Planning for Education in Pakistan

Economically advanced countries of the world have taken a hundred years to work out systems of primary education reasonably well adapted to their needs; today many of the developing countries are trying to achieve the same thing in a decade. In this vigorous, enlightening study, Mr. Beeby argues that an educational system of high quality develops in distinct stages and that new countries cannot simply duplicate instantly the results of a century's progress in other nations' systems.The author begins by urging that young nations retain sound educational standards in the face of an explosion of demand for schooling, and calls for a truly educational theory of growth to balance the economic theories that tend to dominate educational planning. He discusses conservatism and resistance to change in education, and concludes with an examination of the difficulties encountered by the developing countries as they attempt to solve some of their problems through the application of new educational technology. Mr.;Beeby, who was for twenty years Director of Education for New Zealand with responsibilities in Western Samoa and New Zealand's Pacific Island dependencies, writes from a lifetime's experience as an educational administrator and adviser.