It is surprising how education - something so sacred, can sometimes be weaponized and tainted with ulterior motives. For most people, education is worship, freedom, and at times a sanctuary. The idea of people using something so pure to eventually spew hate infuriates me. I cannot help but ponder over how powerful a tool this is. If it is used the right way, it could solve so many of our problems, and when used the wrong way, the results are cataclysmic. The swat conflict is a very prominent example of how education can be used to serve political motives and lead to catastrophic results. The potential of education scares me; just like technology, it is a dual-edged sword; it could lead you either way. I used to think that this country would be able to do better through education, but these extremists have made their way here and polluted this too. Young, innocent minds that could’ve evolved into brilliant scientists, amazing artists, or extraordinary academics are manipulated to serve their extremist ideologies and perpetuate conflicts. It breaks my heart to see that the very tool that could’ve eventually helped this country come out of darkness is being used to take it deeper into it.
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Great post! While I agree with it mostly, I still do think there is room for debate here. If we look at education as just one - albeit, very strong - influencing agent in a sea of different agents, our perspective may change.
How much does an educated individual react to violence compared to a non-educated one? Would they instead be at a greater chance of proposing dialogue? How much does an educated individual buy into state propaganda? How much does that individual question what they're being told? I think in the right environment, the existence of education alone can make you more susceptible to holding a critical opinion.
i completely agree with the points mentioned in the post. education being a "dual-edged sword" can settle the conflict and even propagate it. and that is why the state and policy makers need to be careful when designing curriculums. the fact that it shapes the minds of the youth and is capable of imposing certain ideas on them is important to consider. but unfortunately, education is being used as a weapon to instill certain ideas and norms in Pakistan. The state-sponsored textbooks neglecting the atrocities of Pakistani army and promoting intolerant views and hate against Hindus which are also a religious minority in Pakistan and two examples of such acts
This is a very thoughtful post! The fact that education can resolve conflict as well as create conflict then begets the question: who should be in charge of making curriculum, and what should we teach? For example, you could teach about different sexualities and gender identities to move towards a more inclusive society, or you could teach "beta LGBTQ+ is haram" and breed hate and contempt. In a similar vein, you could promote equality between genders, or you could simply put a picture of a family on a textbook cover, showing the wife and the daughter sitting on the floor and the husband and the son on a sofa, automatically elevating the men (this is a reference to an SNC…
If we look into our education system and how Pakistan studies are taught in schools, sir showed us a video in class in which people from different religious groups were talking about how they felt about the Pakistan studies book that they read in school, conveying biased statements in books and making perceptions about people, through books, completely brainwashing a kids mind.
The resentment shown in the blog is indeed felt hard by the reader. This is traumatizing, shoking and to the very extreme, haunting for a person like me who has always seen "Education" in terms of brining awareness, peace, preach, knowledge, advancement and ultimately a cumulative success. However, to accept this is a reality, the deep reality that most of us just fade for now, but the reality to which our future is based upon. The very first question that hinged my mind was the purpose which lead these specific political parties or organizations to do this?, the thought behind it? and then I glance over with shock , the state of mind with which these people have thought to…