Saturday Off May Sound Like Relief, But Can We Afford to Lose More Learning Time?
By: Aubaid Ahmad Akhoon
“In this age, education is the remedy for the ailments of the nation.”
These are the words of wisdom said by Allama Muhammad Iqbal that continue to resonate with the same relevance and significance today as they did decades ago. Hakeem-ul-Ummat Allama Iqbal was a man of foresight who recognized the importance of knowledge, intellect, and awakening for the survival and prosperity of the nation.
Allama Iqbal was not only a product of his own traditional Islamic education but also had exposure to the best of the modern world. He studied abroad and was familiar with the prevailing educational and philosophical ethos of Europe. Allama Iqbal’s message was one of self-awakening and urged Muslims to acquire knowledge, scientific temperament, character, and self-discipline.
But his message finds a special place when we discuss the future of our school education.
Saturday Off May Sound Like Relief, But Can We Afford to Lose More Learning Time?
A Saturday off may sound tempting, but when our education system needs more learning time, quality, and resources to compete in this cutthroat world, this proposal should be put up for public scrutiny and discussion.
A Saturday off may seem innocuous, but education policy cannot be based on feelings alone.
The world our children inhabit is becoming increasingly more competitive by the day. Cutting-edge technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, data science, and digitalization are taking over the world. Other nations are preparing their youth for this reality. Unless we can provide better quality, more efficient, and effective learning opportunities, I think cutting out a Saturday off would only adversely impact the children’s overall learning time.
Our children already lose considerable time due to winter vacations, summer vacations, public holidays, election holidays, examination holidays, and other sundry holidays even school teachers are routinely deployed for national census operations as enumerators and supervisors, though this practice often sparks debate over staffing shortages and classroom disruptions
It is only right that we think about the cumulative impact of all these holidays on the overall learning curve of the children. After all, Kashmir is a land of beauty, but that also means unpredictable and adverse weather conditions, which may necessitate the closure of schools.
One could say it is unfair to deprive the children of Kashmir of Sundays as a holiday considering their already numerous holidays.
But if the policymakers genuinely wanted to provide more learning opportunities for Kashmir, they could have invested more in winter infrastructure, better canteen facilities, and better infrastructure for children.
The point I am trying to make is that unless we provide better classroom facilities and ensure efficient teaching-learning, any reduction in the number of school days or time will do more harm than good.
A child’s learning, especially in foundational concepts and subjects like maths and physics, is something that is cumulative. You cannot just read a little more to compensate for the loss of a day of instruction.
Education is not a water tap that you can just turn on and off at will.
If the education system is under strain, trying to reduce the school time by adding one more holiday will not be the answer. Fix the classroom, not the calendar. If the burden on the children is the issue, fix counselling, sports, and co-curricular activities.
Fix the teacher, not the curriculum
If the teachers need training in modern pedagogy, give them that. If they need support in reducing administrative workload, free them from that. Let us provide better infrastructure and make schools child-friendly. Let us focus on remedial education to bridge the gaps for children who find it difficult to keep pace with the rest. If the children are tired, let us make them feel excited about learning, instead of just giving them more holidays.
A sound education system needs to have strong teachers, strong institutions, and strong students. It needs to have a professional attitude towards education wherein professional skills development is encouraged.
Our children have already borne the brunt of too many sundry holidays.
Kashmir’s children have had to deal with too many uncertainties in their educational lives. And yet, they continue to flock to their schools in droves with a passion. Their parents want to give them a shot at a better life through education. For the children, especially in Kashmir, education is not just a means to an end; it is the end in itself.
Hence I urge the policymakers to be a little more careful the next time they think about dole out more holidays to the children. Instead of asking the question, “how many holidays can we give to the children”, let us ask them, “how can we make the school days more meaningful for the children?”
That is the question that an education system that aspires to excellence would ask.
We cannot prepare global citizens with a shrinking academic calendar. We often talk about making our children globally competitive, but to do that, we need to understand what global competitiveness entails. It is not just about certificates and degrees; it is about knowledge, skill, discipline, curiosity, communication, scientific temperament, creativity, and resilience in the face of adversity.
Let us not confuse convenience with education.
Our education system needs oxygen, not another tapering off. The metaphor may be harsh, but I think it is necessary. Our education system does not need cuts; it needs an infusion of boldness and higher expectations.
Our education system does not need to have less; it needs to have more and better. Our system does not need fewer opportunities to learn; it needs more opportunities to learn.
I think it is important to recognize that if our education system is already under strain, reducing the number of school days without adequate compensatory measures may only exacerbate the problem.
We cannot break the wings of our young shaheens in the name of protecting them. We must strengthen their wings, arm them with better knowledge, and provide better opportunities to hone their skills.
We cannot deprive them of opportunities to learn and grow just to make their lives “easier”.
Let me urge the policymakers to think through the consequences of the proposed Saturday off before they make the final decision.
Let them put up for public discourse the following questions:
what will be the impact on the instructional hours, learning outcomes, examination results,
literacy and numeracy levels,
teacher workload, and the overall academic calendar, before finalizing any such policy.
The views of teachers, parents, educationists, and students, as well as independent experts, must be taken into account while designing the policy framework.
The education policy must be guided by the imperatives of long-term national goals and the best interests of the children and not by populist demands and convenience.
After all, we cannot get back the lost years that we have already invested in our children. It is for their future generation that Iqbal’s message continues to echo even after a century.
Allama Iqbal often warned the Muslims about the dangers of complacency and urged them to move forward, leaving behind the comforts of their past glory. His message was one of self-awakening and urged people to compete with the best in the world. The world is a competitive place, and if we want our children to thrive in it, they need to develop a spirit of competitiveness rooted in self-belief, resilience, and courage. The world does not stand still, and neither should our education system.
So, let us ask ourselves whether we want to equip our children to be leaders, competitors, and innovators or just make their lives easier. Let Saturday continue to be a day of learning unless and until there is sufficient evidence to show that it will not have adverse effects on the children’s overall learning outcomes. Let us focus on making the school days more meaningful rather than just adding more holidays to the children’s already bloated holiday calendar.
Let us make our children fly and not cut their wings. We have struggled to rebuild their wings; let us not cut them now in the name of giving them more holidays.
akhoon.aubaid@gmail.com
