Missing Out on Science
File photo. Arif Ali AFP
Noam Chomsky’s lament on Pakistan’s educational system raises valid concerns about the country’s future
On Dec. 7, 2020, world-renowned academician Noam Chomsky delivered, via video-link, the 6th Yohsin Lecture organized by Pakistan’s Habib University in Karachi. He said something that shocks no rational person: he regretted the disappearance of science from Pakistan’s educational system. “Pakistan, which used to have advanced science, technology, etc, and produced Nobel laureates, has no future in the free world as it has embraced religious superstition, extremism, religious intolerance, isolationism, and its educational standards have plummeted to unbelievable levels.”