The role of educational reforms in our society. Why?

To discuss the role of education in the development of our society, in all probability the hottest topic after jirga’s, and honour killings; without initially distinguishing the concept of a civil society as is identifiable universally, and, the its perception found in our environs, would remain a meaningless exercise. In Pakistan the meaning attributed to ’civil society’ visualize those specified sections of the society which are recognized as the educated class, and includes the NGO’s, journalists, bar associations, advocates, doctors, and political leaders, media, etc. The role of this section of the society cannot be minimized by any relation, for they have undoubtedly played a critical role in ameliorating the tribulations of a mass of humanity, living an oppressed life, be it social patriarchal fascism, devastations of the environment, or any other form of human degradation, in recent times. Nevertheless the problem in this definition is the dichotomy in what are considered as "pressure groups", and this section which finds its depository in the sphere of the latter, and the distinctive meaning attached to the former.

In contemporary constitutionally based societies, ’civil society’ is founded on ’civil rights’ flowing from ’civil law’, both acting as the engine of a ’civil society. Civil Society is that sphere of sphere of private action which is free of governmental ’control’. It is not free of governmental ’action’ on the basis of the premise that because governmental action secures the nature of the civil society by the protection of people against crime.

The essence of civil society is thus that people are left, by the government, to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, while the government protects the citizens from crimes of violence, fraud, and other criminal wrongs. Civil rights and civil law primarily exist in relation to such a scheme of a civil society.

Civil rights actually define civil society by delimiting the areas of private action into which the governmental power cannot intrude. Civil rights thus define the barrier between the governmental action and private action. Thus, in the former what the government could is, is supposed to be clear, and limited; while what the government cannot do is supposed to be left open ended and have an independent interpretation.

The misnomer of a civil society as understood and applied in Pakistan, in itself exhibits the existing apathy our educational standard, which as yet has still to find and apply the distinction of a ‘civil society’ and the ‘pressure groups’ within, the former is established at the apex of the pyramid of a modern social order. Sequentially, if the aim of educational reforms is to promote a civil society, then the issue of enlightened moderation vis-à-vis primitive norms superseding the Legal Order, and attaining defacto authority over the Basic Order (the Constitution), crystallizes as the single most critical domestic issue, given the violent, non-tolerant, misunderstood morals and illusory honour with reference inter alia, to the supremacy of privacy, which are the present attributes of our fractured social system.[The term ’enlightened moderatrion’ has no political connotations, and should not be construed in that context. This article is apolitical; the approach wherein is a dispassionate study of our problems]

Today, issues which should have been resolved at the social level, have taken political dimensions, thus becoming irresolvable, on account of a lack of political will, and pressures of vested interest, by capitalizing and exploiting the tribulations for obvious reasons.

During the last 57 years of our history, the two most subverted institutions are the judiciary, and education. (Why? is a deliberation which is neither the purpose of this article, nor contextually relevant here). What we witness to day in the collapse of law and order, dispensability of human life, honor and dignity, disappearance of social and cultural values, the lack of respect for law, the writ of the courts, or that of the government. The utter deterioration of education may found to be the subliminal, but the crucial role player. A society fragmented, rushing to back a millennium, attempting to find solitude in primitivism, as the so-called civil society of our country and its leaders have yet to accept the flaws, the faults, and the defaults, the assertion of solitude remains the only haven, rather than attempt to find the footsteps of the 21st Century, in the contemporary global village.

When we look around, we find our society beset with innumerable painful blisters of sufferings, ordeals, and tragedies. Poverty and unchecked rise in population remains perennial, leaving political, and sectarian divides and intolerance; to this is connected unemployment, the serious law and order situation taking a grave twist, in the last 30 years, which doesn’t say much about our awareness, as a ‘civil society’. Lack of civic amenities, specially, in fields of health, education, pollution, sanitation, roads, transport, added to all this the proportion of mortality rate of child and mother, during child birth. A “Jumbo jet crashing every day” in Pakistan. Flesh trade blooms, gender disgrace galore, especially in the name of honour killings, Child Labour and child abuse are rampant but hardly find place in the media. Need more be said of our disheveled situation?

To reform such a society, neither enactment of laws by the legislature nor judgments by courts, can per force bring any viable change. The only conduit available fort such reformation which can bring back the sanity, is a progressive educational system, which must be balanced between the technologically focused disciplines, and those which form the plinth not only of any progressive educational system, but provides the engine for the evolution and progress of any society, worthy of credit. The essence of such educational system is to be found in social sciences, without disciplines as literature, political science, history, philosophy, economics, languages, etc., no educational system can be viewed holistically.

The importance of subjects like Information Technology and Business Management cannot be denied. Without I.T. or sound Business Managers, no nation can compete with other countries, or develop in today’s global village. How ever, an over emphasis on producing professionals at the cost of social scientists, historians, economists, political scientists, intellectuals, at the fag end, produces the result, which is evident before us in our splintered fragmented social structure.

Civil societies are founded on the basis of a social contract, whereby, the individuals surrender their liberty, for a limited purpose, that of a harmonious, equitable, and a just social cohesion. Through derogation of that minimum liberty which the individual surrenders, he retains the right to revoke such a contract, resulting in anarchy. It is this anarchy which is prevalent in our political and social structure, a few instances in form of total lawlessness, crimes against feminine gender, child labour, and defacto political void, are those symptoms, of a disease which appears to be imminently incapacitating even if not immediately terminal.

One important actor, in the social and political reformation, as temporary measure to forestall the steep decline of the socio-political structure was the "Public Interest Litigation" which has been affectively silenced, since late. How this medium could have proved to be a ventilator for the citizenry, can be seen in the judgment in Shehla Zia v. WAPDA (PLD 1994 SC 693), delivered by Justice Saleem Akhtar. For the first time, the fundamental right of ‘life’ protected by Article 9 of the Constitution of Pakistan, was determined in its true perspective, and given the legal meaning in Pakistan’s legal phraseology, as is the word ‘life’, universally recognized and accepted. The expanse given to it is a rich contribution. The judgment deliberated on Environmental pollution—installation of a Grid Station in Islamabad. The Supreme Court had entered the phase where, legal philosophy, finds its anchor in judicial reasoning, thus, providing the judges to invoke and apply ‘principles of natural rights’ when the law is ambiguous on a certain issue. His Lordship in finding the ratio in Shahla Zia’s Case was aware of the power vested in his court, and it was his jurisdiction to decide what the law ’ought’ to be. The theoretical aspect of the case may be evaluated on what is considered as the ‘morality of law’. The influence of western legal philosophy, in the void created by the stagnant waters of Muslim jurisprudence had indeed begun to take roots in Judicial Activism, taken up by the Supreme Court, commencing from Benazir Bhutto’s Case (PLD 1988 SC 416). The period of this emancipation was unfortunately rather brief coming to an end with 8 or 9 years.

By giving the vast expanse of human existence and it utmost enjoyment to the entity termed ‘life’, the Supreme Court laid down a principle which even if not executed, remains as a principle, and may be applied at any material time.

It has been unfortunate that such judgments though rare are in fact recognition by the courts of the miserable plight of the common man, and one finds in them sincere effort to mitigate the prevalent situation.

From one Shehla Zia’s case, had it been executed by the Executive and Adminstration could have become the base for many such endemic issues, to be resolved on the basis of the integrity of law finding its sovereignty in the conscience or the ‘morality of law’.

The role of the judiciary having been minimized in the last decade, most of which was spent under democratic governments. No short term solution is available, the laws in Pakistan were never tested on the ‘ought’ proposition, and therefore have always been state friendly rather than being citizen friendly. Given this quotient, the incongruence of the laws and their application, may be cited as one of the primary reasons for the decay.

What is available today, and if sincerity prevails it are the educational reforms, which of course, must at the outset be conceded, cannot provide short term relief to the common man, however, the coming generation would undoubtedly benefit, and be in a position to steer their destinies. However, if we are a vibrant, live society aware of our problems and willing to address them, the doors of Public Interest Litigation, can always be re-opened through sheer social pressure, and this is the moment within our social history, in the backdrop of the gory incidents becoming gossip columns, that the so-called civil society is morally obligated to perform its duty to the social order, by activating PIL as a necessary life support system of a collapsing society.

However, and whoever does endeavor to bring effective reforms in the educational must necessarily glance at the demands and requirements of time. For us the following in a nutshell should be the agenda.

1. Preparation for citizenship
2. Understanding Human rights
3. Democracy
4. Social cohesion

The general aims of education should include guidelines on citizenship education, which emphasize individual dignity, respect for others and their opinions, cooperation and responsibility, and equality of opportunity in social life

New curricula in social studies

Social subjects and civic education must be taught at all levels. Topics of social identity and citizenship should be included in Civics, and Social Sciences.

Basic schools must teach an understanding of universal humanistic morals; reverence to life, humanity, labour and culture; environmental care; respect for truth and justice and solidarity and moral sense.

Secondary school subjects of social and civic education should introduce social, economic, political and cultural aspects and the psychological, ethical and juridical contexts. At higher level the students should be in a position to appreciate, and understand the structure of society, development; political culture; and the economics of the market economy.

All elementary school teachers should be educated to work with these issues as part of their general teaching
Only those secondary teachers who specialize in history or social study subjects should be allowed to teach courses on civic education.

The objectives at the later stages should focus on understanding the interactions of people and society; valuing democracy, human and civil rights; developing political awareness; understanding how laws regulate human activity and the need to observe them; acquiring some understanding of economics and taxation.

At the later stages, the objectives should also include thinking in economic terms, especially about the market economy.