October 22, 2015: CODE PAKISTAN held a discussion on “Problems of Education System in Pakistan” between the students of Abasyn University and various madrasahs of Islamabad. The students of both the two participating institutions actively participated in the discussion expressing their concern over the state of education in Pakistan. There was a broad consensus in the room that the different education systems in the country were creating a wedge in the society. The students of both Abasyn University and madrasahs called for a uniform system of education throughout the country. There was also some debate about the need for female education. The madrasah students said that they were not against female education but that they wanted all education institutions in the country gender-segregated. Some students called for the need for improvement in education through improvements in curricula, teaching methods, and quality of teaching at the primary and tertiary levels.
Mr. Ismail Khan of the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based independent think tank, moderated the discussion. Mr. Ismail Khan urged the students to look at the subject through both quantitative and qualitative lenses. He argued that while quantitative information about literacy rate, numbers of schools and teachers etc. provided some useful information about the state of education in the country it did not give the complete picture.
The discussion was part of the University Madrasah Interaction Program (UMIP), which aims to bring the students of madrasahs and universities closer to each other by promoting positive and meaningful interaction between them. A total of ten discussions will be held between the students of Abasyn University and madrasahs under UMIP. Click here for more details on UMIP.