A notification had been circulating on social and print media for the past few days, noting that the registration of the child, at the most prestigious institution of Lahore is rendered unfeasible owing to the income of the parents being inadequate.
The institute mentioned in its notice that the “Annual income of the parents, that is 18 lakh, would not be enough to meet the school expenses of your child, hence registration cannot be completed”. The notice highlights the sorry state of the educational system of Pakistan, and how private institutions have become a mafia- catering to the elite segment of the society alone.
It can be fathomed, how the notice of rejection could’ve shattered the dream of the parents, who thought they could let their child be taught in a worthy institute. But this is just a single case, according to statistics there are more than 20 million students, who are out of school in Pakistan. This is one of the earnest issues among the myriad of problems that Pakistan is facing currently, and requires immediate measures.
But the one who will most suffer is the child who cannot learn, and study only because of the low income of their parents. Alas! This shows the dominance of the status quo that still rules our society in every aspect. This also shows that Quality education is only for the elite. But, it begs the question that is this how the concept of much touted Riyasat e Madina would be implemented? Perhaps, one can easily say that we are far away from providing equality and equity in our society, that is needless to say, is provided in the West.
Now imagine, in these very circumstances, how the government will be able to implement National Single Curriculum (NSC) all across Pakistan, which was announced by the education minister Shafqat Mahmood last year. Although, it is obviously rhetoric; the implementation of such policy in the post-devolution era, where academic curriculum is treated as provincial subject, is nearly impossible.
According to him, the NSC would be implemented in Pakistan across all schools that include private, public, and madrassas. This would be implemented from class (1-5) initially. The NSC plan also includes the hiring of new staff and new textbooks that would be printed across the country. But the question remains the same, how will it be implemented?
The PTI Government has already reduced education share in their previous budget, which exhibits the sheer lack of interest and seriousness of the government in improving the standards of education in the country. The NSC that has so far been approved on the primary level only, has already begun to show the flaws.
NSC may sound great on paper but there are no comprehensive plan for providing facilities and proper funding. On a closer look, the NSC is somehow similar to the one, launched in Musharaf’s era in 2006. But, how can a madrasa and public school compete with the exclusive private school in terms of quality education, infrastructure, professional teachers, and technical skills. Does NSC have such qualities that make it capable of eliminating the difference and provide the same level field across all levels of schools?
Acquiring technical skills, infrastructure, and professional teachers under current circumstances is nearly unaffordable for the government in the current scenario, but if the government is able to provide affordable education to all children across the country, it would be a big achievement. Currently, 22 million children are out of school between the age of (6-12) according to UNICEF data, Imagine the amount of resources needed to provide schooling and quality education. As of 2017, 79 percent of the primary and secondary schools have been operating under substandard buildings. Around 7 million between the age of 5-9 are out of school. In rural areas 52 percent of girls are not enrolled. At the heart of these integrative reforms lies the serious need for ” student-centered pedagogies”.
Conclusively, the government must work on structural shortages and systematic monitoring and evaluation, gender discrimination, and providing affordable education to all children. The focus should be on vocational education and making sure that each and every child could get education without hindrances of their financial conditions to achieve promising outcomes and improve the education system of Pakistan.