3. Technical Education

^s====g?=:TTTiillli il rmmtinn is widely different from ordinary academic education. The ordinary or liberal education aims at training the mind and improving the intellect. On the contrary the aim of technical education is to teach the students a particular kind of trade or handicraft and giving them training in a special field of industry as the practical application of general principles and methods of scientific studies to the teaching of some special kind of trade, handicraft, skill or profession. A literary education may develop the mind, polish the emotion and nourish the artistic side of man but it does not suit to each and every man alike. Technical education has a utilitarian motive behind it as its purpose is to make us develop our manual capacity and mechanical skill and thus not only earn our livelihood but also become useful member of the society from the economics point of view. The importance of technical education is much more obvious in our country. As is known to all of us, more than seventy percent of our population depends upon agriculture and another ten percent on industries. Therefore, it will be sheer injustice to make education merely liberal and thus deprive our youths from learning the skill and art of manual professions. In the modern era of scientific and industrial advancement we cannot keep pac365 The Study of Education with other countries of the world in the race towards progress and prosperity unless our educationists give due attention to introduce technical education in our school and universities. In this way they can correct the whole system of education which is wholly solely liberal and lop-sided. In the words of an eminent American scholar, "There are two obvious kinds of education, one teaches us how to live and the other how to make living". This is a sorry affair of state that in our country we are taught much "how to live" before we know how to make a living. We are made to know about the plays of eminent dramatists the poems of renowned poets or the chronology of historical events but we know little how to handle a machine, how to drive an engine or how to operate a plant in a factory. This is why our present day student faces much trouble when he leaves the school or college. He runs from pillar to post and from post to pillar in order to search suitable job for himself. How much degrees or diplomas he may possess but everywhere he is responded with the words "No vacancy". The need of the hour is to train our boys and girls in some special field of industry, trade, handicraft or other manual profession so that the end of their education career may not bring them despair and despondency but enable them to occupy a suitable employment for themselves. We live in a scientific, industrial age and technical education is a necessity of our times. Without developing the industrial sector the whole system would come to a standstill. It is the foremost duty 'of every country to see that a sufficient number of its people attain the necessary technical training to cope with the essential work of the factories. A purely literary education should be imparted to a certain class of population who have a natural inclination towards it. But in an era of science and technology the majority of people should be given technical education. Doing manual

work is no longer an undignified activity but now people look manual workers with honour and reverence. It is the I p \\366 The Study of Education blessing of technical education that has given the labour class a high status in the present day world. Besides many other advantages of technical education the habit of doing manual work may make us healthy, stout and strong. Handling tools in the workshop is a kind of physical exercise that puts a strain on our muscles, making us smart and active. It cultivates in us the virtue of patience, faith and diligence. Above all we realize the dignity of labour and practically learn that work is worship if honestly undertaken. In old days the manual workers were looked down upon with contempt but with the encouragement of technical education this trend has completely vanished. In the modern age the distinction between mental and manual labour has completely disappeared and the working class is now exercising influence and acquired a great deal of honour and dignity. Besides developing technical education and increasing skilled man-power, the importance of ordinary or liberal education is also a reality. A true form of education is one which aims at full and normal development of all the faculties of a person. Man has a body a mind and a soul and development of all these three aspects should be the aim of education. A man does not live by bread alone because he has not only a stomach but also a mind to think and a heart to feel. A famous scholar Canning has aptly said, " A man has to be educated not because he has to make shoes nails and pins but because he is a man" Mere technical education and proficiency in some trade or industry will not inculcate in him the qualities and characteristics that are required for a useful citizen. Therefore, literary education should also be given due importance. Nevertheless in Pakistan there is a lot of institutions imparting ordinary or liberal education but from industrial and technical point of view Pakistan is a backward country. In order to push forwards our country towards technical 367 The Study of Education and industrial development there is a great need of introducing technical education in our schools and colleges. Eradicating poverty and overcoming the problem of unemployment

is impossible without it. Therefore our government should take concrete steps towards this direction. In foreign countries full impetus is given to technical education bringing them enormous wealth and prosperity. On the other hand our government sends a large number of students abroad for technical training. This consumes a lot of our foreign exchange. There fore opening more technical schools and college is the need of the hour. ISSUES IN HIGHER EDUCATION It is a fact universally acknowledged that education plays a vital role in the social, political and economic development of a country. Without education progress in any sector is inconceivable because it is through education that makes a man to promote his human qualities and develop in him those virtues which are useful not only for him but for the society as a whole. That is why the process of education should continue from cradle to grave. Today educational institutions are busy imparting both kinds of technical and liberal education. The cultural heritage is step by step transferred to the younger generation. Every country has its own education system wrought according to her own requirements reflecting the ideology' of that particular country. In Pakistan the system has been classified into three categories or levels. In the first place there is primary education followed by secondary level and thirdly there is college or university level. Th[e primary or secondary level of education has its own problems. We have to concentrate here on issues faced by ems. We have to concentrate us on higher level. Thee