The rise of the rat race for a lavish life, in short, overindulgence, has made corruption an inherent element of our culture resulting in a sharp increase in chronic tension, worry, and burnout, especially in our urban society. The unending chase for achievement and material gains is showing its negative impacts even on our youth, eventually changing their psychological behaviour and social well-being. The sad fact is that Generation Z is very badly affected by lavish lifestyles. The overindulgence is taking its toll. So now is the time to develop a kind of education model that fulfills the purpose of shaping a morally upright society.
So, there is an urgent need to tailor an education system that takes care of the culture and moral values of our youth. We need a system that offers a structured framework for individuals to gain knowledge, develop critical thinking, and acquire skills necessary to contribute meaningfully to society in accordance with our moral values.
It is pertinent to mention here that education has been a social concern since the time of ancient philosophers and thinkers. Plato and Aristotle were early advocates of the socialisation of education, emphasising the need for societies to produce qualified human resources. Plato focused on abstract ideas and the pursuit of knowledge, while Aristotle highlighted the importance of practical skills and moral development.
Later, Saint Augustine, a theologian and philosopher, emphasised the role of parents and educators in shaping children’s learning. He believed education should bring people closer to God and prepare them for life in heaven. He stressed that effective teaching depended on the attitude and skills of teachers, as these determined how much the students enjoyed learning.
Applying the ideas of thinkers like Ibn Khaldun, Pakistan could reconstruct its education system in a way that aligns with its cultural values, nurtures intellectual growth, and develops a generation capable of contributing meaningfully to society
Prof. Dr. Asad Zaman, former vice chancellor of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), while expressing his strong criticism of the current educational system during his keynote address at the 8th WIEFC 2025 hosted recently by Minhaj University Lahore, described our existing education system as colonial and overly reliant on British and American models, which he argued, have negatively impacted Pakistan’s moral and social values.
Dr. Zaman proposed that instead of modifying British and American systems, Pakistan should build its social sciences based on the work of Ibn Khaldun, the renowned Muslim historian and scholar. He emphasised that Ibn Khaldun’s ideas, as outlined in his seminal work ‘Muqaddimah’, represent a model rooted in Islamic thought and academic dominance of the Muslim world at the time.
Dr. Zaman said that rebuilding the educational framework requires moving away from reliance on Western thinkers like Plato and Aristotle and instead drawing inspiration from Muslim scholars such as Al-Ghazali, Ibn Arabi, and Ibn Rushd. Since the upbringing of students is directly linked to education, the education model of these Muslim scholars can play a pivotal role in developing the student's character building. The role of educational institutions is also important to fortifying social changes
Ibn Khaldun was a unique thinker who combined the philosophical perspectives of Ibn Rushd with the practical insights of Al-Ghazali. He introduced a new, practical form of logic to replace Aristotle’s idealistic and paternalistic approach. Ibn Khaldun’s educational philosophy emphasised analytical thinking and problem-solving. He criticised teaching methods that merely focused on rote memorisation and discouraged students from analysing and understanding concepts on their own. According to him, such methods stifled creativity, innovation, and intellectual development.
For him, the students often became passive listeners due to teaching strategies that discouraged participation and critical thinking. This lack of engagement led to a failure to develop reasoning and problem-solving skills. Ibn Khaldun was particularly critical of teachers who failed to focus on effective teaching strategies. He noted that mixing advanced topics with basics and starting lessons with complex ideas made learning unnecessarily difficult and frustrating for the students. He advised the teachers to guide students from the concrete to the abstract, moving from the known to the unknown, to develop better understanding and motivation.
By revisiting and applying the ideas of thinkers like Ibn Khaldun, Pakistan could reconstruct its education system in a way that aligns with its cultural values, nurtures intellectual growth, and develops a generation capable of contributing meaningfully to society and the global community.
The time has come for the government to develop a team of educationists who are passionate about the nation's education system—a team of varying voices who have actual expertise, knowledge, and research on education systems and their components.