Promoting tech culture

Hands-on computer, mathematics classes rare in Pakistan

Computer programming, and the craze surrounding it, has been around for quite a few years. Around 10 to 15 years ago, government and private firms popularised the field among privileged circles as an essential skill a student needs for the ‘job market of the future.’

Nevertheless, many countries around the world, including some of the wealthiest still struggle to understand its importance, let alone provide their youth with this kind of education.

Hands-on computer and mathematics classes are rare, if we account for all educational institutions, everywhere — and the case is not different for Pakistan. In a society where young adults have all the information about political and social issues at their fingertips, the relevance of technology and the interconnectedness of our world is rarely understood.

To build an understanding of how some youth move ahead of others, Bol News reached out to young programmers currently working in the field.

Taha Rushain is a senior data scientist at a multinational data and software company. On a question about Pakistan’s tech sector, he commented, “When it comes to focusing IT-related startups, we are lagging behind many countries, especially our neighbour India. However, we can catch up if we can attract investment in this field. Our fragile and unstable socio-political environment remains the biggest obstacle in securing foreign investment in technology.”

He added, “Our policymakers need to create an environment where startup culture is attainable and accessible with ample opportunities. And also where secure investment could be attracted.”

Graduation courses are pretty much aligned and have a chalked-out structure to learn coding and other computer science subjects in a systematic way. But even then, we hardly see quality courses offered in the latest technologies due to a lack of experience and expertise in those domains.

The world of computer science evolves much faster than any other industry and requires regressive learning and relearning. Given the fact that we are borrowers of technology, not inventors, we aren’t agile enough to adopt new technologies.

Universities should offer programmes in new disruptive technologies like blockchain, applied artificial intelligence and self-driving automobiles.

Another problem in our learning culture is that coding is mostly confined to the university level due to which the adoption and familiarity are not as widespread as they should be. The problem lies in our old-school teaching style and lack of focus on technological development at the school level.

The government should make intro-level coding compulsory for schools and it should be part of the school curriculum from the primary level.

Experiential learning, which involves activity-based learning, should be adopted instead of our usual rote-learning culture. To accomplish this in our schools, teacher training is essential. It’s about time we start modernising our education system to make it fruitful for future generations.

On a question related to the importance of IT and coding, Rushain asserted that coding should be learnt right away. “It’s never too late to learn anything new and online learning platforms are your friends. Python is a very popular and beginner-friendly language to start with. Having command over python will give the learner an edge whether you use it for day-to-day analysis, for automating your redundant tasks or for any other activity.”

Muhammad Shahrukh Khan, a functional consultant working at a technology and business services company stated, “In my opinion, this entirely depends on the individual’s circumstances and the place he or she is graduating from. People can have very bland or tough academic tenures even from bona fide institutions. This is especially true if they are going through a struggling phase in their personal lives.”

He added that in Pakistan, a support system from family and friends was necessary to enable students and knowledge workers to solely focus on their academics, instead of worrying about their future.

“There is a norm amongst computer science graduates in Pakistan that we work in our final year for either experience, growth or money. I remember I was strictly forbidden to do so to solely focus on graduating without any distractions. And being enrolled in a fine university greatly improved my learning prospects in the technology field.”

On the matter of coding and other core disciplines, Khan personally loves to code. “It was in the System’s Programming course during undergraduate studies that I realised that coding is sometimes, if not most of the time, frustrating and panic-inducing. Those who are stuck in error handling know what I’m talking about.”

He further said, “Upon realising this, I washed my hands of the idea of becoming a professional programmer and sought to pursue other disciplines within the computer science umbrella. That is when I realised I can have a prosperous career as either a data analyst or a business analyst. Both fields are built on the foundations of IT but free from the gruelling trauma of coding.”

So yes, reimagining our education system and providing a solid academic background to the youth is the only way we can instil the right values in our people. “My university background is why I am capable of arming myself with the knowledge and skills to pursue both these fields.”

On a question regarding the impact of the domestic environment and leadership on education, he elaborated, “As a member of the fortunate middle-class in Karachi, I will have to drop my current lens to provide an unbiased answer to this question. If I only see the people around me then I am sure to respond with a highly positive answer.”

He continued, “That is because I am at the centre of this industry by being in touch with people who have walked down this path and are yet to set off on this journey.” But equating my observation to the whole of Pakistan will be an understatement, he pointed out,

“Although I don’t have precise statistics on this matter to back my claim, observing the general trend, I can surely estimate that the majority of our youth are not just deprived of a quality education in the computer science field but are entirely disenfranchised from the concept of education.”

Living in the most densely populated metropolitan of this country might provide spectacles, to certain people, of huge scores of youth enrolling in technical universities and institutes, but that is a mere fraction of the youth in question, he observed.

“Our problem is that we do not have a standard education system in place to support the younger population.” Between politics and tribalism, our education system has gone to waste. That’s all I can say on this matter, Khan regretted.