Daily Times

Since its inception, Pakistan has struggled to achieve a milestone in the field of education. The dilemma of our education system is experienced by everyone who lives here and the controversies against our education sector is shattering the vision of education seekers in Pakistan.

Alif Ailaan’s latest rankings regarding provision of quality education in Pakistan is substantial in informing us of the inside story of our outrageous education system. Regrettably, Sindh lies at number seven out of a total of eight territories where the organisation conducted the survey.

In Sindh, most parents are unable to choose where to send their children as they only have limited options. Despite the fact that the PPP has been in power for a successive 10 years, it hasn’t proved itself as the real party of the people. The manifesto of governing the people, the current party leadership have brought is unsympathetic, uncooperative and inhuman towards every citizen of Sindh. It looks as though the current PPP leadership has forgotten the vision of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

However, it is an unfortunate practice of the government to chastise anyone who doesn’t act according to their preferences. This time it was government teachers who had to face the brunt of an authoritarian government in the provincial capital. Surprisingly, the protesters did not have guns, stones or other weapons which can create violence or bloodshed in front of the Chief Minister’s house, but they had pens in their pockets and books in their hands.

These teachers were chanting ‘please stop slaughter of merit’ for highlighting their grievances but no government official came to address their concerns. Instead, law enforcers started cracking down against these peaceful protesters.

The case of these teachers is unfortunate as they were peacefully protesting against the actions of the Sindh Education and Literacy Department. These teachers include teachers who have passed recruitment tests through the National Testing Services (NTS) and the Sindh University. But after serving 4 years in the Education Department, the government is not willing to regularise these competent teachers. The government is creating hurdles between teachers and regularising process.

Recently, CM Sindh said, “The teachers working in the provincial education department should appear in a third-party testing system after every five years. In the case of their failure to pass the test, they may be terminated from their teaching service because this is the question of education of our future generations”.

The PPP government’s policies in Sindh are not pro-people. It is unsympathetic, uncooperative and inhuman in its treatment towards every resident of the province

Teachers have also warned the government about the use of any illegal influences and they said that any alteration in the current education system could make the system worse. Many of them are demanding that if the government is willing to conduct retest of teacher then why only teachers’ government should apply the same formula to every government employee?

I think law enforcers are to be equally blamed for the ill-treatment against innocent teachers. The crackdown against teachers by callous police artillery injured more than 30 teachers. Teaching is a respectable profession and the way government treated these teachers is disgraceful.

The government must go the extra mile to provide these teachers with their rights as soon as possible. This was the Great Zulfikar Bhutto’s vision for people of the country to eradicate joblessness among the youth of Pakistan. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is also a young and vibrant leader among other PPP leadership he should take serious notice of this brutal act of Sindh government.

Moreover, instead of fanning the flames by making extraneous statements, the PPP leadership should behave sensibly so that the education system of the province can be corrected promptly.

The writer is a freelance writer based from Badin and can be reached at abbaskhaskheli@hotmail.com

Published in Daily Times, January 2^nd 2018.