The Importance of Education

The importance of education is quite clear. Education is the knowledge of putting one's potentials to maximum use. One can safely say that a human being is not in the proper sense till he is educated.
This importance of education is basically for two reasons. The first is that the training of a human mind is not complete without education. Education makes man a right thinker. It tells man how to think and how to make decision.
The second reason for the importance of education is that only through the attainment of education, man is enabled to receive information from the external world; to acquaint himself with past history and receive all necessary information regarding the present. Without education, man is as though in a closed room and with education he finds himself in a room with all its windows open towards outside world.
This is why Islam attaches such great importance to knowledge and education. When the Qur'an began to be revealed, the first word of its first verse was 'Iqra' that is, read. Education is thus the starting point of every human activity.
A scholar (alim) is accorded great respect in the hadith. According to a hadith the ink of the pen of a scholar is more precious than the blood of a martyr. The reason being that a martyr is engaged in defense work while an alim (scholar) builds individuals and nations along positive lines. In this way he bestows a real life to the world.
The Qur'an repeatedly asks us to observe the earth and the heavens. This instills in man a desire to learn natural science. All the books of hadith have a chapter on knowledge (ilm). In Sahih Bukhari there is a chapter entitled "The virtue of one who acquires ilm (learning) and imparts that to others."
How great importance is attached to learning in Islam can be understood from an event in the life of the Prophet. At the battle of Badr in which the Prophet gained victory over his opponents, seventy people of the enemy rank were taken prisoner. These prisoners of war were literate people. In order to benefit from their education the Prophet declared that if one prisoner teaches ten Medinan children how to read and write, this will serve as his ransom and he will be set free.
This was the first school in the history of Islam established by the Prophet himself with all its teachers being non-Muslims. Furthermore, they were all war prisoners. There was all the risk that after their release they will again create problems for Islam and Muslims. This Sunnah of the Prophet shows that education is to be received whatever the risk involved.
On the one hand Islam places great emphasis on learning, on the other, all those factors which are necessary to make progress in learning have provided by God. One of these special factors is the freedom of research. One example of it is that in Makkah, the birthplace of the Prophet, dates were not grown. Afterwards the Prophet migrated to Medina, the city of dates. One day the Prophet saw that some people were atop the date trees busy in doing something. On being asked what they were engaged in, they replied that they were pollinating.
The Prophet suggested them not to do so. The following year date yield was considerably very low. The Prophet enquired them of the reason. They told him that the date crop depended on pollination. Since he suggested them to do otherwise, they had refrained from that. The Prophet then told them to go on doing as they used to, and that, "You know the worldly matters better than me."
In this way, the Prophet of Islam separated scientific research from religion. This meant that in the world of nature, man must enjoy full opportunity to conduct free research and adopt the conclusions arrived at after the research. Placing such great emphasis on knowledge. This process began in Makkah, then it reached to Medina and Damascus, afterwards it found its center in Baghdad. Ultimately it entered Spain. Spain flourished with extraordinary progress made in various academic and scientific disciplines. This flood of scientific progress entered Europe and ultimately resulted in producing the modern scientific age.

Curriculum Revision

Government of Pakistan has appointed Higher Education Commission (erstwhile UGC) as the competent authority for the supervision of curricula and text-books beyond class XII. HEC has also been entrusted to maintain the standards of education in keeping with the nation’s changing social and economic needs which are compatible with the basic national ideology. The aim is to ascend from general education to more purposeful agro-technical education. The Curriculum Section guides all Degree colleges, Universities and other Institutions of higher learning in designing curricula that provides appropriate content regarding Basic Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities along with Engineering and Technology. It also guides them to establish minimum standards for good governance and management of Institutions. HEC may also advise the Chancellor of any institution on its statutes and regulation. Educational programs are thus designed not only to meet the needs of the employment market but to promote the study of Basic and Applied Sciences in every field of national and international importance. HEC may also advise the Chancellor of any institution on its statutes and regulation.
National Curriculum Revision Committee

Initiatives in Social Sciences

Quality education in Social Sciences & Humanities plays a major role in the socio-economic development of any country. In Pakistan there has been sporadic development in this sector over the past years but no substantial effort has been undertaken until recently. The Higher Education Commission since its inception in year 2003 has taken a number of initiatives ranging from human resource development to providing research grants, and developing linkages at both National and International level in order to revive quality education in Social sciences and Humanities.
A committee on development of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities in Pakistan comprising of eminent social scientists has been constituted by Chairman, Higher Education Commission. This committee has been given the task to deliberate upon, identify the problems and to recommend immediate, short term as well as long term measures to make social sciences education, vibrant, dynamic and attuned to the present and future needs of Pakistan. The committee is currently being chaired by Dr. Ishrat Husain.
At a cost of Rs 24 Million the Higher Education Commission has also established the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Pakistan. It provides funding for Research Grants, helps in establishing National/International linkages between universities and provides funds for organizing Seminars and Conferences. A well equipped library along with database of faculty and their related research is also being established for the researchers through the research council.
At present the total amount allocated for all ongoing projects related to the promotion Social Sciences; Arts & Humanities by HEC is Rs.4.744 billion. This amount is being spent through initiatives taken by HEC focusing over three main dimensions:

Foreign Students Admission

Higher Education Commission holds the mandate to promote higher education with in the country while encouraging Pakistani nationals as well as foreign nationals to seek admission in Universities and higher educational institutions of Pakistan. Currently, foreign students from different countries are studying in various educational institutions all over Pakistan.
The professional institutions of Pakistan are rated amongst the best institutions of this region. Foreign students from South Asia, Central Asia, Arab Gulf region along with students from various developing and under developed countries of Africa and South East Asia consider the institutions of Pakistan as excellent learning institutes.
Recently, Higher Education Commission with the collaboration of various administrative agencies which includes Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior and Economic Affairs Division has streamlined the admission procedure (see below) for foreign students. The main objective behind this revision of admission procedure was to facilitate and encourage foreign nationals to seek admission in Pakistan.
Currently, there are two broad categories in which foreign students apply for admission. The detail information regarding these two categories are given below:

Life and culture

Immersing yourself in a different culture is a great way to develop a broader view of the world. Once you’ve arrived in the UK a vibrant multi-ethnic culture will be all around you, with lots of exciting experiences to discover, traditions, music, celebrations, accents, people to meet and places to visit. The UK has its own fascinating customs but you may find many that are familiar to you. It is such a cosmopolitan society you may find you settle in faster than you think. Read more about life and culture in the UK.

Living in the UK

Where you live can have a big impact on how much you enjoy your studies in the UK, so choose your home away from home with care. You have many options, depending on your circumstances, such as boarding, staying in halls of residence, renting a privately owned property, or homestay with a UK family.

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