Improving a couple of model schools in a country of 180 million people is nothing short of a joke
ISLAMABAD: It was wonderful to recently witness the prime minister visit a government model school near Islamabad. In his well-organised visit to the school, the prime minister freely mixed with the students and asked them about the school’s facilities. He proudly claimed that the said school had been upgraded and new buses would be provided very soon. He further claimed that his government has done what no other government has done in the past for education.
I am still confused whether that was a serious comment — because improving a couple of model schools in a country of 180 million people is nothing short of a joke. I would humbly submit to the prime minister to visit Quaid-e-Azam University and see with his own eyes the state of shambles our higher education facilities are in. The worn-out buildings and the ageing fleet of buses all show the lack of funds and attention from the government. The much-hyped visit of the prime minister to the school does not necessarily mean that the government is according attention to education. The PML-N has to realise that education and healthcare are vital for a modern and progressive society. Hence, the federal government needs to pay attention to these issues alongside its ambitions to build monumental projects, such as installing a high pole with a large national flag on the Islamabad highway near Zero Point.
Raja Shafaatullah
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2015.
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