THE role of education is cardinal in fostering a national ideological consensus.

However, education has mostly remained neglected in our country and is in need of reforms to address the issues of intolerance, radicalisation and division along ethnic and sectarian lines.

These issues have surfaced owing to differences in the nation’s thought process because of an incoherent education system. A uniform education system will guarantee that the country is moving in the same direction as a nation.

Uniform ideological development should start in the early years of schooling so as to ensure greater levels of tolerance and patience in our youth. This will foster a same set of beliefs to get the people into a single entity.

The government has taken a step in this direction by announcing that it was thinking of a uniform syllabus throughout the country. However, a few points require introspection.

First, how will the new curriculum help the unprivileged students of the backward areas studying in Urdu-medium schools keep pace with the new syllabus? Second, will it not be unfair to those with weak English skills to study a curriculum which is entirely in English?

Third, are teachers in the rural areas of Sindh and Balochistan competent to teach the new curriculum? Fourth, how will the new syllabus be implemented to bring about the much-needed transformation in the madressah system?

Unless these queries are addressed, the proposed education system is unlikely to achieve the desired results.

Waqar Hassan

Sargodha

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2019