Enrolling Pakistan

The idea that education will 'make or break' Pakistan is a commonly heard one today. Overall, there is broad agreement that education is as important to Pakistan as to any other country, with reforms required quickly if the people are to see credible results in the near future. On the other hand, the reasons behind the largely unified call for reform vary across constituents. Parents, for instance, view quality education as a way to ensure a brighter future for their children in an increasingly competitive world; analysts feel education might be the only path to addressing outstanding social, political and economic issues; and others, especially non-Pakistanis, consider the reforms, which would include within their ambit the madrassa system, as the only way to prevent Pakistan from imploding, a situation that many fear would cause ripple effects across the region and the world.

With seemingly so much at stake, Shaping a Nation is a timely publication. The articles collected in the volume cover a wide spectrum of topics, and have been written over a long period though they lack explicitly stated dates – Aziz Talbani's paper, for instance, written prior to the attacks of 11 September 2001, could be understood much more readily if one knew it is from the mid-1990s. Nonetheless, collectively they succeed in raising questions sorely in need of debate. At various points, for instance, the authors focus on such critical issues as standardisation of the national curriculum, the place of vocational training, the possibilities for vernacular and international languages, the prospect of establishing government regulation in a country where the state is notoriously weak, and how to set realistic goals to be achieved within a given timeframe. Having articulated these concerns, the authors offer a wealth of alternatives to the current broken system.