Karachi, 3 June: Oxford University Press (OUP) launched its latest publication Education Policies in Pakistan: Politics, Projections, and Practices written by Shahid Siddiqui. The book is an attempt to study the education policies in Pakistan in a critical and holistic manner. The rationale for education policy and the process of its planning are discussed in detail. It considers the sociopolitical context to understand the processes of planning and implementation of education policies. The major themes covered are vision and goals, universal primary education, literacy, female education, language issues, higher education, technical and vocational education, special education, religious and madrassah education, curricula and textbook, and teachers and teacher education. Each theme is tracked through policies set in motion from 1947 to 2009, when the last education policy came into effect.
Dr Shahid Siddiqui has been involved in the educational sector of Pakistan as a teacher, teacher educator, researcher, and administrator. His areas of interest include educational leadership and management, socio-cultural aspects of languages, gender, educational change, and critical pedagogy. His work experience includes working at the Aga Khan University (AKU), GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), and the Lahore School of Economics (LSE). He is presently Vice Chancellor of Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad. His published books include, Rethinking Education in Pakistan: Perceptions, Practices, and Possibilities; an Urdu novel Adhe Adhoore Khawab; Education, Inequalities, and Freedom: A Sociopolitical Critique; and Language, Gender and Power: The Politics of Representation and Hegemony in South Asia.
Speakers present at the event held at the OUP head office included Muhammad Ali Shaikh, Vice Chancellor, Sindh Madressatul Islam; Abbas Husain, Director, Teachers’ Development Centre; and Mir Afzal Tajik, Associate Director, IED, Aga Khan University. The speakers emphasized that such a book, which highlights the lacunae in our educational system, had long been awaited. They also underscored that in pointing out the difficulties encountered, the book also draws lessons, and therefore points to future direction of policy in the light of the well-researched evidence.
Earlier in her welcome address, Ameena Saiyid, Managing Director, OUP Pakistan, introduced the author and said that the book shows us how the thinking on education has developed in Pakistan, often stamped by the beliefs of people at the helm of government. “Dr Siddiqui has given a fascinating and informative account of the state language controversy and how it was decided in 1947 that Urdu would be the lingua franca and the medium of instruction throughout all provinces in Pakistan,” she added.