Laboratories have an enormous impact on students’ practical life. It is a place where students get exposed to the technical and practical form of all theories and texts found in books. Unfortunately, we see schools ignoring this sector and abandoning laboratories so much so that they become a habitat for stray animals.
Only a small number of schools in Pakistan have science laboratories and they are often poorly equipped and lack necessary resources. In Punjab, there are around 8,950 high and higher secondary schools with only 5,000 laboratories while just 300 are equipped with modern equipment.
This inadequacy results in reduced interest in STEM and poor academic performance. It is really shocking to know that we are in a century of modern discoveries, yet we fail to resolve this issue. We are unable to equip our youth with the opportunities for practical exposure of inked theories. I request the higher authorities to take serious steps in changing this culture in educational facilities and prioritising laboratories.
Zohra Zahoor
Turbat
