In my opinion, due to emergence of private schools, social class differences are increasing rather than decreasing.
LAHORE: Private and public schools have an obvious purpose. But their implicit purposes are different. Private schools aim for profit, whereas public schools aim to instill certain narratives.
There are vast differences between public and private schools. Public schools have huge enrollments of students in one class. Larger numbers of students are taught by one teacher, who provide the same level and quality of education. On the other side, in private schools, the number of students is fewer in one class. Secondly, the quality of education in both schools is different, depending on the number of students in classrooms, as well as on the learning environment created by teachers. Mostly in public schools, learning and teaching takes place in Urdu even for subjects usually taught in English, whereas in private schools, learning and teaching methodology is in English.
Due to these two different school systems, society faces conflicts between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’.
The ‘haves’ are those people who are economically strong and belong to upper/elite class. They will probably go to private schools and foreign universities for their higher studies. These people will get high quality of education and have access to the best jobs.
The ‘have-nots’ are those who are not economically strong and belong to the lower-income groups. In my opinion, due to the emergence of private schools, social class differences are increasing rather than decreasing. Private schools are also reinforcing a social stratification mechanism. They are serving aims and purposes of the elite class.
As of now, public schools are the source of restoring and covering this gap by offering people education.
Arifa Shahid
Published in The Express Tribune, January 1st, 2014.
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