Abstract
Given the growing impact of Science and Technology, particularly, information and communication technologies on every dimension of human life today, many parts of the world have been quicker in their response to the change for their own betterment. The wise realize that education lies at the centre of development in all fields. Therefore, these nations are now focused on upgrading all tiers of education to equip their youth with all essential skills to not only survive but lead their nations through 21st century. Pakistan is, unfortunately, one of the countries that lag behind. It has been, though, successful in upgradation of higher education. A lot needs to be done to bring school and college education up to the mark. Higher secondary education needs specific focus as this stage marks transitional phase of a child from adolescence to early adulthood at 16-18; hence significant changes in child's overall personality.
TopBackground
Every religion and society acknowledges education to be a fundamental human right. Everyone knows that this is the only path to the development of nations. The kind of education a child or an individual receives serves as touchstone of their overall development, in particular and that of society in general. Therefore, the type and quality of education matter a great deal. The nations that have fast upgraded their syllabi and mode of education delivery according to the demands of the time are the ones leading in human advancement on all fronts, leaving much behind them the laggard nations. Pakistan’s case is a perfect example for validation. Here students are still taught about nine planets in the solar system. At 11th grade, Civics textbook discusses four provinces of Pakistan without any mention of the fifth province, Gilgit-Baltistan. High secondary and higher secondary books of Pakistan Studies and Civics respectively talk about Pakistan being an exporter of food crops such as sugar-cane, rice and wheat without any mention of sugar and flour crises that the country has faced in recent years. At these level students are still drilled into writing application for leave of absence beginning with ‘Most respectfully I beg to state that …’ a pattern which is long outdated.
Pakistan has a population of 180 million. Out of this population, 41,018,384 students are enrolled at different tiers of education in public and private sectors with 260,903 institutions serving nations’ academic needs. Though the number of institutions has increased further in the past three years, the quality of education still suffers.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Pedagogy: Mode of teaching-learning practices, schooling, education.
Cognitive: Related to functions of mind.
Up Gradation: Raising the standards of a practice.
Intermediate Education: A term current in Pakistan to refer to higher secondary education.
Curricular Activities: Activities geared towards enhancing students’ learning, carried out in a school, college, university, etc.
D. Rowntree: An educationist who has authored a number of books on education such as Educational Technology in Curriculum Development.
Technologization: The process of integrating technology into teaching-learning practices within and outside classroom. A similar meaning word, “teching,” has been found to recur in certain articles on Educationworld.com. However, this synonym exactly means “teaching through technology”.
Educational Technology: System of using technological resources to enhance learning and performance.
21st Century Skills: A reference to set of competencies that are believed to be critically important to success in today’s world.