ISLAMABAD: Pakistan must invest in the youth to enable them to embrace innovative ideas and engage in critical thinking to ensure steady economic development, says a renowned expert.
“Historical evidence shows that those nations have leapfrogged the process of development, which had libraries in every corner of their streets,” said Dr Nadeem-ul-Haque, Vice Chancellor of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), while talking to WealthPK.
He said that students of the country will be able to contribute towards the process of economic development and prosperity only if they come up with genuine ideas.
“In the past, Muslim civilisation had reached the heights of its creative potential because of the very fact that we were open to new ideas, we used to think critically, and we placed a lot of value on debate and discourse,” he said, adding, “Today, we have very conservative attitudes towards all of these features of human ingenious thinking. We do not like to debate; we do not like to think out of the box; and we do not like to give space to new ideas.”
Dr Nadeem said by having a rigid attitude to all of the necessary prerequisites of innovative thinking, we are hurting ourselves, and by extension, the people around us.
The PIDE VC said that rigorous debate is needed to shred the over-established structures of their extra burden so that every institution, be it social, economic, political, or ethical, is reduced in weight.
“Only then will be able to move forward in time when we had already taken care of that which is spreading the disease in the whole body,” he opined.
Dr Nadeem used the analogy of a body part that is suffering from cancer. He said that in order to save the body, you have to amputate the cancerous parts.
“That is what we have to do here. We cannot continue living in our old ways and expect any change to come. It will only be possible once we start to think critically, and engage in constructive debate,” he said.
“This is the reason that I recommend reading books to my students and everybody else. Look at China, Japan, and Germany. These countries had reached the status of developed countries soon after the devastation of the World War II,” he said.
“How were they able to achieve this? Because their people were ready to embrace new ideas and engage in critical thinking. If only we learn from our neighbouring country China, we will see our fortunes reversing for the better in very little time,” he observed.
He said the process of correction and reform starts with introspection.
“We need to seriously look at our attitudes and behaviours to see where the fault lies, and then try to correct that fault through critical and innovative thinking,” he added.
