KARACHI:
Pakistan has a low literacy rate, and the province of Sindh is no exception to it. In fact, Sindh has one of the weakest education systems in the country. Besides Karachi and Hyderabad, other parts of the province have very few schools that are well-equipped to educate children.
The village of Thatt in District Sukkur has just one government primary school, which was built in 1952. Even though the school is operating as normal, it does not have proper premises; and other basic facilities for students are also missing. Approximately 200 students at different stages of learning are studying at the school. However, they are all crammed within two classrooms because of the poor state of the building. In addition, there are only three teachers responsible for all the students. Consequently, the students are not getting the required attention because of which most do not even make it to the secondary level. Even the students that are successful in finishing primary schooling are usually unable to attend secondary school because the village does not have any and students cannot afford to travel to other cities for schooling.
Many of these children have a lot of potential that they can benefit from if given the right academic opportunities. I request the provincial government and other educational authorities to consider this pressing issue and undertake measures to build schools across the province. More importantly, the relevant authorities should ensure the maintenance and provision of good quality education at all schools. The children of Sindh should not be deprived of their right to education and should be offered the same opportunities to improve their futures.
Wasand Ali
Sukkur
Published in The Express Tribune, January 14th, 2022.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
