Lord Macaulay’s Giggles

After visiting India in 1835, Lord Macaulay said in a speech to British parliamentarians, “I have travelled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief – such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such caliber that I do not think we would ever conquer this country unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, the native culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation.”

Do these lines which shaped the British policy to conquer and control the whole India hold any relevance to today’s time? Are we still  stranded in the quagmire combed by the British or we have broken the shabby fetters? An analysis of our present  education system would give us an  insight into these questions.

In the last decade the Higher Education Commission rendered commendable services to raise the standard of education in our country. The number of universities in Pakistan has sprung to one hundred and sixty plus, though  still not sufficient to meet the needs of our  population. Aside from that, hundreds of our scholars are abroad pursuing higher degrees and thousands already have returned, having completed their education. These are really heartening developments.

However, the real point remains whether these laureates are equipped with ideological or spiritual tenets.Whether there are  any subjects in the entire curriculum to garner these qualities in them.Haplessy,the answers would not be in affirmative. The Islamic International University is an exception which teaches Arabic and Islamic studies as compulsory subjects(the university has been criticized by ‘modern enlightened scholars’)to inculcate some ideological and spiritual values which those graduates carry  in their practical professional life and contribute to the society and nation.

Sadly, other institutes and universities which produce hundred of graduates in an array of fields are largely  devoid of these much needed tenets. These qualified piles of professionals feel  pride, being an embodiment of the western culture and language. They also have a strong disliking for the native culture and society by and large (there are exceptional cases where the family grooming and the role of some religious organizations is echoed in the graduates).

Here the role of private schools affiliated with some of  the prestigious foreign boards also requires a mention. Every year a host of students garner top notch grades, sometimes grab the world distinctions and tumble the records as well.Again,a big chunck of them don’t have strong liking for the native land an culture.And  a large number  of them fly abroad to woo higher education, and rarely come back to the native land -a derelict land which direly needs their return in terms of skills and services.

Imam Ghazali, the great educator of Islam of the 11^th century held the view that the curriculum should be combination of religious and worldly education. To him, the ultimate aim of education is the character building of individual so that he could differentiate between good and evil and avoid following the evil path. John Herbart, a German philosopher  after 700 years  also emphasized that abilities are not innate, but could be instilled, so through education could provide framework for moral and intellectual development. In Platonic tradition, he espoused that only by becoming productive citizens could people fulfill their true purpose-the sublime purpose of creation.

Do we find a reflection of the traits deliberated above in our education system? Do our graduate intellectual lot ,a sizeable  majority of them, exhibit the qualities yearned by the philosophers of the yore years? Has the mushrooming of these degree holders really contributed to the society?  The real empirical contribution is very thin, and would continue to dissipate with the flight of our gem of talent abroad in pursuit of luxurious life and life style to the West.

So what is the option we are left with, especially the powerful institutions which can make the real difference-the HEC on top, and the education boards of the country.There is an impelling  need to design syllabus which is a judicious combination of religious and worldly education-a curriculum which inculcates   the fear of the Creator and kindness to the creation,and love not despise for the country.On the top of that, training of the teachers who could burn themselves to instill  the above yearned attributes. Otherwise, the we would keep on  promoting  the philosophy of  Lord Macaulay(whose spirit must be giggling at the continued success of his mission), and producing the degree holders  bereft of spiritual and cultural standards.