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17 June

Will our education policy address the need for preserving dying languages? A case for Domaaki

There are, so far, two recognised dialects of Domaaki known as the Nagar-Domaaki and Hunza Domaaki with very little differences between the two. Because of this distinctiveness, Domaaki has become very vulnerable to losing its roots, as many words from Brushaski and Shina have been adopted in the language over the past few centuries. Unlike other cultures and spoken languages that their speakers take pride in and initiate steps to uphold their linguistic richness, the Doms seem to have disowned the language of their ancestors. It is feared that over the coming decades, their history, along with the language, will perish and will be deemed unrecognisable. If not saved now, a treasure of knowledge, folklore, tradition and history will be lost forever.

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16 February

Why are controversial religious figures included as role models in the Single National Curriculum?

There us a serious need for the SNC architects to reconsider some names it has added to the list of heroes or role-models for our children. With recent growing intolerance and incidents of violence, inclusion of persons whose roles have been controversial is the last thing we need our children to be exposed to. A little mindfulness and sensitivity would have been appreciated in undoing the damage already done to our nation’s children and youth.

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21 January

The Single National Curriculum equals Indoctrination and Assimilation

The current government, led by cricketer-turned- politician Khan, uses Islamic symbols and slogans to appeal to the utopian ideals of ordinary people in its bid for control of a polarized society. This played a role in the design of the SNC, which aims to appease influential religious figures and the security lobby. Thus, it includes an emphasis on Islamic teachings and the need for a homogenous nation and Urdu as a subject, ideology, and medium in all textbooks.

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27 October

Education Policies in Pakistan

Education is subordinated to the class interests of the urban, professional, English-using elite in Pakistan. For its political interests this elite has been using the name of Islam, and has strengthened the religious lobby, in the process. It has also strengthened the hold of capitalist entrepreneurs on education making for its commodification, importing corporate governance into education and devaluing the state system of education further.

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