The process of learning and teaching knowledge has been going on for centuries. We see the names of many Muslim scientists in history, who are well recognized all over the world, among them Muhammad Ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, Ibn Sina, Umar Khayyam, Al-Biruni, Ibn Khaldun, and Ibn al-Haytham. Education covers the system of life, as well as helps in raising awareness in society and in the good training of children. The development of any country can be measured by its literacy rate. Last year, the Federal Ministry of Education released a 10-year report on literacy rates, according to which Pakistan is better than Afghanistan alone in nine countries in the region. The report states that the literacy rate in Pakistan is closed to 57%.
Religious and secular education is generally viewed separately. However, the significance of both is obvious. Apart from the existing education system in our madrassas, the other education system also has two standards. One is seen in public schools and the other in private schools. The quality of education in government schools is so dilapidated that there are no qualified teachers and no higher education curriculum is available. The age-old curriculum is still being taught to children and other basic facilities are lacking. This is the reason why people who do not have status, are also engaged in the pursuit of getting their children educated in private schools, even if they have to cut their own stomachs for it.
Private schools, on the other hand, offer two types of curriculum, one under the provincial education system and the other under the Cambridge System. Speaking at the level of Sindh, the books of Sindh Text Book Board which are being read decades ago are still being read here. In such cases, parents prefer to educate their children under the Cambridge System so that their children can learn something.
Primary education is very important all over the world because it forms the basis of the child and once the foundation is strong it becomes easy to build on it. That is why every step, from the teaching method, to the facilities and the selection of teachers, is given much importance so that the creativity of the children can be nurtured. Under the Sustainable Development Goals, Pakistan has promised the United Nations that it will provide quality primary education to all its children on a compulsory basis by 2030.
Education is the light that dispels darkness. In any society, it is important that gender equality be ensured in the education sector so that men as well as women are conscious and educated so that they can do something in practical life and also better breed for generations. Man’s first school is the mother’s lap and his training is the basis of the child’s good character. The child spends most of his time with his mother and borrows his ways, habits, and interests. The mother teaches the child to distinguish between good and bad and to recognize right from wrong.
Educated girls also have a responsibility to strive for the betterment of their homes and society at large. Today the world is moving very fast, those who cannot keep up with it are left far behind. In such a situation, there is a need to speed up the process of education reform so that not only the quality of education in the country is improved but also the literacy rate is increased.
Speaking in a broader way, especially the education of women affects society on a large scale. An educated mother gives the society or nation a well-groomed generation. If viewed critically, this groomed and well-brought-up generation plays a very important and pivotal role in society. An educated woman very easily handles her matrimonial life and issues related to it and by this, the different sort of complexities are not seen in their behavior. That is why it is said that the education of a man is the education of an individual while the education of a woman is the education of the whole family.
