I
was set to write a piece on our national priorities and just as I picked up my dwelling sword (read pen, being stronger) I heard the title music of my favourite programme Hum Sab Umeed Say Hain on Geo and as a reflex action my eyes rolled towards the telly screen. An irresistible satire isn’t it? So I postponed my writing in favour of viewing for an hour or so. And good that I did. It gave me a refreshing start.
The catalytic agent was the chunk Bachey siaysi nahin hotay where a bachi asked the learned Mr Naveed Qamar how to solve the Kapra and Roti problem. He replied in the typical siyasi jargon, saying a lot and meaning nothing. The girl finally gave the solution.
The problem of Roti is solved by eating and Kapra, by wearing clothes. (Roti ka masla hal hota hai khaney se aur kapra ka pehnney se). Brilliant! “Food” for thought for our qualified and educated people at the top.
It set me thinking. Why, oh why doesn’t it occur to our brilliant Country Managers who feed and dress themselves equally, if not better than many highly developed counties’ leaders that the commandment “Do onto others as yourself.”
Simple again feed and dress your people and - wishful thinking - give them a roof over their heads. Shelter, they call it. The cave man had it. But their caves were similar and equal and not status symbols. Status came with the invention of bricks and today the situation has come to “Bricks, and bricks are all I have to take your status away” (with apology to the original song).
Haven’t we seen it happening?
So, coming back to the topic, why can’t our local and foreign educated – at times imported – leaders think of such sweet and simple solutions.
Six decades of experimentation, creative exercises and mostly trial and error methods have landed us back to square One. We the people inhabiting this resource blessed country are still asking “Whither leadership.”
Most probably Nehru said “With people like Pakistanis and a leader like myself, I can rock the world.” What went wrong? When, where and why?
The last experiment was made in the recent past to have an educated assembly (if a present day BA degree really educates one). We had an educated assembly and see what happened. This goes for when, where? The idea was born in Islamabad. Why?
To have educated leaders and keep the “Jahils” away.
Question: Why did the idea fail (too strong a word, replace it with unsuccessful.)
Answer: Someone – somewhere – somehow forgot or didn’t know the difference between Education and Literacy.
Late Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah, Education Minister of a distant past did know so he named the Primary Education programme “Literacy Programme.” Had Literacy been more important than education our rural life, systems, traditions and values would have collapsed long, long ago. There is something known as village wisdom and they had it. They had it by observation and practical experience. Involvement and awareness.
The word “Taaleem” is from “Ilm” and “Ilm” means knowledge.
The restriction of a BA degree kept many “Educated” not literate persons and personalities away from our decision making portals and corridors of power while inducting half baked so called educated ones for taking national level decisions and policies.
Mothers and Fathers of many a great man of the past were not literate. Some of the greatest men and women, history tells us, were not literate though educated. We confuse education with literacy and illiteracy with “Jahliat”.
Thanks to the Electronic Media the illiterate of our country rural as well as urban are fast becoming educated. They are more aware of their environment political, economic and even in international affairs. This piece in no way depends or intends to promote illiteracy. No definitely no. The only point is please do NOT neglect the Gold you have only because it’s not polished while remembering “All that glitters is NOT gold.”
China married their traditional practices to modern day scientific and advanced knowledge and systems. See where they are today. So let us decision and policy makers - educate and I mean Educate ourselves first of all and only then, armed with self education and knowledge go out to dispense and disperse it. |
Let us make better and practical policies for Both the literacy and education policies. Napoleon Bonaparte formulated his education policy in a battlefield and still prevailed—successfully. China married their traditional practices to modern day scientific and advanced knowledge and systems. See where they are today. So let us decision and policy makers - educate and I mean Educate ourselves first of all and only then, armed with self education and knowledge go out to dispense and disperse it. Let us inculcate the habit of observing and assimilating before planning, acting and implementing. There’s written in different styles and fonts on the gates of most school, colleges and universities, “Enter to learn, Go Forth to Serve.” Let’s clean the accumulated dust on these golden word and polish them and they will glimmer-in due course, of course.
The potential that our people have is immense. What we require is complementing, comparative and competent (and not complacent) leadership.
We require to increase literacy. If Sri Lanka and Venezuela can do it why not we, the gifted Pakistanis.
From amongst the teeming literate one will arise the educated ones. And they are the ones who will be able to build a rapport with the literate ones. What a dream. But they say Dream hard enough and it comes true. Man (also woman) is God’s masterpiece. Can achieve anything and rise to any height. And we are muslims Al Hamdulillah. We were advised by our Holy Prophet (PBUH) to seek Ilm even if we have to go to China.
In the present day we don’t have to go there physically. We can visit China and all other countries through our print and electronic media. Let us today decide to educate our selves (Irada) and the rest will come easy. Future leadership will come from amongst our own selves. Educated Leadership!
