Professor Ahsan Iqbal, the federal minister for planning, development and special initiatives, said on Thursday that Pakistan needs a basic overhaul of its education system. Speaking during a visit to two Islamabad model colleges, he urged schools to move students away from memorising answers and toward critical thinking, creativity and inquiry. Ahsan Iqbal education reform, in his telling, is about turning classrooms into places where students question and build knowledge rather than repeat it.
What the minister said
The remarks came during a visit to the Islamabad Model College for Boys and the Islamabad Model College for Girls at Golra Mor, where he reviewed ongoing reforms in information and communication technology (ICT) education. He said the country must break away from an education system rooted in the colonial era, which he described as designed to produce clerks rather than independent thinkers and innovators.
He said schools should nurture students who can question, explore and create knowledge, instead of merely memorising information and reproducing textbook answers. “In the coming era, rote learning will not succeed,” he said, adding that critical thinking, creativity and collective competence would. He asked teachers to go beyond conventional classroom methods and use study, observation and practical experience to build students’ creative abilities.
Ahsan Iqbal also said that asking questions is often discouraged in Pakistani society, where students are expected to stay silent. “We have an anti-question bias,” he said. Teachers, in his view, must welcome curiosity and create an environment where inquiry is possible.
Why the change matters, he argued
The minister said Pakistan had gradually become a consumer rather than a creator of knowledge, relying heavily on books and ideas produced elsewhere. Referring to the Quranic emphasis on reflection and observation, he said students should be encouraged to explore the universe and develop a spirit of inquiry rather than remain passive recipients of information. “The factory of knowledge creation has been shut down. We have to revive that factory,” he said.
He said the ongoing reforms aim to free the education system from the legacy of colonial thinking and to equip young people with the intellectual capabilities the emerging era requires. He also invited teachers and education officials to share practical suggestions and point out weaknesses that need attention, which is the clearest call to action in his remarks.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Ahsan Iqbal ne kaha hai ke Pakistan ko taleem ka nizam badalna hoga, taake bachay rattay lagane ke bajaye sawal poochein aur soch kar cheezein samjhein. Unke mutabiq ab rote learning kaam nahi aayegi, aur tanqeedi soch, takhleeq aur ijtimai salahiyat ahmiyat rakhti hai. Classroom mein sawal poochne ka mahol bana kar aur practical tajurbay ke zariye students ki salahiyat behter ho sakti hai. Abhi tak ki remarks mein nisab ya imtihan mein kisi tabdeeli ka zikr nahi hua.
