COMMENT: New Year resolution —Sabiha Mansoor - Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Source : www.dailytimes.com

Helping oneself and others is certainly a better prospect than waiting endlessly for some government intervention that is not likely to happen. In the present scenario, with an incompetent administration and depleted development funds, the change must start from within ourselves and in our own circles

A few days ago a small group of teachers made a New Year resolution: “We will change Pakistan.” After a mammoth discussion in my teacher education class on education reform in a developing country like ours that centred on complex issues ranging from policy to practice, it soon became clear that none of the recommendations would actually work, as the current educational system in the public sector was incapable of absorbing change.

Various factors leading to the present crisis in all spheres were examined. The burning question was: is Pakistan a poor country? The conclusion reached was that this was a philosophical question and poverty a relative term, and though the socio-economic indicators may be at an all time low, Pakistan was not poor. In fact, Pakistan was a rich country, rich in human and physical resources. The only thing holding it back was mismanagement. Poor governance in all organs of the government: a legislature dominated by its feudal and dynastic politics — an executive notorious for its corruption and inefficiency; a hawkish judiciary along with exploitation by the clergy — was seen as the major factor responsible for many of its woes.

The government system is manned by Pakistanis who, after all, are products of our own system. Why was it that the overwhelming majority of citizens who were tolerant and peaceful and trying desperately to get on with their lives were being held hostage by the corrupt few? Why were they passive? Why did they not demand that the members they had elected to parliament look after their interests and provide decent employment and livelihood? Why did they not take to task the bureaucracy for their failure to protect their lives and property and make available adequate education and health facilities? Why did they not clamour that the courts provide speedy justice?

All evidence showed that change was needed in Pakistan to transform the lives of its people. If democracy was to succeed, then there was an urgent need to empower the masses. There was unanimity in the class that the key to the path of progress and prosperity in a democratic system of a ‘government of the people, by the people, and for the people’, was to educate the people about their rights and responsibilities. This was no ‘out of the box’ thinking. Everyone knew the answer. It seemed like we were going in circles and faced, as always, with the chicken and the egg dilemma. Each one of us loved our country and wanted to be proud Pakistanis. The challenge was how was this to be done?

Then a miracle happened in the class. A teacher got up and said with confidence: “We will change Pakistan. If we are blessed with education, we need to give something back to our community.” Then another said, “Each one of us can make a difference, we can change the system.” After much scepticism of whether individual or small group effort could succeed versus policy change, the whole class was in agreement that societal transformation was possible if there was commitment. The common voice was, “Yes, we can do it; today we are 20 teachers from one class but look at our sphere of influence. Each one of us impact the lives of a hundred students each year. Multiply this and we are talking of thousands; multiply again by the number of classes, and then by institutions and the result is mind-boggling.” At the end of the class, we all agreed to adopt this motto as our New Year resolution. Surely, this could be the beginning of a social revolution in Pakistan where various communities of practice live with the belief that they can be agents of change and do their best to spread the light of knowledge.

Self-reliance was seen as a major factor in facing the crisis. Helping oneself and others is certainly a better prospect than waiting endlessly for some government intervention that is not likely to happen. In the present scenario, with an incompetent administration and depleted development funds, the change must start from within ourselves and in our own circles. Stories of success abound. Faced by the massive destruction resulting from the earthquake and the recent floods, all Pakistanis, urban or rural, young or old, rich or poor, educated or illiterate, reached out to their brothers and sisters providing them with any kind of assistance they could muster. As they say, “Never underestimate the power of the individual.”

(Note: This article is dedicated to all teachers in Pakistan who, despite adversity, work tirelessly to empower its citizens)

The writer is Professor and Dean, School of Education, Beaconhouse National University, and currently is Woodrow Wilson Pakistan Scholar. She can be reached at drsabihamansoor@yahoo.com