The monsoon is not yet over in Pakistan. But the school holiday is over for most children and youth. In several earlier articles, I have discussed the importance of making the school days more pleasant for all students, not only those who are keen on academic subjects. Moral education must be a key foundation. I have also argued for a smaller compulsory curriculum and fewer tests and exams, and less use of grades, but rather with focus on a core curriculum, indeed the 3Rs of reading, writing and arithmetic, as well as practical and aesthetic subjects. I believe that through an altered thinking about schooling and education, with more focus on the children’s and youths’ own interests and pleasant school days, they will learn more than today. And the teachers, too, will have a more positive time and come back to the basics of being real teachers and advisers, encouraging the students to pursue their interests and dreams, working individually and in groups, in pleasant and active school days.

It is also a fact that the cost of education has become very high, whether the money comes from the government, parents or other private sources. In the West, with compulsory schooling for up to 10 years, and often with upper secondary education for another two or three years, the cost has become an increasing problem. The requirements for teachers’ qualifications and degrees keep going up, as well as the costs of school buildings, books and equipment. At the same time, many students dislike school and become unruly and frustrated. In some countries, in spite of increased budgets, the results are not better, and it happens that a quarter or a third of the students leave compulsory education without functional skills in the 3Rs.

In many developing countries, such as Pakistan, education spending is tilted towards the middle and upper classes. The........

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