It is so unfortunate that Pakistan is lacking in its educational sector; debates often ignite around the educational decline, articulated through a few parameters, for instance: 'weak motivation,' 'students' poor aptitude,' and 'lack of discipline.' However, no one highlights the system's negligence and disrespect that raise such parameters in students. It is quite easy to question students' instability in academic rigour, but it rarely emphasises who is responsible for these instabilities.
The role of authorities within educational institutions remained unchecked and overlooked, where power ignites and becomes uncontrollable to allow 'favouritism culture,' 'humiliation on grades,' 'personal grudges,' 'manipulation of young minds,' 'professional confrontations,' and 'ethical disputes'—accountability remains unnoticed and undetermined.
A growing number of students have repeatedly experienced the power imbalance, which undermines the genuine value of education. In schools, colleges, and universities, students are under constant pressure from teachers and supervisors regarding their supervision, attendance, progression, grades, recommendations, and even career prospects.
When authority works inadequately and operates the system through elitism, it undermines the ethics of the educational environment and polarises the system, thereby becoming a reason to manipulate the country's real assets. It is not necessary to have a 4.0 GPA and score 90 or 100% to run the world; the world needs minds that are intellectually powerful, able to create a system that runs on originality rather than selectivism.
In Pakistan, educational institutions are heavily reliant on a patronage-based, non-meritocratic system, in which positions are allocated through influence rather than qualifications. And the selection of hierarchy is problematic because of power; accountability is absent, which further allows the reason to become an abuse of the entire system.
In a day, students experienced and reported disrespectful behaviour from faculty using such slang and threatened them within the boundaries of the educational and learning environment, for instance, 'bakwas band karo,' 'tum dekho main tumhary sth kya karti hoon,' and humiliate students on purpose and cause which they truly do not deserve. Moreover, professors have formed lobbies that categorise students by grades, aptitude, and the ability to show off in the classroom, and also reprimand such students for challenging authority if they speak for themselves.
It is quite easy to question students' academic rigour, but this rarely emphasises who is responsible for it
There is a real-life story of a student who is now an advocate. She narrated her story of how she had gone through severe psychological abuse at the hands of teachers during the golden period of her life. As Aristotle once said, "Those who educate children deserve more honour than parents, for parents only gave them life, but teachers gave them the art of living.” She had to struggle a lot with dealing with science subjects, but schools and colleges of those times were not adequately aware of new ways of learning. Even her institution did not offer arts and humanities subjects that could help her explore what she truly wanted, leaving her with no alternative academic path. Science subjects were not her stream at that time, due to which she had to face difficulty in understanding and coping with the prescribed curriculum.
Thus, instead of receiving academic support, the teachers mentally abused her for not meeting the expectations of their rigid and standardised educational system. She was repeatedly offended by teachers about her abilities and bullied in various ways, such as constant comparison with her elder sister, not having an educational discipline like her, and inability to afford books, as she once did not take books to school. Over time, this maltreatment extended beyond the academic limits, and it evolved into personal bias, where the teachers openly criticised her personal style as well. Regrettably, personal attacks in the educational system have become normalised in the culture of Pakistan. Moreover, according to her, she was not merely the one who experienced this mental trauma alone, but her parents also had to endure emotional distress as they were the genuine witnesses of her failure and the negligence of the institution.
Furthermore, this was not the only case she had gone through; however, there is also an element of inequality that has not been seen throughout the Pakistani educational and learning system. Teachers publicly disgrace the students and force them to beg for marks by joining hands and sitting on their knees in front of their peers, and subject them to ridicule. Thus, such practices not only ruin students' psychological health but also deeply affect the inadequate educational culture that prioritises power over empathy, dignity, and meaningful learning.
This culture has become a norm of discomfiture rather than being justified as 'maintaining standards' or 'discipline.' Because when humiliation becomes a constant dose of life, it replaces intellectual curiosity and truthfulness, compromising the purpose of the entire education system.
Another major underreported aspect is the crisis of internal faculty conflicts, where students are pulled in and become indirect casualties. In such an environment, where faculty members have professional disputes with each other and take revenge by involving students, making them suffer for things they are unaware of.
Academic favouritism is very common in the Asian educational system, for instance, sudden changes in supervisor, failure to change the supervisor on the student's request, selective mentorship, and delayed evaluation. These practices often occur with students when a faculty member has a conflict with another faculty member or a direct personal grudge against a student. In this entire confrontation, the students' academic progress becomes collateral damage.
In this poor education environment, there is a crisis of a lack of redressal mechanisms, where complaint mechanisms exist but are not used against the powerful. Because if the student takes a stand to challenge authority or the system, they are retaliated against with damage to their academic reputation, lower grades, and delayed or denied approvals. Thus, this situation becomes mental trauma for students and silences them for their survival under a cruel strategic system because this silence benefits power, not education and intellect.
When students try to speak for themselves, the authorities then contradict them, saying, 'You have an issue, that’s why you are blaming your professors.' Here, the argument is that professors or teachers have no right to contradict students because students are investing their money and time in their better future—students have the privilege to complain and demand expulsion if they do not receive an adequate response.
Parents who are unaware of the dark reality of this education system, which has been compromised based on elitism and selectivism, are naive. They invest time, resources, and money in their children's betterment and, in return, expect academic integrity, professionalism, and ethical conduct. Unfortunately, who knows that these educational institutions erode their trust and become a reason for their children's mental trauma? When institutions are polarised and prioritise the power of money and reputation management over students' welfare, education is at stake, and risks become extractive rather than transformative. In the end, students are awarded degrees and medals, but their intellectual independence and creativity erode steadily.
Reframing accountability by raising questions about faculty conduct is often portrayed as insubordinate or disrespectful. Accountability strengthens the institution; it does not weaken the system if it functions ethically and transparently. The reframing of accountability requires that professors and supervisors should be considered appropriately, not merely based on qualifications, but also psychologically, in terms of how strong they are to deal with students. Addressing psychological issues must be given professional and effective priority. Moreover, the institution should establish independent and confidential grievance bodies.
Furthermore, educational institutions should have the authority to examine the power of elitism and selectivism, not just student outcomes. Thus, these reforms do not adequately address the educational decline, and the problem will remain insufficiently addressed. The argument is not about students failing; rather, it is about whether educational institutions are in a state to examine themselves. Therefore, if Pakistan's education system continues to protect elitism and selectivism without accountability, it might risk producing well-trained graduates who thereby lose the ability to think, question, and lead the world. It will steadily deteriorate the system beyond just classrooms.