Let’s appreciate them
Aqib Ullah (Jangbazar Chitral)
Have we, hailing from lower Chitral, ever pondered why the people of upper Chitral, mostly from Torkhow, Rech, Mestuj, etc., excel in every field? We cannot deny the reality that 80 to 90 percent of students passing CSS, PMS, or any exams above BPS 17 are from upper Chitral. Wherever you go, you find them occupying prestigious positions in every department. When it comes to students receiving education in schools or colleges, I can assert bluntly, after spending two years in the teaching profession, that students from upper Chitral exhibit great curiosity and a hunger for real education.
Most students who haven’t completed their school years have already set goals and begun working towards them. When a student from upper Chitral asks a question in the classroom, the teacher pauses to consider the seriousness of the inquiry.
After observing them for many years and spending time with friends from upper Chitral, I often wondered about the reason behind their curiosity, which fuels their constant quest for knowledge. Why don’t we, from lower Chitral—excluding the 10 percent who are genuinely serious about their studies—take our studies seriously and exhibit enthusiasm? Why are we devoid of goals? To find the answers to these questions, I pondered extensively and discovered several reasons. However, the most significant one, which I wish to highlight here, is that the students of lower Chitral, especially in this generation, are being handled with kid gloves because we have become overly dependent on our parents and elders.
The importance of hardship is understood only by people living in far-flung places devoid of the facilities available to us. They recognize the real importance of education as they witness the struggles of those toiling to eke out a hand-to-mouth existence. To some extent, when we observe children from upper Chitral, they are accustomed to hardship. Many of them experience herding animals, working in fields, and collecting wood from an early age. They understand the value of hard work from a young age.
However, the situation in lower Chitral is quite the opposite; children in this area are pampered. Parents don’t allow them to do chores on their own, depriving them of responsibilities that could instill a belief in hard work. In simple terms, they are not accustomed to fatigue. Every institution offers bus facilities to students, even those living 2 or 3 km away from school, who could easily walk. On days when the bus doesn’t arrive on time, they miss classes due to the lackadaisical attitude fostered by relying on the bus.This stands in stark contrast to the conditions in private schools in upper Chitral, where children often walk a minimum of 2 to 3 km daily to reach school, thereby understanding the true value of knowledge.
The onus is on us to teach our children the value of hard work. Making them endure hardship in pursuit of education will cultivate a thirst for knowledge. Too much pampering can spoil children, as Rumi said, “Excess of everything is a poison.” We should allow them to experience fatigue in their educational journey so they can appreciate the true value of learning. Parents whose children live two or three kilometers from school should refrain from using the bus facility for their children. Such children should be compelled to walk to school. In my opinion, a pampered child is a spoiled child.