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Why Arts and Culture Matter in our Classrooms
Instilling arts and cultural education in classrooms have gained renewed importance due to the complexities of a rapidly evolving globalized world. During the World Conference on Arts and Education held in Abu Dhabi in 2024, UNESCO published a Framework for Culture and Arts Education which states, “We stress the critical need to enable all learners to fully benefit from the opportunities of culture and education through inclusive access to quality education, respecting and engaging with the diversity of peoples and cultures as a positive and transformative force, and expanding sustainable lifestyles.”
In Season 3, Episode 8 of Let’s Talk Education, we sat down with Harris Khalique, Secretary General Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and President, Board of Directors, Society for Access to Quality Education (SAQE) to discuss the state of arts and cultural education in Pakistan as well as the vital role of data-driven research for education policy reforms. A celebrated poet and writer, Harris Khalique understands the crucial role of arts, culture, and literature in a person’s life, highlighting the steady decline of arts particularly performing arts in our society.
Talking about the reasons for this decline, he stated: “Humanities, liberal and performing arts have been deliberately suppressed. This has been done in two ways. Firstly, religion was employed, and secondly, a specific type of technological education, not scientific thinking but technological education has been promoted.” Therefore, a certain type of religiosity was propagated and religion was employed to declare performing arts as immoral.
The Lasting Legacy of Colonialism
Furthermore, Harris Khalique stated how it was important to be aware of our history and the impact colonialism has had on our society. “Colonialism redefined several major aspects of our society and we continued that legacy. Pakistan is a successor state of the British Raj instead of a modern republic. We need to change this and this can only be achieved through education, particularly through modern education.” Clarifying what he means by modern education, Mr. Khalique explained how modern education does not imply abandoning our cultural values and traditions. Instead, it emphasizes learning from these rich legacies and incorporating their positive aspects into the education system. Therefore, instilling arts and culture in our classrooms along with a keen understanding of our colonial legacy can create an education system that is inclusive and informed by data-driven research.
Role of Research and Data for Effective Education Policy-making
Referring to the dire state of education in Pakistan, Areebah Shahid, the host, pointed out that Pakistan currently has the highest number of OOSC (out-of-school children) in the world (26.2 million). Coupled with extreme social disparity in the country, equity in education becomes a multi-layered issue. “What can be done about this on a war footing?”, she asked.
According to Harris Khalique, the most important thing is to make policies with consistency and ensure their continuity. This cannot be done overnight and on a war footing. Pakistan is often referred to as a “graveyard of reforms and policies” due to the extensive experimentation in education reforms over the years. The core issues lie in the lack of policy consistency and the absence of evidence-driven, research-informed policy frameworks.
Article 25-A of our constitution “has made education justiciable.” Hence, it is imperative for the all the political forces of the country to forget their differences and vested interests and sit down together to reach “a consensus on providing access to universal and quality education.”
Concluding on a positive note, Harris Khalique emphasized the need to continue pushing the envelope and persist with our advocacy efforts. This is the only way for things to move forward.
Click below to access the full podcast episode:
