ISLAMABAD, June 23: Curriculum has always been designed to promote a violent mentality presenting a strong one-sided world view that produces angry narrow-minded individuals.
This was the consensus reached during a lecture entitled "Ideology and Curriculum" delivered by eminent sociologist Dr Rubeena Saigol.
The lecture was organized by the Centre for Democratic Development, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. The deliberations imparted that throughout Pakistan's history curricula had been used and misused by various ruling cliques for their vested interests.
The education or religious ideology could not acquire any positive direction that resulted in the present chaos. The participants observed that the ideas of the ruling class became ruling ideas of people.
The question lies in what should be told to the children and what should be kept secret. "Our curricula teaches that Hindus are a natural evil, Sikhs looted and murdered Muslims during Partition and Christians are cheats who conspired with Hindus against the Muslims," Dr Saigol contended.
Dr Saigol said that Ayub Khan's policy on education had a direction. In Sharif Khan report on education during 1959 it was suggested that religion be interpreted according to times for development and progress.
"The Sharif report of 1959 was progressive in concept which contained two important ideas; one of national cohesion that encouraged uniting Pathans, Punjabis and Sindhis etc.
The other concept laid a strong emphasis on technical, scientific and modern education. Ayub Khan did not approve of the narrow nationalism which led to isolation in all fields," she elaborated.
After the 1965 war things took turn for the worst when anti- Hindu and anti-Sikh sentiments were introduced in the textbooks that was something completely contrary to Ayub's way of thinking.
The '70s saw the biggest change in curricula when in 1972 late prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto allowed glorification of the military in the textbooks. "The Bhutto era did the greatest damage.
The army had lost the 1971 war and from 1972 to 1976 ZA Bhutto built the image of the army talking of its glory and salvage and including it in the curricula. And the books further taught of the evil the Hindus and Sikhs had committed showing them as looters and murderers."
She said the late president Ziaul Haq after coming into power felt the need to legitimise his dictatorship. He changed the curricula and so chose Islam as his weapon to destroy the education system.
Exiled prime minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif's 1998 policy on education affected the curricula with no clear direction, and evidence showed that changes introduced by him were instructions and directions from the donor organizations.
"Ideology kept on changing according to the whims of the ruling power. But till 2003-03 it was noticed that the textbooks did not deviate from Zia's influence even after 16 years of his death.
The reason was that state imperatives had not changed despite changes in the government. To date the message conveyed in the textbooks is that Muslims are superior to Hindus who are the enemies till death," she maintained.
"The curricula is more about enormous glorification of wars, armies and Shahadat, while textbooks teach nothing about tolerance and respect for religions and peace.
Curricula tells nothing of Hindus and Sikhs, about their histories, religions and cultures. Distortion of history has become common practice and truth remains hidden." "The students are mostly told that East Pakistan was not separated as a result of Indian conspiracy but in fact as a result of mistreatment of Bengalis by the state.
Nowhere is it mentioned that there were Hindus who helped the Muslims and the Muslims who helped the Hindus during partition and there were majority of Muslims who opposed the partition," she said.
The deliberations concluded with the remarks that the present curriculum at primary, high and senior levels needed to be revamped and recast to suit the socio-economic requirements of modern times without compromising on the basic tenets of Islam.
Children need to be told the truth and must be given the chance to analyse, compare and contrast and draw their own conclusions from all the available truth and false material. They should have the faculty to judge.
