Daily Times

Sadly, again in 2017, the federal, as well as provincial governments, failed to fulfil the promises made to the public under the Constitution of Pakistan. The article 25-A says: ‘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.’ Article 37-b urges the governments to ‘remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory secondary education within a minimum possible period.’ Pakistan, like any other developing country, is struggling with challenges it is facing on its way to the accomplishment of SDG 4: ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’.

The outgoing year didn’t prove to be much different from the previous years as far as developments in the education sector of the country are concerned. Budgetary allocations were decreased once again in most cases, inequalities in education, particularly gender disparity, could not be bridged, higher education remained neglected, and a large number of higher education institutions remained without a head for the major part of the year.

Unfortunately, none of the successive governments prioritised education. It is eye-opening that approximately 22.6m children are out of school, according to Pakistan Education Statistics. Pakistan is lagging behind in education in South Asia. According to UNESCO, the literacy rate in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka is 56.4pc, 61.5pc, 72.1pc, and 92.6pc respectively. Pakistan’s education spending is 2.83 percent of its total budget, and only four universities are ranked among the world top-1000 universities.

The remarks of ex-Federal Minister for Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal about chalking out an action plan to achieve a 90 percent adult literacy rate by 2025 were merely a political gimmick

Moreover, the United Nations Global Education Monitoring report also claimed that Pakistan is 50-plus years behind in its primary and 60-plus years behind in its secondary education targets. That means the country is set to miss, by more than half-a-century, the deadline for ensuring that all children receive primary education.

As literacy is the fundamental building block of education, it works in the same way as preventing the spread of corruption, hunger, poverty, crime, poor health conditions and unemployment among other socio-economic problems. It is an essential tool for breaking the rigid and harsh social cycles of poverty. But sadly, no government, federal or provincial, give this sector due importance.

The recent study by ASER in 2017 shows that Pakistan’s overall education score is 67.96. Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan stand second and third, Punjab holds fourth position, K-P scored the sixth spot, while Sindh is at seventh. Balochistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) round up the bottom of the rankings. Overall, the national school infrastructure score is 91.

I hope everyone remembers that the ex-Federal Minister for Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal once advised the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) to chalk out an action plan to achieve a 90 percent adult literacy rate by 2025. But it’s been two years, but no serious action has been taken for achieving this 90 percent adult literacy rate. This statement at that time was just a political stunt.

Few media persons and civil society representatives always push the government to take concrete actions for the betterment of education system. Opinion sections of English newspapers usually publish a few articles a week on how the lack of quality education is becoming an existential threat to Pakistan’s social cohesion. But sadly, the government of Pakistan is least concerned about it.

My request to the federal education minister is that you don’t have enough time left till the next general elections. Rather than working for the appointment of teachers or providing jobs, please work for the betterment education sector.

The writer is a social and political activist based in Lahore. He can be reached at salmanali088@gmail.com. Twitter:@Salmani_salu

Published in Daily Times, February 1^st 2018.