This is a response to Dr HoodBouy
article that was published in the express tribune on April 29th,
2012.
I am not trying to defend the
scheme of laptop distribution scheme of Shahbaz Shareef, but trying to point out
some of the misconceptions that were there in the Hoodbouy article.
Point 1: According to
Hoodbouy, laptops are not silver bullets that can transform Pakistan Education.
In my view, this concept is based on the assumption that laptops alone are just
like books and mostly you require the teachers to learn it. I would like to
remind Dr Hoodbouy, the project named “Hole in the wall” of Dr Sugata Mitra.
Through his project, he has proved number of times that children have the
capacity to learn by themselves. Project
results have also shown that children living in the remote areas not only can
learn simple subjects but also complex topics as well. So India is actively working on this project
and trying to transform their education than why not it can transform Pakistani
Education.
Point 2: Hoodbouy
considered the distribution of laptops, useless because they are not loaded
with educational softwares and school teachers are not trained to teach via
computers. Again I will move on the next
experiment of Dr Sugata Mitra where he
involved number of british grandmothers and children over the internet viaskype and the result of the project shows that teaching via computer doesn’t require
teachers even grandmothers can help. Answer to the educational software is that
many softwares can be downloaded from the internet and even he himself had
mentioned this in his article as well.
Point 3: He shows unlikeness
towards the laptops on his opinion that most of the laptops will be used for
gaming, chatting and surfing. I fail to
understand that what the problem with this. Researchers also communicate and
chat. Everyone play games for relaxation.
But why you underestimate the power of online libraries. Even social
media sites are proving to me more educational than normal way of teaching.
Collaborative learning can never happen without the collision of the random
ideas and for that matter these things are necessary. Old ways of teaching and
learning (everything by heart) are not proving to be useful in the current era.
Point 4: Everything in
Pakistan, start with the name of education but later that never serve the
education. Honestly sir, if we think only the degree and degree programs as
education than I agree that TV hasn’t served the education but learning doesn’t
restricted to degrees only. With every
news, drama and entertainment we use to learn so I think they are serving for
education.
Point 5: According to
Hoodbouy, the Annual Status of Education report shows that Pakistani students
are very poor in reading and writing so how they can get the benefit from the
laptops. Sir, this is the problem of education system where we want from each
student to learn everything by heart, i.e. memorize every subject and as a
result student doesn’t feel interest in the subjects. Change the system to more interactive and interesting
these problems will be removed. According to Sir Ken Robinson our schools and education system is killing the creativities of the students.
Creativity can never happen by rotting the subjects. Yes laptops give them the
opportunity to scroll the world in their own way and find their own creative
ways of learning. Here I agree with you
that money should be spend on improving the educational system instead of
spending public money on laptops.
To summarize everything, I would
say that laptops and computers can be useful in learning and getting education so
criticizing them is wrong. Yes why the public money is being spend by the
Punjab govt, is worthy questionable? Which I think should be spend on building
school infrastructures.
