0or e&le what are the aims of education 2ow are "oals set #o what e&tent the aims are !ein" achieved $s there an relationship !etween educational aims and societ #he answers of these /uestions descri!e the standards. 2ardl do we seem to reali3e the fact that providin" cheap education to all is one of the primar o!li"ations of a state. $n the developed world, education is the preserve of the state. $n (A for e&le, education till the 1th "rade is free. #hese nations indeed are aware of the role a sound education sstem can pla in their overall development and pro"ress. 5hile no Pakistani universit is included in the +66 top universities of the world, a parallel sstem of education at home has "reatl deepened class divisions )E(8, 66* #he
educational
sstem:s deterioratin" infrastructure,
fallin"
educational
standards and distorted educational content impact mostl, if not entirel, on Pakistan:s poor, thus widenin" lin"uistic, social and economic divisions !etween the privile"ed and underprivile"ed and increasin" ethnic and reli"ious alienation that has led to violent
protests. 0ar from restrictin" fanaticism, the pu!lic school sstem risks provokin" a rise in violence if its pro!lems are not /uickl and completel dealt with. Pr%b,ems )aed by Eduati%$a, Set%r %) Pa:ista$
#he Educational sector of Pakistan has !een facin" pro!lems since the $ndependence. $t has !een failed et to provide !asic education to the ma'orit of population of the countr and the rate of illiterac is much "reater as compared to that of developed countries. Education is important, a!ove all, !ecause it allows people to take control of their lives. At a personal level, it provides people with self-confidence and assurance needed to make their opinions heard. At a communit level, it presents people the skills throu"h which people can protect their ri"hts to territor, to school, or to contri!ution in pu!lic life. At a national level, it creates a demand to !e heard. Education is the !asic ri"ht of individual of the societ. But unfortunatel, educational standards in Pakistan are deterioratin" da ! da. Pakistan has one of the hi"hest num!ers of illiterates in the world and the current standards of education in Pakistan are reall shockin". Pakistan has dropped far !ehind several other developin" countries in terms of education, and immediate attention is re/uired in this important sector. Pakistan is even !ehind the other developin" countries in education. Pakistan is sufferin" from poor educational standards and also from illiterac, and this poor state of this countr must !e chan"ed, otherwise illiterate masses can !ecome e/uipped recruits for all sorts of unhealth and dama"in" activities. ;a3i )667 stated that accordin" to the surve of an international firm, educational standards in Pakistan
are lower than the are in Bhutan, and it is ver important to introduce chan"es to the countrahore and ?arachi niversit are no lon"er perceived as institutions of hi"h academic standards an more. At the core of this deterioration is the pu!lic e&amination sstem. @alpractices in this sstem have made the $ntermediate, Bachelors and @aster e"ree unrelia!le measures of a student
educational
standards
at
primar
and
secondar
level
and
educational
maladministration is also responsi!le for the deterioration of educational standards in Pakistan. ne stud o!serves #he present education scenario is full of contradictions. n the one hand, there are dnamic, fast movin" educational institutions char"in" e&or!itant fees, while on the other there are almost free or ver afforda!le "overnment schools as well as reli"ious seminaries, which are entirel free. #he students of these institutions live in different worlds and operate in different lan"ua"esC )Dahman, 66. @oreover, even at the hi"her levels of education, there is no mechanism worth its name to help a student in determinin" his or her potential or in decidin" on a suita!le academic career. @ultiplicit of educational sstems is also a pro!lem in our countr. #herefore it is ver much
necessar to improve the deterioratin" sstem of education in our countr for the !enefits of the students and pu!lic in "eneral )Dahman, 66.
(# Pr%b,em Stateme$t #he pro!lem statement for the "iven research proposal will !e 5hat are the various causes of the deterioratin" standards of education in Pakistan
.# Ob/eti0e %) study #he o!'ective of the stud is to find out the reasons for deterioratin" standards of education in Pakistan, and providin" su""estions, various was and means for the improvement of educational standards.
1# Hy+%t*esis #he pro!lems that our education sector face are vast and of a serious kind. >ow literac level, low standard of education and the curricula are usuall inappropriate or at least inade/uate for the set "oals in man disciplines. 0urthermore, there is no included sstem in which one step leads to the ne&t to facilitate a student to develop a trul sound !ase for the discipline he or she is interested in.
'# Study desi2$ #his stud will re/uire !oth ;uantitative as well as ;ualitative methods of research and analsis. 0or /ualitative research, interviews with the population will !e done and for /uantitative one, a surve will !e held which will include planned /uestions and then their results will !e "enerated thorou"hl.
3# 4easureme$t +r%edure ;uantitative research will !e held with the help of /uestionnaires distri!uted amon" the population set for samplin".
6# Et*ia, %$siderati%$ All the sta"es of the research will !e "iven due ethical considerations. #he stud would !e conducted in an un!iased wa with full honest and inte"rit. Privac and confidentialit would !e applied whenever possi!le.
-# Resear* 7uesti%$s #he followin" are the /uestions for this research 1. 2ow can we determine the deterioratin" standards of education in Pakistan . 5hat are the recommendations to reduce these low standards of education in our countr
5# Resear* met*%d%,%2y 5#"# P%+u,ati%$ #he population under research !elon"s to educational institutions, comprisin" of 46 adults, in which 6 mem!ers of population are students and 6 are the facult mem!ers of various educational institutions.
5#(# Sam+,i$2 #he population included as a sample for this stud !elon"s to adults with a"es ran"in" from 1* ears to +6 ears, all !elon"in" to the educational sector.
Data a$a,ysis All the data collected throu"h this research is "rouped to"ether and "enerated in numerical and "raphical form.
9%r: s*edu,e
#he research is !ein" held over the time schedule of a month, i.e. 6 das, which includes the data collection, its analsis and then puttin" it into a form to produce results.
"8# Re%mme$dati%$s )%r Im+r%0i$2 Sta$dards %) Eduati%$ i$ Pa:ista$ Accordin" to #he #ask 0orce on $mprovement of 2i"her Education in Pakistan )66he present "overnment should declare a national educational emer"enc and involve the whole nation, includin" the arm, in wa"in" a war a"ainst illiterac. (ome steps that the "overnment mi"ht consider takin" in this re"ard are •
#he should declare education as the hi"hest priorit of the "overnment. E&plain that unless the !arriers of illiterac and lack of education are removed, the road to democrac will remain !urdened with the dan"er of e&ploitation of the masses ! the select few, and that in the a!sence of political will in the rulin" classes to do somethin" tan"i!le in this arena, it seems that it is up to the arm to defend the countr a"ainst illiterac and lack of education, for there is no factor more important to the well-!ein" of a nation than human resource and no inattention worse than i"norin" its development. $t should !e made a compulsor re/uirement for various de"ree pro"rams that the candidates, after takin" their e&ams, shall spend a specified period of time in teachin" at assi"ned institutions. #he "overnment can ask for volunteers with specified /ualifications to contri!ute their services in their areas of work or residence under or"ani3ed !odies that can !e formed for this purpose ! the "overnment.
Ask the pu!lic to contri!ute financiall for this purpose. @odern marketin" and fund raisin" techni/ues can !e adopted for this task. @an "overnment school !uildin"s can !e converted into commercial schools of "ood level. #he "overnment can consider offerin" man of these schools to private sector or"ani3ations in the field of education on the condition that a specified percenta"e of !ri"ht students from the lower and middle classes will !e "ranted admission and scholarships. ffer ta& !enefits and other such motivations to private sector "roups to invest in education in rural and less developed areas. @ake it compulsor for each industrial unitFa"ricultural estate of an area a!ove a specified limit to provide for a school within the area. Alternativel, the owner can !e asked to share costs with the "overnment for settin" up such school. Another option is "ivin" various financialFta& incentives. $ntroduce standardi3ation of curricula and licensin" and certification of teachers to improve standards of education. $ntroduce hi"h /ualit selection procedure for hi"her level teachers and offer the candidates !etter incentives. se electronic media more e&tensivel for educational purposes. A channel could !e devoted to 'ust education. $n this re"ard, teachers of hi"h cali!er can take classes for different su!'ects at various levels, these lecturers can !e telecast as well as recorded and in this wa more students can !e tau"ht. •
Provide people with incentives to educate their children. #his can !e done in various was. 0or instance even lower level "overnment 'o!s as for clerks,
peons, consta!les can !e linked to a minimal level of education and entrance tests and various loans )e.". a"ricultural loans can !e linked to whether an applicant has educated or is educatin" his children. •
A uniform sstem of education should !e introduced "raduall to eradicate the pro!lems multiplicit of sstems creates ! introducin" one medium of instruction.
•
#hou"h much of the pro!lem is due to poor teachin", et curricula, te&ts and e&amination techni/ues also have a lot to do with the current situation. #hus the "overnment should improve, update and form curricula, te&ts, and e&amination and evaluation techni/ues in order to make !etter the deterioratin" sstem of education in Pakistan.
""# C%$,usi%$ ?eepin" in view the results of the research it is concluded that maladministration and ineffective curriculum are the main causes of deterioration of educational standards. $neffective evaluation and inappropriate methods of teachin" contri!ute to some e&tent in the deterioration of educational standards. >ack of phsical facilities, povert, political interference in educational institutions and illiterate parents are also some of the factors which cause deterioration of educational standards. B o!servin" the "iven su""estions and measurements to improve the /ualit of education in Pakistan, the "overnment can help in makin" !etter the standards of education and reduce the rate of illiterac in Pakistan.
"(# Re)ere$es 2a!i!, @. )199*. Education in Pakistan, all demand and little supply. Detrieved April 1G, 667 from httpFFwww.chowk.com.htm ;a3i, HA. )667, @arch 1* th. Pakistan even !ehind Bhutan. Daily Times . Dahman, #. )66. Education in Pakistan: A Survey . (tren"thenin" Participator r"ani3ation, $slama!ad. #he #ask 0orce on $mprovement of 2i"her Education in Pakistan )66. Higher Education in developing countries, peril and promise. Detrieved @a +. 667
from httpFFwww.tfhe.net. E(8. )66*. Back"round paper prepared for the Education for All lo!al "onitoring #eport
