Daily Times

The decision by Chief Minister of Punjab Shehbaz Sharif to construct 10,000 additional classrooms in the province comes in the background of an abysmal education system that has failed to produce learned citizens. Not only does Pakistan have a lack of qualified workforce, but even the major part that is ostensibly qualified do not have the knowledge to match their qualification. Essentially, education in Pakistan has been reduced to nothing more than the mere acquisition of a degree. However, to make things clear, this is just part of the problem as lack of education facilities coupled with abject poverty has deprived the majority of the population from even the opportunity of attaining an education. It is not that the poor do no understand the value of education. Rather, they simply cannot afford to send their children to school, be it in the form of lost earnings through their labour or not being able to pay their school fee. All of this means that the education crisis in Pakistan is a multilayered one containing many aspects, and unless a holistic approach is not taken to address it, attainment of substantial progress un the sector of education would be difficult.

It is true that lack of infrastructure is a major part of the problem when it comes to the country’s education woes. Shortage of classrooms, substandard facilities, and even non-existence of schools in certain areas altogether are serious concerns when it comes to public schools in Pakistan. Not only does this deprive students of a basic standard of school environment, but it also it deters qualified teachers from working there. After all, it would take a great amount of commitment to the cause of education along with strong intrinsic motivation to teach at these schools. All this leaves with mostly those teachers in these schools who have very little qualification, and this in effect renders them ineffective at imparting good education. Effectively, the whole public education system has been locked into a self-defeating cycle because of this phenomenon, with them producing good students not as a norm but as an exception.

Moreover, teaching in public schools is not a lucrative career, as the parallel private school industry has sucked all competent teachers towards itself. It would indeed be very difficult for public schools to compete with the salaries that the private sector offers. However, even if that is not possible in the short run, public school teacher salaries must at least be made good enough so that teachers do not have to sacrifice a decent standard of living for their career. More importantly, public private partnerships are required to address the structural deficiencies in the public education sector. Ranging from the reform of organisational structure to teacher selection and training, the public education sector would have to overhaul itself to become efficient and to provide quality service to the public.

Lastly, without redesigning the curriculum of public schools, a good standard of education would be impossible to achieve. Pakistan certainly lacks quality publishers, and this is one area where partnerships with foreign publishers, through which their books can be sold in Pakistan at subsidised rates, can prove to be very beneficial. It is grossly unfair that while a small portion of the students, mostly belonging to a privileged class in Pakistan, get to take advantage of good books, the majority has to make do with substandard and badly written textbooks.

It cannot be emphasised enough that education is one sector that holds the key towards progress, and Pakistan should strive towards providing equally good education to all of its citizens. *