LearnOBots is taking education to the future
STEAM Engines: Powering Pakistan’s Future
Challenges and opportunities in the 21st Century
If we could show a smartphone to someone from a century ago, chances are they’d marvel and think it’s magic. Couldn’t blame them though, because looking back, it does seem wondrous how far technology has developed. We can transfer information and connect ideas globally, not through the use of spells, but through EM waves. We can cure leprosy, fly in the air, and more recently, even read minds. But for all this scientific wizardry, we need wizards, and to train wizards, we need Hogwarts. That’s where STEAM education comes in. An acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, STEAM focuses on training youth to be innovative, inquisitive and creative. Instead of spells, they are taught codes and equations.
Hogwarts is in Wales, but STEAM education is a reality here in Pakistan too. LearnOBots, created in 2014, aims to create a new generation of Pakistani thinkers and leaders.
Pakistan, unfortunately, has a 62.3% literacy rate, and over 22 million kids are out of school. Moreover, many educated Pakistanis end up leaving for abroad in search of better career opportunities. Nonetheless, LearnOBots is committed to developing STEAM in Pakistan and creating fertile ground for research and development.
Children working on STEAM
History of STEAM in Pakistan
Pakistan has unfortunately historically suffered in the fields of science and art. India’s IT industry, compared to Pakistan’s, is some 50 times larger. India also has more physicians per 1000 people compared to Pakistan, though the disparity is slight–1.2 to 1.3.
Education in arts and design has been stymied due to social stigmas and biases. Many parents don’t want their children to study the arts as they consider the field an unreliable source of income. My 8th-grade physics teacher once told me that studying the humanities “would be a waste of my parent’s money”. Pakistan has, nevertheless, continued to produce virtuosos. The NCA in Lahore and SADA in Islamabad lead in this field.
The curriculum taught is also only a part of the issue. Research has shown that despite a steady increase in teachers’ salaries, there has been no significant increase in the quality of education, showing that the teaching method is also quite important. To advance beyond our regional competition, Pakistan needs to take advantage of state-of-the-art teaching methods and tools, such as e-learning and data analysis. There is also a need to engage younger children and cultivate a passion for technology and arts in them through books, games and toys as well as lesson plans.
The Present Situation in 2022
In recent years, several advancements have been made in STEAM education. Just last week the new Shahbaz Sharif government signed memorandums with 8 major universities at a conference in Islamabad. Faculty at the institutions are to be trained to international standards, intending to impact 100,000 students and 5,000 teachers within the first year.
The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology also began a talent farming programme in Balochistan to empower locals and bring STEAM to even far-flung areas of Pakistan.
As reported by Dawn News, the last government also took some major steps to develop STEAM education, with projects aimed toward Metric and FSc students. Children were facilitated with robotics laboratories and allowed to indulge in their curiosities.
The China Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) has also played a major part in the recent socio-economic development of Pakistan. Many technology parks, incubation centres and tax-free zones have sprung up as a result of the multi-billion dollar project, and research in artificial intelligence has burgeoned. Pakistan’s IT industry has been growing exponentially and the job market has increased greatly–in recent years Pakistan has ranked 4th in freelance development worldwide. Startups and businesses have also been steadily popping up, such as Bykea, ELO and Tajir.
Much like LearnOBot, there are also other nonprofits and NGOs working in Pakistan to promote STEAM education. The Malala Foundation has been working to bridge gender-related issues when it comes to STEAM education. In a similar spirit, the US Embassy in Pakistan recently announced grants for women in STEAM.
Think. Explore. Make
Standing At 9-&-¾:An express to the future
We, as a nation, are not at Hogwarts yet, so to speak. Rather, we’re standing at the station, waiting for the train that’ll take us there. We are on the cusp of magic. Every aspect of Pakistani society needs to come together and work for this goal for the sake of our nation’s future. For a world plagued with inequality and climate issues, we must equip our generation with the education needed to overcome and solve these problems.
Education in Pakistan has shown promise in recent years–NUST ranks 74th in Asia and within the top 400 worldwide. Other universities like LUMS, GIKI and PEIAS follow closely behind. But many challenges shackle us currently, such as lack of funding, planning and prevailing prejudices.
