No serious effort is being made to uplift the already existent schools and degree colleges in Fata
LAHORE: It is a matter of great jubilation that the Pakistan Army is carrying the mantle of educating the people of Fata by establishing military schools and colleges there. Credit must be given to the military, but there are certain questions that need to be answered. Cadet colleges are nurseries for recruitment into the armed forces. The whole philosophy behind military colleges is to produce more dedicated and talented recruits for the armed forces. This was an established pattern in the British era.
Is this age-old colonial philosophy still intact? There are many schools and degree colleges, which can cater to the educational needs of the people of Fata but no serious effort is undertaken to uplift them. Along with the establishing of more military colleges, the old institutions already present in the area also need our attention.
The image of the Pakhtuns of being a warrior race still reverberates in the minds of our policymakers. This long-held colonial prejudice need not be regenerated. Engaging in rehabilitation activities is a step in institutional image-building and must be appreciated, but the educational needs of the people should match ground realities.
It is, therefore, the need of the hour to refurbish the rotten infrastructure of existing schools and colleges. The overwhelming engagement of the armed forces in the rehabilitation and modernisation phase of Fata signifies that civilians are doing little for the region. It is imperative, then, to take into account ground realities and the aspiration of the people of Fata with the civilian apparatus also contributing and evolving a comprehensive modernisation mechanism.
Muhammad Arif Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, January 8th, 2016.
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