Written by: Maha Sohail Butt
Nations are competing with one another to gather the fruits of science and
technology.Hence the need and importance of technical education becomes self-evident.Society
must provide for its material existence and for the running of its machines.In
short,the efficiency of a community depends on the quality and the extent of its
technical education.
Technical or industrial education means education in the use of differenet kinds
of machines and techniques of industry.Those who obtain such education learn the
parts or components of machines and the ways of working and repairing them.They
also learn about the production and use of their spare parts.We need industrial
education to run our different industries and to expand them.We have the
cloth,sugar,iron and other industries.There commodities are produced that we use
everyday.Technical or industrial knowledge is necessary for us to run these
industries.We have to make quick industrial progress.We have to set up new
industries manufacturing heavy machines like car and aeroplane engines.It is
possible only if we have highly-educated industrial and technical experts.We
have to make quick agricultural progress.We can do this if we use machines like
tractors,threshers and tube-well engines on our farms.We shall have to set up
industries producing them.We shall need technical experts to work them.So we
should provide technical education of the best quality to those who desire to
become such experts.Now we have to raise new dams and maintain the old ones in
different parts of the country.For this technical experts of the highest order
are urgently needed.
Those students who pass the matriculation or intermediate examination can join
industrial or technical institutions.There should be a large number of such
institutions all over the country.We should have highly qualified technical
experts needed to plan and set up new industries.They are also needed to
supervise the work of industrial workers and technicians and to guide them.We
have engineering colleges and universities that provide engineers and technical
experts.These engineers and technicians should know the latest industrial
techniques and methods.There are hundreds of vocational institutes throughout
the country which are preparing young men and women for a variety of trades and
crafts;for example,wood work,embroidery,doll making,wicker-work and dress
designing.If we contrast it with education in humanities where the stress is on
language,literature,history and philosophy.Technical education is mostly
concerned with technology and mechanical arts;with the upkeep and running of
machinery.
European nations,particularly Germany,France and England,were among the first to
realize the great advantage of technical education.Industry spread rapidly and
give rise to keen commercial competition.The reputation of a manufacturing
country came to depend on the quality and effectiveness of its machines.The need
for qualified technical hands was felt most acutely and a system of technical
education was devised.
Science and technology have,to a marked degree,transformed our way of
life.Sensitive machines scan patients and diagnose symptoms of complicated
diseases in modern hospitals.Audio visual aids assist students in supplementing
their their work in institutions all over the world.A large part of indoor
entertainment is provided by television, cinema and radio.The printing press
floods the markets with books and newspapers which help us to understand the
world we live in.Fashion and beauty indusrty is also dependent on machines for
its products.The homes of the well-to-do are seldom without
refrigerators,airconditions,VCRs,cassette players and a hundred old gadgets.
Thousands of machines are working round the clock to meet our
demands.Evidently,efficient technical hands are needed to keep them well oiled
and running.From where is the manpower to come?The answer is obvious.From an
organized system of technical education.Another factor which in recent years has
boosted the importance of technical education is the growing demand in foreign
countries for technical personnel from Pakistan.Oil producing nations like
SaudiaArabia,Nigeria and the Gulf States prefer to recruit technicians from
Pakistan to help them in the race for rapid development.Over the last twenty
years thousands of technical hands have left home to serve as civil
engineers,concrete technologists,system analysts,scientific
assistants,welders,fitters and masons.This factor has speeded up the
establishment of polytechnics.
Technical education has come to stay.It has already done much good and it is
hoped that it will do still more in the future.It symbolizes our painstaking
efforts at national development and guarantes,to some extent,a brighter future
for the people of Pakistan.We do have technical or industrial institutions where
technicians,foremen(workers directing and supervising other workres),overseers
etc get educated and trained.We should have more of such institutions.Better
facilities for training industrial workers should be made available.