July 20, 2008

Practicals are a hands-on approach to what is learned in the classroom. They are basically laboratory experiments demonstrated by the teacher or professor, which are then carried out by the students as well to ensure that they comprehend how something works practically as well as theoretically.

However, it is to be asked if the way in which the practicals are taught and tested upon in Pakistan’s education system is just that — practical?

From my own experience as an FSc student, I cannot help but feel that the way practicals are handled here is hugely ineffective. That is not to say, that I find the concept of the practical to be unavailing, rather I believe that the current approach that is taken toward it is unhelpful for both the teachers and students.

The problem with the practical system in Pakistan starts out with the amount of practicals that must be completed in one year. The teachers are hard-pressed for time because there are simply too many practicals to be done and so little time to carry them out. So they end up merely skimming through each one just to get them over with.

The practice leaves the students with an incomplete understanding of the experiments they are required to do and thus get the wrong readings and observations. They then proceed to copy from someone who actually got the desired results just so the teacher would accept their work. This inevitably leads them to cheating from each other when the practical examinations come around either because they do not understand the procedure or because there were too many experiments and very little time to study them all.

And by the next school year, they have already forgotten whatever little they had learned. So, I ask what is the point of making students do so many practicals in one year if they can’t even learn from them properly?

This only leads them to devise clever ways to cheat themselves around it, and is just a big waste of time for the teachers too because their students do not learn anything useful at the end of the day.

Another point to be made is that public schools and colleges are seriously under-funded. The equipment in the laboratories is really old and sometimes even broken. Even if the students carefully follow the instructions, their work is rendered unacceptable because their observations or readings come out wrong. This can be particularly disastrous during an examination practical. A student can fail his or her practical due to the defective equipment in the lab, which is truly unfair.

The laboratories themselves are very out-dated for the most part. The Bunsen burner nozzles are rusted, the sinks are worn out and stained with chemicals while the faucets drip water, and the paint is peeling off from all the walls. Not to mention, the cupboards and cabinets, which look like they must have caught fire once or twice.

How is a student supposed to work efficiently in such an atmosphere? The peeling paint, especially, can be potentially deadly as it can turn into powder which can be inhaled by whoever steps inside these laboratories.

Another aspect of the laboratories which is unacceptable is the lack of any safety equipment there in case of an emergency. No goggles or gloves are provided and the students work wearing lab coats that can easily be penetrated. The safety of the students most certainly calls for more intensive measures.

I believe that many issues can easily be resolved if the problems mentioned above are taken care of.

The amount of practicals should be reduced to half. This way the teacher can explain the concept and procedure in a better way for the students who will then learn to perform these practicals on their own. Reducing the practicals to half of their current amount also allows the teachers to take more time on a single experiment if it seems complicated to the students.

Of course, the schools should also be properly funded. The laboratories should be kept clean and in working order with more measures to be enforced regarding the safety of all those working there.

The educational sector is in dire need of improvement. After all, wasn’t it Aristotle who said, “All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.”