‘Expectations of parents from children taking out joy from learning’

Educators, teachers and policymakers at a seminar organised by the Pakistan Women’s Foundation for Peace (PWFP) ahead of World Teachers’ Day (October 5) underscored the urgent need to empower teachers through training, skills development and pedagogical support, warning that technology alone cannot improve learning outcomes without capable educators. Dr Farid F Panjwani, professor and dean, Institute of Educational Development, Aga Khan University Pakistan, said parents’ expectations from their children is a global phenomenon. “It is not only taking out joy from learning but also creating a lot of mental health issues.” He clarified that the problem here is not really with parents or the education system but with the economic system that surrounds us. “In the past 30-40 years, we’ve had a type of capitalism that has allowed money to be accumulated in a smaller and smaller number of hands.”