-ByAbdul Rafay
AbdulRafayisawriter,researcher,journalist,andsocialcriticwithadeeppassion for history, politics, and societal issues. His work challenges conventional narratives, offering thought-provoking insights into cultural and political complexities. Through his writing, he sparks meaningful dialogue and encourages deeper understanding of the world’s evolving dynamics.
AstheworldcelebratesworldChildren’sDay,whichhonourseverychild’spotentialandrights, a starkly different reality occurs within Pakistan’s school system. Every day, in the poorly lit classrooms and controlled corridors of thousands of schools, a new kind of celebration takes place: one of slavery rather than release. The child is viewed as raw material on a factory conveyor belt, to be processed into a loyal, uniform citizen, rather than as a container of curiosity to be filled.
This is not a general critique; it is the direct reality of millions of Pakistani youngsters. It is a system modelled less on enlightenment ideals and more on slaughterhouse mechanisms, with the goal of controlling rather than empowering.
Many children’s days begin before dawn. They are awakened by the imperative of discipline ratherthanthepromiseofdiscovery.Theyarepushedontotransportationsystems,theirdistinct attirereplacedwithuniformsofthesamecolourandcut,avisualrepresentationofuniformity. They enter the school gates as a group of sheep being confined, their individual identities extinguished at the gate.
The first lesson of the day is not in mathematics or language, but in absolute obedience. An assembly line forms.The factory owner, either the principal or a teacher, stands before them. Asongisplayed,thenationalanthem.Theunderlyingmessageisclear:youwereborntolisten to this song. Your goal is to stand in line for it. If a child dares to step out of line, giggle, or flicker,thepenaltyisimmediateandpublic.Thechildgetsdisciplinedorbeatenwhileshowing to the herd the costs of breaking the rules. The lesson has been imprinted into their minds: power is absolute, and you are here to follow.
Then they’re sent to the production floor, the classroom. These rooms are specifically constructed for surveillance.The furniture is situated such that each child’s face is visible and their every movement can be monitored. The master maintains a constant stare, ensuring that no natural tendency for play, distraction, or independent thought may develop.Achild lost in their imagination is a defective product.A child doubting the instruction shows a flaw in the system. The goal is to create a “gentle, updated, and weak practical animal,” with 80% of the inherent originality removed and replaced by rote memorization and obedience.
This factory model has devastating real-world consequences that extend far beyond the classroom walls. The system is failing Pakistan’s children on a catastrophic scale.
Pakistanhasmorethan22.8millionout-of-schoolchildren,theworld’ssecond-highestfigure. Thequalityoflearningforindividualslockedwithinthesystemisterrible.Evenamongschool- aged children, many of them are unable to read a simple sentence or solve a fundamental mathematical question. The system was created to process, not educate.
The unintended consequence is a culture devoid of creativity and critical thinking. The most shocking proof is the output: where are Pakistan’s great philosophers, groundbreaking scientists, and transforming thinkers? They are systematically eliminated out by a procedure that prioritizes memorization over investigation.The system generates high achiever children who can get 1,000 out of 1,000 points, but not innovators. It produces medical students who becomefanatics,engineerswholacktheabilitytocreateinnovativedesigns,andcitizenswho are trained to scream slogans but are unable to ask critical questions.
The trauma caused is both psychological and physical. The shadow of the stick, or the threat ofpunishment,istheprincipalweaponofteaching.Thequestionis,canahumanbeingactually learnundertheconstantthreatoftorture?Trueknowledgearisesfromuncertainty,inquiry,and the vitamin ‘C’—curiosity. It has been ruined by fear.
This is not a new phenomenon or an accident. The present compulsory education system is based on a drive to control rather than a desire to improve.The practice can be traced back to martialstatessuchasSparta,wherechildrenweretakenawayfromtheirparentsandtrainedas fighters for the state. The germ of the notion spread to Germany and later toAmerica, not to generate philosophers, but to build a manageable population.
The basic goal was always the first shaping of the soul: to instil respect for authority and conformity.Thesprinkleofinformationisonlyatopping,anexcuseforthemaincourseof
rule. Schools are”slabs” that children are compelled to eat, with the “operation” of obedience serving as the fundamental lesson and the “knowledge” as a barely concealed justification.
This leads to a vicious loop. This system’s children grow into adults who become teachers, principals, and parents, sustaining it. They have never known another way. They admire the specific missions of slavery for which they were taught, unable to envision an education free of the fear and regulation they internalized.
The collapse of this factory model does not indicate the end of schooling. It shows the urgent needforachangeinhowwedefineit.Alternativemodelsshowthatlearningcanbeenjoyable rather than a chore.
Considerasystemwithfour-hourschooldays,nohomework,andnorigorousexams.Imagine classrooms as platforms for brainstorming and conversation, where students’ creative powers arenurturedinamentalplayground.Insuchsystems,profitisoftenremovedfromtheequation; schools that demand outrageous rates areclosed, highlighting the principlethat education is a right rather than a commodity.
In these settings, no results are released, and no schools are ranked. Why? Because the focus is on the process of learning, not forcing your children to compete and fail. As the proverb goes, if you assess a fish based on its ability to climb a tree, it will spend the rest of its life thinkingitisstupid.Thecurrentapproachlinesupalloftheanimals,fish,monkeys,elephants, and teaches them that their worth is determined by climbing the same tree. As a result, a generationofmindsfeelsmisplaced,holdingontodegreesasreceiptsforfeespaidbutleaving their intrinsic intelligence behind.
OnthisWorldChildren’sDay,Pakistan’scalltoactionisnottorepeatthepast.Itisnotintended todevelopnewfactories.Itcallsforthecompletecollapseoftheindustrialeducationcomplex and its replacement with mental facilities for healing, curiosity, and genuine development.
Apopulationsitsoutsidetheschoolgates,whilethoseinsidesarerobbedoftheirpotential.The current system’s coremotif,is “surveillance.” Hard work. Keep a watchon theyoungsters.” It is a baby-sitting method that teaches children to bow their heads and not ask questions, allowing the state to easily govern over them.
The goal is to create an army of citizens who can only say “Zindabad, Zindabad” and are incapable of saying anything else. This is not education, but intellectual slavery. The trauma haslastedgenerations.Itistimetobecomehuman,totalkaboutreform,sothatouryoungsters
can think freely and discuss more than empty phrases. Pakistan’s future is determined not by the number of certificates it produces, but by the number of minds it frees.
