Ghazala Anbreen
Education is a subject; Pakistan still needs to resort to many reforms for making it stand out in an international comity. This is attainable if we try to study the world class systems and try integrate some of the policies and practices in our system. For instance, Finland is a country with no national standardized exam before age 16, albeit, the teachers do conduct regular class assessments and there is no requirement of grade points for students. Teachers use games to teach. Here kids learn how to cook and even learn how to write poetry. Kids go to school and have a four to five-hour day. The kids start school between 8.00 and 9.00 Am to focus more. Studies reveal that more homework makes the worst grades, therefore, there is almost no homework for the kids at Finnish schools. Kids have the longest vacations ever. The students do not need uniforms to come at school. Their first exam is at the age of 16 years. These were the factors making Finland school system to remain the best for many years in the world. At 7 years the number of hours is 20 hours a week for the younger students which is the minimum. The individual teachers decide how much technology should be used in the class room and they decide the curriculum. In order to make the students learn life skills the young students are asked to leave class to work at school’s own students run café and they are also engaged in similar other constructive activities to enable them become a good and responsible citizen in the society. In Finland school lunches and books and excursions are free. Students sit with their friends and teachers and then they clean up themselves after lunches. The schools are not allowed to raise private funds or charge fees from parents. Everything is free for the students. They want their schools to have the equal opportunities for all.
All schools are equitably funded from taxation. The standard of teaching is quite high. There the career as a teacher is highly sought after. In Pakistan the teaching profession should be aligned with modern needs and demands by imbibing practical skills in the students. Public private partnership idea can also help making all this better and improvised In Finland, the teachers must be the Master’s degree holders. There are regular exams but the results are not publicly shared. The parents have high level of trusts on the schools. Finland is a tiny homogenous society. Its educational success offers many insights for the people. The society respects the teachers and they don’t question the teachers’ methodology. Teachers use games to teach that’s how kids learn best. Kids even learn to do woodwork and how to cook. Finland has a population of 5.63 million people. This country topped the PISA test for 12 years (200-20212). “PISA is the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment. Which measures 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges”. If we wish to study the reasons what is there in the education system on account of which its kids attain good marks, following findings will surface: Seven years age kids are enrolled in the schools and before seven years the kids are imparted the home education and encouraged maximum to enrich bonds with parents and elders. This approach is now being adopted by many other countries. The stationary, and school bags are free. At primary schools the students are not forced to wear uniform. Finland has been giving its kids free meals since 1948.
The meals usually consist of boiled potato, a fish peace, milk glass, bread, boiled vegetable and raw Vegetables. It is quite obvious that such a healthy mix of food also leads to good results. This approach, too, is now being followed in many other countries of the world. Non casual and informal sitting arrangements in the schools are adopted and it is believed that the actual purpose is instilling interest in the students. The kids are engaged in the activities which make them happy. We all know in the whole world, the need of strengthening family bond with the kids is preached more rigorously now as increasing use of social media has made our younger generations aloof from the parents, siblings and elders. By 2016 the home work in Finland was finished so that the kids can engage in social activities and have more time to spend with parents. The kids are given projects to find answers to different problems. After every 45 minutes there is a 15 minutes break to increase the focus. Contrary to the practice adopted in many of our schools where bright and average students are segregated in different sections, in Finland all kind of students are placed in one class. The studies are essentially in a non-traditional and more casual manner. For the initial 6 years the kids do not have to give any exam. Teachers do their own evaluation and they convey their findings to the parents.
Teachers are highly paid there and the teaching profession is considered one of the most prestigious, revered and venerated. Teachers have to work 4 hours daily and every week they are given two hours training. Every teacher who is assigned a particular class has to continue with the same students for 6 years and teaches every subject. If the teachers are frequently changed, the kids cannot synchronize with them. This idea also helps students save time. If the students go at 8.00 AM, they come back at 12.00 hrs. In the progressive classes the duration is gradually increased to 6 hours. They are imparted the most important life skills and hands-on trainings are given to the kids. Phenomena based learning (PBL) is an integral part of their academic activities. Finland has adopted this in essence. Instead of bookish knowledge the kids are given real life problems and asked to do research, make questions and find solutions. For instance, a teacher if asks the students how can we go for love of science, the students reply that we should take science subjects. Likewise, if they are tasked with conducting a study on what a habitat is then they can design a puppet show and through acting skills they may assimilate and exhibit this and communicate. Hence three subjects are covered in one topic i.e. studying environment, making the model of a habitat through art work and then exhibiting through communication through some skit in front of the audience.
Another example is the assignment given to the students how Finland team can win Euro cup of football. The Finnish students would systematically conduct a study. For this they may research on Finland team, then they will look at Europe map and their teams. After that they would explore their strengths and weaknesses and study the pay structure of football players of different European teams, where they play, how they play. At the end they will design a software in which they will show what is the strength and weakness of every opposing team player (the SWOT analysis). In another assignment given to 8th graders the students were asked to make a computer application of traffic control system. These examples reveal the students from the initial levels are encouraged to develop conceptual, logical and analytical skills through real time applications thus polishing their cognitive abilities. In China, the kids take naps at class and the teachers encourage them as it helps them recharge energies and their studies after waking up but the timing at 7.00 am and ends at 5.00 am. In Japan, people believe that doing work at schools will make the students become a good citizen. In Japan, many students are dropped off at a short distance from their school so that they can walk the remaining way on their own. This practice is meant to build confidence, independence, and a sense of responsibility among children from an early age. Pakistan can outperform other countries in the realm of education if it adopts such inclusive and child-friendly approaches.
In this way the purpose of true education will be rightfully served which is academic success and a pathway to creating happier, more capable citizens able to contribute meaningfully to society. We have to think is our education system child-centric and emotionally supportive? In Denmark if a teacher thinks that some student’s grades are declining or he is faced with some kind of depression, he will instantly stop teaching then and there and pay emphasis on finding the cause of the change in hisbehavior. The teachers arrange sitting with parents and address the issue and then resume the academic activities. I wonder, how many of our schools adopt this approach in tangible, plausible and concrete terms?