That the Punjab government has still not notified the Punjab Free and Compulsory Education Act 2014, without which it cannot be turned into law, even though eight precious years have already been wasted for no reason at all is nothing short of a tragedy. The Act was received as a major–almost revolutionary–step in the province because it mandated the Punjab government to provide completely free and compulsory education to all children between ages five and 16 years. Article 25A of the constitution already ensures these provisions, so a notification was all that was needed, but it has not come in all this time and the reason for this mysterious paralysis of decision-making has not yet been explained despite repeated calls from concerned quarters.
These are extraordinary times, not just because of the setbacks brought by the Covid pandemic, and thus, education needs to be the top priority of the government. A recent research report by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) has found that 31 per cent of the country’s youth is currently unemployed; and of them, 51 per cent is female and 16 per cent male. This, at a time when 60 per cent of the country’s population is below 30 years. For a large part of this extraordinary youth bulge to be deprived of something as basic as basic education, that too completely unnecessarily, makes for a ticking time bomb that will explode, sooner rather than later, if the state doesn’t step in immediately to diffuse it.
The situation is particularly concerning when you consider the many problems associated with the education of girls in interior Punjab. That’s why this Act was seen as a watershed moment for them. With education being compulsory and free for all children, it was expected that girls might finally begin taking their proper place in their homes as well as society. But since the Punjab government keeps kicking this can down the road, it can only be assumed that this is just not one of its priorities.
It’s very unfortunate that governments love the limelight when they announce groundbreaking initiatives but don’t feel bad at all when their boasts turn out to be completely hollow.
All this makes the Punjab government’s refusal to notify the Act even more shocking. And it is quite literally a shame, from the point of view of the people, that the government can readily make time for all the necessary wheeling and dealing to ensure the right numbers in case of a no-confidence motion but it can’t do something as simple as a sign on a piece of paper that will bring education to all families in the province. The country’s media has also been something of a letdown in this. For it is lured far too easily by spicy gossip about political conspiracies and counter conspiracies that increase its viewership and makes it more money when it should be flashing red cards about the government’s inaction about something so important. And while Pakistan’s civil society very rightly, and admirably, stands up for social justice whenever human rights, especially women’s rights, are violated, it must also be called out for not nearly doing enough about education for all.
The main issue, as always, is money. Right now, so close to the election, the Punjab government is gripped with rolling out high-visibility projects that will fetch easy votes; just the kind of thing PTI used to take PML-N to town about just a few years ago, yet here we are now that the shoe is on the other foot. But that doesn’t explain why nothing was done when the election was not around the corner.
Unfortunately, governments love the limelight when they announce groundbreaking initiatives but don’t feel bad at all when their boasts turn out to be completely hollow. The Punjab government’s silence on this matter should at least be explained. At stake, after all, is not just the survival of one administration, but the future of the nation.
All things considered, though, it seems the time when the constitution would be followed in letter and spirit and Punjab’s children will receive free and compulsory education has not yet come. And, as always, it’s because the government chose not to make a difference when it could have. Yet all the time this decision lingers, the youth bulge will continue to expand and its unpreparedness to survive in a very demanding environment will extract a very heavy social price from society.
Soon, this inaction will force the government to invest yet more time and resources in coming up with a backup plan; doing even more damage. That is why the need to do the right thing now and issue the necessary notification, cannot be stressed enough. Politicians obsessed with votes might also consider that nothing would bring them closer to the common people than educating their children at this point in time.
The writer is a freelance columnist and has bachelor in English literature from Kinnaird College Lahore