An immediate attention to SHE (Sports, Health, and Education) can still help us recover from the morass Pakistan is facing. I have deliberately placed sports in the beginning to achieve two things: give importance to our female population by using the acronym SHE, and inculcate discipline among our people, through an active participation in sports.
Pakistan at 76 is faced with major challenges of security, safety, poverty, illiteracy, poor health and sanitation, hunger, energy, water scarcity, reduced agricultural output, frequent natural disasters due to climate change, and declining societal values. There are hundreds of studies and recommendations for the way forward by various national and international think tanks, and successive governments in Pakistan have tried to implement some of these, but perhaps without much emphasis on rightful execution, and seriousness. Moreover, if a particular study carries a greater number of recommendations, which needs a lot of funds and time, also seem to lose relevance, perhaps due to lack of continuity in our governance systems.
Therefore, this short article is aimed at proposing a few essential steps that may help in improving an overall grim situation Pakistan is facing today. In my opinion, a unified approach to Project SHE, across Pakistan can still help in rebuilding ourselves, without too much investment, because there are enough resources available with the Centre and the Provinces which can be channeled in a more organized and coherent manner to achieve the objectives.
Pakistan at 76 is faced with major challenges of security, safety, poverty, illiteracy, poor health and sanitation, hunger, energy, water scarcity, reduced agricultural output, frequent natural disasters due to climate change, and declining societal values.
There have been lot of talks of imposing an education emergency in the country over the years, but none of the incoming governments have done that so far. In fact, education emergency does not relate to calling country’s army to run the educational institutions across Pakistan, but to harmonize the different systems in vogue, in a disciplined manner. The priorities need to be sorted and money spent at the right place at the right time. From syllabus to the revamping of dilapidated infrastructure, teacher’s training to examination systems, each department needs an overhaul to provide enabling environment to our future generations. No nation on this earth has achieve any worthwhile progress without due importance to the access to quality education to its entire population.
The quality education must be free to every child under the age of fifteen or till Grade 10, in all government institutions across the country. However, if some parents want to send their children to private schools, the syllabus must not be at variance to Pakistan’s ideology, history, and socio-cultural values. Our higher education sector must be revamped with modern teaching techniques, and should cater for the market requirements. The state must guard for brain-drain, because it is a common practice now that brighter students get the foreign scholarships on merit, and then get lured by the host countries for a secured future. Apparently, it is not the fault of either parents or the students, because each individual has a right to choose a career path that suits his/her aptitude and economic outlook.
Likewise, the provision of adequate health facilities to all citizens and residents is not only a universal right, but also a constitutional obligation on the state. There is no dearth of material resources, infrastructure, and technical expertise in the country, however, a corruption-free governance is what has been missed in our health sector. While urban areas receive a greater number of visitors, it is the rural areas that needs special attention in all the departments of SHE. The health card system introduced by the previous government was not a bad idea, and may be considered with improved outlook.
Pakistan, a young nation of over 240 million remains absent on major victory stands in the sporting arena, primarily due to lack of emphasis and infrastructure. Efforts must be made to develop requisite sporting infrastructure at the grassroot level, so that our children have equal opportunities to participate in the sports of their choice. The private schools housed in bungalows must be directed to create spaces for the children to physically participate in sports, which is extremely important to inculcate discipline, as well as in building the healthy mind and physic. The least these household private schools can do is to establish a small gym within their premises so that children can do some physical activity guided by trained staff.
In my opinion, a 25-year Project SHE, under a unified command structure, with adequate representation of all the provinces, can bring a noticeable change in Pakistan’s outlook, as it marches towards its 100. However, if these areas do not get the deserved attention, then we will be the same in 2050, as we are in 2023, unfortunately though.
The writer is the author of the book ‘Nuclear Deterrence and Conflict Management Between India and Pakistan’. He is presently working as the Director of the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS).