Two-day national conference on education titled ‘Education in 21st Century: Expectations, Challenges, and Possibilities’ organised by education department, faculty of social sciences started here at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML) on Wednesday.
The chief guest of the inaugural session was Prof Dr Anees Ahmed, Vice Chancellor Riphah International University, while Rector NUML Major General (r) Muhammad Jaffar, Director General Brig Muhammad Ibrahim, deans, directors, heads of departments, scholars from various universities of Pakistan, faculty members and students also attended the session.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Dr Anees Ahmed said that prevailing education system is borrowed from the west, which gives knowledge but not wisdom. “We once a colonial nation never tried to think critically and never think what Quaid-e-Azam and Iqbal said,” he said. While referring to the Quaid’s speech on the first education conference in Dec 1947, Dr Anees said that according to the Quaid Pakistan needed an education system in which character building should be focused but we never followed our great leader.
Professor Anees said that current education system is prison of ideas of the west and we blindly following them, not knowing the fact that this system is hampering the minds of our youth. You can get knowledge but you cannot get wisdom from the current education system. He further said that China, Japan, France and Russia focused on one language at national level and all their programs are in their own languages yet they excel in every field at global level and on other hand we never give such importance to our national language. “I am not against the indigenous languages but we have to have one language at national level,”he said. He elaborated that there are many native languages and culture in China but you will never see them saying as our fellow Pakistani like Punjabi, Pashtoon, Sindhi, Sarakai, Balouchi and Urdu speakers say.
Earlier, Rector NUML Major General (r) Muhammad Jaffar in his welcoming address said that education is imperative and inevitable for us in every thinkable walk of life. “Let us remind ourselves through this conference how much it is important for us to realize and acknowledge the role of education with all its dynamics in present day Pakistan,” he said.
The rector said that NUML is known to have paved paths for the promotion of research and improved and adaptable educational paradigms. “It is moving ahead with considerable efficacy and system. NUML believes that the essential rule of education is research and it has a fundamental role in the development of civilization,” he said. “The higher standards in research adopted by our faculty and scholars are far encouraging. These will not only expand possibilities of education domestically but also escalate our cultural worth globally. Both research and education thrive upon constructive attitudes of life and restore intellect and knowledge. As a nation, such solemn ideals and practices are needed. Gladly, NUML is playing a commendable role in this regard,” he added.
