SOBERING THOUGHTS ON THE SNC

Sobering Thoughts On The Single National Curriculum

The present hubbub on the SINGLE NATIONAL CURRICULUM can be captured in the two ways it is translated in Urdu by TV anchors and educational experts. Some call it “yaksan taleemi nisab” where the word yaksan relates to uniform. Others say it is “wahid taleemi nisab” where the word wahid resonates with unity. And they have unconsciously captured the root of the confusion. Unity is one thing, uniformity another. To confuse the two will result in neither.

There is no doubt that the intentions behind the effort are worthy. But there is also no doubt national unity achieved at the cost of lowering the standards of education for all makes one wonder: what nation would I want to belong to if intellectual stunting in my formative years is the price?

 But we need to be clear about the uniformity/unity difference. Here is an example that captures it. Imagine a place where all the inhabitants wore the same clothes, ate the same food, stayed in exactly the same sized rooms, woke up at the same times, exercised at the same time, and had lights out at the same time. Wonderful place, right? And yet, none of us would want to be there, because this is a prison. A jail. The very opposite of a fulfilling life. That’s uniformity.

 Unity on the other hand does not negate diversity but cherishes it. I can be a Pakistani, while enjoying being a member of my community, celebrating the festivals, food, clothing, living styles, language and mores of my sub-culture. [I am a Dawoodi Bohra by the way, and proudly cherish my heritage]. Does the rich Sindhi culture threaten me? Not at all. In fact I enjoy the delectable Shikarpuri achar and the cool, refreshing Thadal from Sanghar. I read the Sufi poets, visit the shrines of the Saints with respect. Same in Punjab. And KPK. And Balochistan. You get the idea. The diversity of cultures does not threaten my Pakistani identity in any way. In fact I have a richness to share that is appreciated whenever I get a chance to represent my country abroad.

 Let us leave this discussion for a moment and get to the crux of the matter. What follows is a direct quotation from Peter Senge’s SCHOOLS THAT LEARN (2011). He describes a disturbing moment:

 [I]t is my judgment that educators feel even more trapped and less able to innovate than do their business counterparts. A number of years ago, I asked a group of educators a question I have often asked of business groups: “Do you believe that significant change occurs only as a result of a crisis?” In business groups, typically threequarters will respond affirmatively. But, then, others will tell stories of significant changes that arose without a crisis, from passion and imagination, from leaders of many types willing to take risks in favor of something in which they believed. The group of educators responded differently. Very few raised their hands at my first question. Puzzled, I asked, “Does that mean that you believe that significant innovation can occur without crises?” Again, no one raised a hand. Now really puzzled, I asked, “Well, if change doesn’t occur in response to a crisis, and it doesn’t occur in the absence of a crisis, what other possibilities are there?” A soft voice from the audience responded, “I guess we don’t believe significant change can occur under any circumstances.” (emphasis added)

 This from an American education leader. There is a stifling grip on all schools of what Martin Habermann calls the pedagogy of poverty. So firm is the grip of structures, systems, behaviours and norms on the present schooling system that changing the curriculum isn’t simply going to matter. Since 1840’s efforts to change the iron grip of the “school period” [this 40-minute unit of time that each teacher has to teach the concepts of the curriculum] have failed. No matter what the reformers intended to change, the idea of a “real school” in the minds of the parents in particular and society in general was so formidable an opposition that none of them “stuck”. Within five years things [often less] were back to “normal”. The reformers suffered from “innovation fatigue”, and the less able, less committed, school leaders who took over from them soon allowed ‘the new-fangled ideas’ to slip by and the old order established itself.

 Peter Senge continues:

“… Education writer and leader Michael Fullan notes that there are many good examples of “raising the bar” and “lowering the gap” in student achievement for basic skills, “but we have not accomplished much in terms of higher-order skills.” But it is exactly innovation for higher-order skills—like critical thinking, self-directed learning, communication, and collaboration—that is most needed to prepare students for a world of growing interdependence and change.

 And there you have it. I can quote chapter and verse from the SNC’s assessments about how they rely mostly on basic memorization of facts and concepts but I won’t. Others have done it better.

 I never let my schooling interfere with my education, said Mark Twain. Alas, few Pakistanis can be said to understand what he meant.