Daily Times

Eminent scientist and former science minister Dr Atta-ur-Rehman during a lecture in Karachi has lamented that the budget allocated for the education sector is lesser compared to the spending on the Orange Line Metro Train Project in Lahore. Reportedly, Pakistan is spending only 0.1 or 0.2 percent of its GDP on research and development per year, which is far less compared to such spending by other countries in the world. The education sector is one of those areas that have faced government’s neglect for the last seven decades. Currently, Pakistan is suffering from the worst kind of education and health anomalies, which have not been removed so far.

Despite an increase in the 2015-16 education budget, Pakistan’s current expenditure on education is the lowest in South Asia. According to the latest estimate, Pakistan’s literacy rate is 59.98 percent that is the lowest amongst the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries except Afghanistan. It is imperative to set up an educational system that could be compatible with the requirements of a knowledge-based economy. Education is not merely a matter of priority for Pakistan; it is also the future of the country that lies in educational and professional development of its educated youth. Illiteracy is one of the reasons that Pakistan is riddled with the scourge of terrorism and other social ills. The ruling class, since the inception of Pakistan, has never recognised the tremendous importance of education properly. There is no escape from admitting the reality that Pakistan’s poor spending on education has contributed to raising a society tending toward illiteracy and intolerance and which has, because of decades of neglect, embraced militancy and extremist ideologies.

An educated, skilled and healthy workforce can change the fate of a country more rapidly than roads and other brick and mortar projects. Government needs to focus on the education sector with the same level of attention that it has reserved for roads. While infrastructural improvement is a big factor in enhancement of an economy, education is one of the most important factors that actually form the foundation of an economy. The allocation of massive funds for a single project like Orange Line Metro Train shows that the Punjab government has failed to prioritise the more critical needs that await its consideration. No doubt infrastructural development is needed, but it cannot be justified at the cost of non-availability of even the basic necessities of life. There is an immediate need to invest in the current and future generations’ education. Pakistan of tomorrow must be an educated one, and there are no two questions about it. *