There is a Chinese proverb that goes something like this: if you’re planning for a year, sow rice; planning for a decade, plant trees; planning for life, educate children. We all know that education is the fundamental right of every child. The UN provided for this in its Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted back in 1948; just one year after the birth of Pakistan. This was reaffirmed nearly 20 years later in the UN 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Fast-forward some more and there was Pakistan pledging its commitment to the World Declaration on Education for All. Yet despite all this, too many reports indicate that the country is still failing to meet its international obligations on child education. While certain quarters would claim that things are not as bad as all that, pointing to the number of out-of-school children falling from 24 million to 22.6 million — in reality, this is nothing much to write home about. For it still means that around 44 percent of 5-16 year-olds are not in school. These damning figures are part of the Pakistan Education Statistic (2015-16); which was launched by the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training. The report, based on qualitative and quantitative surveys as well as concrete and transparent research, lifts the lid on the country’s very real education crisis. And the picture it paints isn’t a pretty one. My question to the Sindh Education Minister is this: why are three million children out of school on your watch; despite an education budget that has gone up to Rs 202.2 billion from Rs163.12b in the current fiscal year? Why have we not seen even tentative results? Consider the following: a single teacher running 21 percent of the country’s primary schools; 14 percent of which comprise a single room; 40 percent of public sector primary schools operating without electricity; 28 percent without lavatories; 25 percent without boundary walls; and 29 percent with no access to drinking water. While 7 percent of schools function without any building and 43 percent have unsatisfactory buildings. The report goes on to note that Balochistan has the highest proportion of out-of-school children followed by FATA and, then, Sindh. Here, my focus, after the above quick summary of the NEMIS factsheet, is to highlight and develop a picture for my readers about the situation in Sindh. The latter has close to three million children out of school, as confirmed by the provincial assembly over the summer. And even those who do make it to the classroom are not guaranteed any kind of quality education. Not when the provincial syllabus leaves much to be desired. The Pakistan Studies text books appear to focus upon religious indoctrination instead of providing an objective critique the country’s history. Moreover, the quality of education at the primary level, particularity in government public schools, is not satisfactory and in rural or remote areas it is utterly dismal. One overriding reason for this is that the powerful feudal lords who find their way to the provincial assembly do not prioritise education for children of the poor. My question, therefore, is to the Sindh Education Minister Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar, who had confirmed the staggering number of children in his province who had been denied the right to education, and it is this: having increased the education budget for the current fiscal year to Rs 202.2 billion (up from Rs163.12 billion) — why have we not seen even tentative results? Why there is not a single government school on the outskirts of Sukkur, Hyderabad and other remote areas? And the few that do exist, why are they not operational? And, finally, why are Ghost teachers drawing salaries for doing nothing? Many education organisations in Sindh have initiated enrolment campaigns for both the government and private school sector. I talked to a few of the people involved and, it seems, they believe they are winning parents over by way of their highly-motivated and well-groomed teams. Yet it is more likely that parents fear the consequences of not registering their children. Nevertheless, the result is the same. But what will it achieve unless and until we rid ourselves of our feudalism? Pakistan’s Constitution is clear about with whom the buck stops regarding the provision of education. Article 25-A stipulates: “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such manner as may be determined by law.” Yet we are still waiting for this to be enforced. The education crisis is also a social one for Pakistan. For Sindh, this should represent an ever constant state of alarm. To counter the staggering dropout rate of the province’s children — schools need to be invested in; meaning in terms of upgrading and targeted budgetary allocations. Bluntly put, the development of Sindh’s schools must not be at the very real cost of corruption. No government officials or semi-government institution working in the name of education must profit from the (non)delivery of this most fundamental of rights. And while I do not wish to name any institution in Sindh that doesn’t look beyond gathering donations — I will absolutely call out the practice of discussing education at the grassroots’ level that doesn’t go beyond parlour room chitchat. This is unacceptable. And the burden of responsibility rests with the Sindh government. It remains incumbent upon it to carry out the necessary background checks, while instituting a comprehensive monitoring system to keep an eye on where the education budget is being misspent. Similarly, it is the duty of the provincial authorities to tackle the problems of education at all levels, from inefficient governance, a faulty recruitment system, lack of professional development opportunities, corruption and politicisation of the system to poor material and resources. To get these three million children into school, a concrete, concentrated and coherent Pakistan-owned, Pakistan-led, Pakistan-driven process of reform is required from the Sindh government; with respected Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah at the helm. To ensure that his province can confidently take its place here in the 21st century must be the top priority of any CM. For not only is education a fundamental right of the child — a well-educated workforce is vital to a productive economy. The PPP should take note, if, that is, it is serious about winning back voters. The writer is a Lahore-based social and political activist. He can be reached at salmanali088@gmail.com, tweets at Salmani_salu Published in Daily Times, October 20th 2017.