How safe are our schools

Here we are, after 15 years of waging a ‘war on terror’, thousands have lost their lives, the enemy is at our gates

I was surprised at the hue and cry made by the media when the government announced the shutdown of schools run by the armed forces in the wake of threats of terrorist attacks. For some years now, it seems that the first casualty in case of impending floods, rain, heatwaves and shutter-down strikes has always been schools. It appears that the best way to avert any danger is to stop sending your kids to schools, and the current scenario presents a similar picture as well.

We often hear the phrase ‘we are at war’. I’ll be damned if we really are. I was school-going when the 1965 Indo-Pak war broke out. I vividly remember how many preparations were made just at the school level in a sleepy town like Larkana for a 17-day war with an enemy that was outside our borders. Before the school assembly, students were asked to read the blackboard which displayed the news items from the previous day. A teacher would lectures students on precautionary measures in case of an air raid both during school hours and at nighttime. We were taught about preparing for blackouts and informing the ward office (this was the time of Basic Democracies) in case a suspicious person was spotted in the neighbourhood. The Qaumi Razakar Force, along with the police, would be aided by stick-wielding youth from the neighbourhood while patrolling the streets at night. Now that was the nation at war, and students didn’t get a single day off from school! A collective sense of security prevailed in society where the public and the administrative bodies were on the same page.

Here we now are, after 15 years of waging a ‘war on terror’, thousands have lost their lives all across the country, the enemy is literally at our gates waiting to make its next big move and yet the most ‘ingenious’ idea we can conjure up is to close down schools. But then again, why not? Not every teacher feels duty-bound to play his/her role anyway — apart from pedagogy. Heads of institutions are not held accountable for any mishaps at their institutions. Parents know their children won’t miss out on school since they are already enrolled at coaching centres, and to top it all off, private security guards at schools are expected to ward off well-trained, disciplined and committed terrorists. Ham dushman kay bachon ko parhanay chalay thay, apnay bachon ko hi mehroom kar dia (We wanted to exact revenge from the enemy by educating its children, but ended up making our own kids miss school).

One wonders why those responsible for the security mishap at Bacha Khan University haven’t been taken to task yet, including the university management and law enforcement agencies. Unless officials are held accountable, nothing concrete will ever emerge. Unfortunately, it has become standard practice to say that there are no easy answers to eradicate the menace of terrorism and that terrorist attacks are difficult to monitor.

It would be a step in the right direction if counter-terrorism was made part of the curriculum of secondary and higher secondary institutions, as well as of universities. In doing so, gradually an educated lot will emerge, who would better understand methods and policies to ward off terrorism. Another step the government should think about is to recruit youth with SSC or HSC qualifications and prepare a dedicated cadre for security duties in academic institutions with the help of the army or the police. Funds for this venture may be utilised from the Prime Minister’s Youth Internship Programme. Instead of wasting these funds in unproductive schemes, at least the nation would have a well-sustained cadre of youth. This would become a permanent source of employment for the youth and gradually we can get rid of the uneducated and untrained elements who are employed on security duties. Last but not the least, terrorism can only be controlled by creating an urbane, liberal and enlightened society that is equipped with modern and quality education. Only by imparting such an education will we be able to get out of this mess.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th,  2016.

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