Merit, monitoring and accountability are keys to ensuring that the education sector in the province is reformed
DADU: Last year, International Literacy Day was observed around the world during which many international NGOs and the Sindh government held seminars to demand that an education emergency be imposed. They wanted an increase in school enrollment, particularly in the rural areas, where the ratio of female students continues to decline. Today, schools continue to lack electricity, boundary walls, toilets and clean drinking water. Other dysfunctional schools have merely become animal sheds and rest houses for influential area residents, police stations or offices for ghost employees. Employees are put on payroll after paying bribes, and granted long leaves and transfers for the same and there is no human resources department to verify teachers’ qualifications. The prevalence of ghost teachers does not help in fighting illiteracy and poverty. The authorities choose to remain aloof over this matter. One teacher told me that due to the frequent absence of teachers, absenteeism among students is also prevalent.
Recently, Sindh’s secretary of education admitted that 40,000-50,000 teachers are being given salaries for work they have not done. While other provinces have introduced some education reforms, Sindh lags behind. Another factor is the unscientific and outdated curriculum used across schools. Unionism, loyalties and biases are also unable to deliver progressive outcomes. Reform in the sector requires long-term vision with a non-political and corruption-free agenda. The use of biometric registration and attendance is a good initiative to record staff presence and engagement, if properly implemented.
Indeed, merit, monitoring and accountability are keys to ensuring that the education sector in the province is reformed.
Ghulam Qadir Thaheem
Published in The Express Tribune, February 2nd, 2016.
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