Role of Education in the Development of Pakistan

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Human Development report of this month has ranked Singapore as 38th in the list of 189 countries, a highly human developed country. But Pakistan has been placed at the 150th position which is, even, lower rank than that of other south Asian countries like Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. This clearly shows that why Pakistan is in slow progress condition. Human development is the key to be listed in developed countries. This is what Singapore did for its people through education. The education system of Singapore is being replicated in other countries of the world due to its high efficiency, a report in The Economist noted in this month. But the education system of Pakistan has been facing a lot of challenges which cannot support the proper human development. Political will and lack of quality education are the two most important hurdles in this case. However, with some strict measures, these problems can be handled easily.

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Education and other human development programs, from the day first, has not been the first priority of any government in Pakistan. After Quad-e-Azam, not a single leader of this country could recognize the value of education in the development of the country. That is why, still, our children spend an average of 8 years in school without desired output due to lack of quality education. Resultantly, the skilled and professional labor force is in shortage in our country which slows down the progress. In other countries like Singapore, education is their first priority and the students of the 5th standard are highly trained in basic mathematics skills. It is said that the students of Singapore are 2 to 3 years ahead mentally as compared to the students of the same age as the western countries. Therefore, Singapore has progressed economically at lightning speed in the last decades.

This is the first time in the history of Pakistan that the incumbent government has ranked the human development at the top of the list. The PM of Pakistan has stressed the importance of health and education. The government has pledged to launch the same education system all over the country. Although, it is a welcome step towards the improvement of the education system but policy-makers should be realistic and not be just ambitious. All institutions require a slow and stepwise overhaul. An impulsive approach may harm the existing system. So, first of all, the education system should be studied thoroughly and, after pointing out defects, a careful step should be taken to improve it which could help Pakistan to produce highly skilled professionals in every field of life to run the economy of the country efficiently.