Run for your life, educationists
An old proverb goes, “A foolish man hates instruction but the wise seeks guidance”. The quote is aimed at individuals but what happens when those individuals are living together in large numbers and form a nation? Such, I believe, is the condition of our country were novelty and progression are perhaps the most detested ideologies.
Very recently, news flashed about Dr Bernadette L Dean fleeing from Pakistan because of death threats. For those of you who do not know Dr Dean is, let me introduce her. She has a PhD from University of Alberta in Canada and has served as Principal of St Joseph’s College for Women, Principal of Kinnaird College for Women and as Professor at the Aga Khan University. What caused trouble, however, was her role as a member of the Advisory Committee for Curriculum and Textbooks Reforms. In her own words, she was accused of “being a foreigner woman who has single-handedly made changes to the curriculum and textbooks that made them secular and called her an enemy of Islam”. The keyword here is ‘change’. She tried to introduce something new and update the curriculum (which, by the way, was co-authored by several other local authors too before being finalised). In turn she started receiving threats for a month after which she made the decision to run for her life. She probably regrets wasting years for a nation that threatens to take her life. Is what she gets in return for her efforts? It’s not always what you sow that you reap, I suppose.
This is not the first time that foreigner educationists have been targeted here. A month back, US academic Debra Lobo who was working as Assistant Professor of Community Health at Jinnah Medical and Dental College was attacked by four gunmen. Her crime too was that she left her country and had a heart to educate Pakistan hoping to change the literacy statistics. I fail to see any ulterior motives for foreign academics for coming here to Pakistan. They leave their safe havens and fly to a land which is deemed the second most dangerous place in the world. Statistics suggest that the US has a literacy rate of 99 per cent whereas Pakistan stands at a 54.4 per cent (this too is an amplified round off considering the criteria for classifying an individual as literate). This should point towards which country needs education more and why academics would feel the need to pour in. Sadly, as a nation, we do not respect academics much and seldom acknowledge those who fly in to our country for its betterment. We are instead a skeptic nation and are all conspiracy theorists trying to unleash the hidden motives behind their generous acts.
Forget foreign academics, I have seen local academics suffer at the hands of their own people too. Take, for example, Professor Pervez Hoodbhoy, a Pakistani nuclear physicist, essayist, national security analyst and a professor of physics. He too had to face harsh criticism from the nation obsessed with old ideas. His ideas, like any new ideas, were discarded without a second thought and probably led to him receiving threats too. Same was the case with Mrs Nasreen Shah, the principal of LGS-55 Main who assumed that Pakistan was ready to accept knowledge. She was sadly mistaken as her efforts to introduce ‘Comparative Religion’ had severe backlash and eventually she had to drop the idea. Such is the fate of any academic who wishes to introduce change.
In my personal teaching experience I too have had to deal with supervisors who were rigid enough not to accept any creative ideas. New courses were shunned upfront and so were any efforts to introduce fresh teaching methodologies. Instead, the teachers are asked to blindly comply with the seniors. I am sure such is the plight of young academics in Pakistan. They are discouraged from bringing innovation just at the beginning of their careers lest they end up becoming great assets for the nation like Dr Hoodbouy. So stick to the old ideologies and you are safe in your job but if you try to introduce novelty, you shall have to suffer. To all the innovation and change loving local academics, young or old, new or experienced, here is my piece of advice – Stop investing your time, energy and ideas into the nation that hates knowledge and instruction and instead just run for your lives. Run for the greener pastures that await you on the other part of the globe because Pakistanis are unwilling to accept change.
First thing first! Respect the seniors even if they disagree to innovations. But letting go a learned professor is surely a loss to whole nation. New breed of pakies is worse off compared to the old wits.
Respect yes for sure! but letting them become a hindrance in your growth, No sir!
Totally agree. Old were young once too, they did what they wanted, times have changed.
its an excellent rticle.
Article
You’re foolishly blaming the whole country for death threats coming from extremists. They do not represent Pakistan, so don’t concede representation of our country to those barbarians.
Just pointing out what's wrong with the country (the majority of the country). One should be willing to accept flaws. That's an important part of progressing!
All this is sabotage by indian raw to undermine and destroy pakistans infrastructure and those people willing to help it grow. This isnt all TTP and muslim extremists – its also foreign agencies.
You just proved my point about conspiracy theorists 🙂
escapist mentality
would you suggest waiting to be killed as a better alternative?
A great loss indeed when we lose such people, especially the academics. We are going through terrible times but due to our own mistakes and through generous "facilitation" by others to have their own way in our our own country and culture, we are sinking in this quicksand. Your observations just touch the surface and naive in your interpretations, and your conclusion is, at best, inappropriate. Running away is neither the answer nor what is required and we certainly are not a nation that hates knowledge. Writing in such a manner gives a very negative impression to the whole world. Such a misinterpretation of views coming from a Psychologist is even more disappointing!
Brilliant article that is spot on in identifying a major problem in Pakistan…the countries biggest problem is lack of education and if the radicals and terrorists are able to stop progress in improving education…then the country is doomed…
Well done. You have penned a bold Article and it makes me worry about the future of the nation all the more.
It is sad that what you've written is true for majority of Pakistanis
Do not be discouraged by any stupid comments.
Spot on! If we can't protect them, we don't deserve to have them either!
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