Effectiveness of Educational Administration
Academic institution is a cornerstone of a country. It is the foundation of
skills and knowledge of the citizens who are the labor force for the national
production. Adequate and competent educational system is one of key towards
progress and development.
In Pakistan, the Ministry of Education of Government oversees the
responsibility over academic institutions. Aside from funding the public education,
the federal government assists in curriculum development and financing of some
researches.
The literacy rate in the capital city of Islamabad is about 89 percent but
only 20 percent in some rural areas. However, there is a notable increase of
literacy rate in every passing generation. Moreover, command over English
language is fast increasing with 18 million Pakistanis or 11 percent of population
enables to speak English, making it 9th largest English speaking nation and 3rd
largest in Asia. It is a progress towards globalization.
However, one of the criticisms of Pakistani education system is the gender
disparity in all levels of education. The Taliban enforcement of a complete ban on
female education in the Swat district largely affects the large disparity of female-
male ratio of students. Some 400 private schools enrolling 40,000 girl students
had been shut down. But, 10 schools enrolling girl students trying to open had
been blown up by militants in the town of headquarters of the Swat district.
Moreover, Pakistan only spends 2.9 percent of GDP on education. But,
the recently approved national education policy increased the allocated funds to
7 percent of the GDP. The government is planning to raise the national literacy
rate to 85 percent by 2015.
On the other hand, educational administration is also one of the main
concerns in alleviating the current situation of the academic system of the
country. There is a growing interest among public administrators in using
evaluation as a means of analyzing and improving the quality of teaching.
Educational administrators address the need to be updated in information in
order to adapt to specific situations. They strive to meet the social needs and
expectations such as using the newer technology of computer age as teaching
aid.
It is critical to realize that the education in the 21st century is far more
demanding and competitive in compared to the earlier times. This is due to the
fast growing knowledge base, advancements in technology and the increasing
perspective on globalization. An educated man should proceed to the
international standards before being regarded as a valuable employee to an
organization.
However, outdated materials and obsolete techniques in the school
system are still being used by the poor countries, particularly Pakistan. What’s
needed is a complete overhaul of the traditional teaching methods.
In this case, educational administration plays a pivotal role in updating and
making more active rather than passive learners the students. Teachers have an
important part in making this total renovation of the quality of education possible.
Teachers have the control over what to teach and how to teach it.
Therefore, they should be allowed to develop the expertise and self-confidence in
showing the students the path towards independent thinking and learning.
However, seen from this perspective, Pakistan is far away from achieving the
goals of overhauled education because of idealistic rhetoric of education policies
but underpinned by the required research in guiding educationists. The prism of
English language teaching is an evident manifestation of problems from the
government administration to the teachers to the curriculum itself. Despite the
increasing number of English speakers, it does not necessarily indicate progress
of quality of education.
Moreover, pedagogical decisions continuously rely on the discretions of
government figures. In one instance, a textbook on Sindh was rejected by an
education minister because it was twice as long as the corresponding book on
the North West Frontier Province. Thus, to solve the problem, the textbook board
minions cut the half part of the book – without consulting the authors and experts
if it would affect the data and learning processes. The original manuscript was
only retrieved after years and printed under a World Bank project.
Many of the problems regarding the quality of education are reflected by
incompetent teaching techniques, obsolete classroom materials and outdated
facts and researches of the lessons. However, the government is still the one
playing the large part in worsening condition of education in Pakistan because of
its policies that need to be reviewed and reassessed. Changes are inevitable,
thus, the education sector should learn to cope so that they can keep up in the
fast pace of globalization and progress.
References:
Azcutia, Julio Puente, Educational administration and institutions
for evaluation of the education system, May 1999, http://www.ince.mec.es
Sarwar, Zakia, Pakistan’s Terminally Ill Schools, January 2010, http://www.asiasentinel.com
Shah, Dawood, Decentralization in the Education System in Pakistan: Policies and Strategies
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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