An Ethnographic Account of Educational Landscape in Pakistan: Myths, Trends, and Commitments

Abstract

Education in Pakistan is no longer a matter of indifference to the rest of the world. Typically, concern is focused on the role played by the madrasah (Islamic religious school; plural madaaris) as the dominant provider of education. The rise in the number of English-medium education institutions countrywide does not enter such accounts. This ethnographic study relates this topic to the pedagogic aspirations of Pakistanis asking, What is the role of English-medium schools in Pakistan and is it even the case that the majority of Pakistanis are markedly in favor of a predominantly religious education for their children? The study suggests that formal English-medium education is most parents’ real-world priority, fluency in English being a prerequisite for higher paying jobs in Pakistan.

Translanguaging and Multilingual Teaching and Writing Practices at a Pakistani University.

“…While multilingualism is the conversational norm, English knowledge is required of all university students, and many students arrive at university not knowing it or having had minimal exposure. Thus, although Pakistan is language-rich, English plays an exceedingly important role, first established during a colonial-influenced period, and now remaining a language of power influenced by its place of heritage and its promise of economic and symbolic capital (Bilal 2019) for Pakistan's voice in a global space. It has become commonly accepted that English has risen to be the dominant language of world communication, trade, diplomacy, and even upward social mobility (Aronin & Singleton 2008;Ashraf 2017).…”

Digital Ascendancy and Madrasah Education: The Influence of Media Technology on the Life-worlds of Female Madrasah Student

“…The British clogged the financial provision for the madrasahs through their introduction of "land reforms" which disadvantaged the Muslim landholders who were the principal supporters of education. The British also used the infamous Resumption Act (1828-1846) to authenticate their confiscation of the tax-free land grants that had sustained madrasahs for centuries (Bilal, 2019;Baig, 2012).…”

“…The purpose was to register all madrasahs under the same body to mainstream their undertakings. However, madrasahs to a large extent continue to work freely, with little or no government interference (Bilal, 2019).…”