Dull lessons

The survey by FAFEN’s Education Monitor Division shows why we find ourselves in such a mess.

Some of the reasons for the crisis we face on the educational front has surfaced in the survey conducted by the Fair and Free Election Network’s (FAFEN) Education Monitor Division in 137 schools for girls in 87 districts of the country. The survey, not entirely unexpectedly, found that 72 per cent of the schools had no sanitary staff and 49 per cent did not have facilities for clean drinking water. Past monitoring of schools by various organisations have come up with similar findings, with schools across the country found to lack even the most basic amenities, such as boundary walls and furniture.

FAFEN’s findings on the state of development in the country have not been limited to education. In the past, the organisation has found similar disarray in the basic health care sector. These findings, more than the accounts of infighting between allies or the antics of various individual politicians, say a great deal about the state of democracy in our country. It amounts to a virtually criminal offence, or at least the worst possible demonstration of inhumanity, that while our children attempt to obtain an education in these dire circumstances, our parliamentarians — from both sides of the political divide — seek more perks and privileges for themselves to cushion their already luxurious lives.

What is also disturbing are the findings from the survey of a reluctance to disclose information. Most of the schools surveyed were reluctant to give out details of sanitary staff or others on their rolls. The ratio of children per teacher, at 45, was highest in Fata — a region that reflects some of the lowest development statistics anywhere in the country. Perhaps this accounts for the militancy that has, over the years, flourished and grown in all the tribal regions of the country.

Findings such as these are reflective of the reasons why we find ourselves in such a mess. More than anything else, we need education to move forward; our little girls need it at least as much as the boys. There are many accounts from the developing world of how learning for girls can help uplift entire families and act to empower women. This is something we desperately need, but it cannot happen unless priorities are set right and the state of schools improved drastically.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th, 2011.