Role of education to quell extremism

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Both words start with the same alphabet but have very different meanings. Education promotes peace, ethics, harmony, integration, compassion, and love while extremism causes disharmony, hatred, violence, and instability in the environment. Though both are antagonistic to each other education is the solution to quell extremism. Education is not about raising the literacy ratio but shaping individual, societal, and world views. Education is developing awareness among people and teaching them to question extremist factors rather than falling prey to them easily. Thus, education is the prime solution that can better uproot extremism from society.

The recent Jaffer Express incident which has denigrated the image of Pakistan on security fronts is a glaring picture of rising extremism in the country. Although many external factors are involved in it who don’t want stability in that territory as it will perish their geostrategic interest internally brewing radicalism is also the major of such extremist acts which put many valuable lives in peril. Extremism due to internal factors is caused by socio-economic disparities, exploitation, negligence, and unequal attitudes of state actors. These factors collectively play a role in the alienation of citizens from laws and societal norms.

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Now that extremism has penetrated society in many ways i.e. political, religious, sectarian, and ethnic, a multilateral approach is needed, and the basis of whom will be lied by the provision of good education. Education possesses the phenomenal power to transform a disintegrated society into a cohesive community. The current curriculum on which the foundation of education is laid is unable to play any role because this curriculum is about cramming only. Education can transform society only if it is transformed into the best version.

First of all, a single curriculum across the country is needed for an hour. These must be just academic systems rather than three systems that are fuelling discrimination by differentiating classes into elite, middle and low class. Currently, instead of ending social discrimination, education is itself becoming a source of discrimination. The one with resources manages to get quality education and others just have to rely on a magnanmity of clueless and inept policymakers whose main aim is to further create class division to better protect their interests.

Secondly, the role of teachers is very important. Teachers shape the minds of their students. It i what we learned from the tragedy of East Pakistan as well where there was a great role of teachers in alienating East Pakistanis from the West ones. The selection of teachers whether in public or private institutes should be on merit. On a regular basis , seminars and webinars should be arranged to aware teachers about new pedagogical techniques and their credibility and ability should also be assessed critically.

Out-of-school children and the gender gap are also the biggest hurdles in the efficient spread of education. In remote areas, education and schooling are not given importance. People hesitate to send their children, especially girls to schools and thus they do not become aware of their rights and are exploited by their chieftains. Education gives the ability of critical thinking and provides rationality in decisions. Without this, folks are herded like cattle with sticks. Education must reach every single region if we are serious about treating our ongoing ailments.

The dynamics of education have changed significantly. Literature and theory are being replaced with innovation and practical approaches. Due to digitalization, the old schooling has been outdated. To meet global needs that can allay our economic problems, we must shape our education according to current needs. A special focus on information and technology is inevitable and along with this moral building, to respect societal norms,harmony, and integration is essential. Education keeps very pivotal in bring societal harmony and to harness its potential, shrewd policymaking and efficient implementation is needed.