Red herring: Nothing to quench the thirst
About 45% of primary girls’ schools in all provinces face shortage of teaching staff, inadequate security: report.
ISLAMABAD:
Most of the government primary schools for girls lack facilities of clean drinking water. Other factors like shortage of teaching staff and furniture coupled with more pressing issues like security threats reflect poorly upon government’s commitment for women empowerment.
The government, while recognising provision of safe drinking water as a fundamental human right, formulated National Drinking Water Policy 2009 with an objective to improve the quality of life of the people of Pakistan by reducing the incidence of death and illness caused by water-borne diseases.
However, two years later, the progress in meeting the objectives can still not be seen, as highlighted in the recent report by Free and Fair Election Network, titled ‘Education Institution Monitor’ conducted in April 2011. The report reveals that about 45 per cent of these schools monitored in 52 districts in four provinces lacked clean drinking water for students and 88 per cent lacked a serving sanitary worker. Despite deteriorating law and order situation and constant threats by extreme forces, only 27 per cent of the 78 monitored government girls’ primary schools were provided with a security guard.
Out of 78 schools, in 35 the provision of clean drinking water was not available. This includes eight in Punjab, 11 in Sindh, 12 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and in all the four schools monitored in Balochistan.
According to the report, non-availability of clean drinking water is a cause for concern since the school-girls stand at risk of dehydration, especially as it is unlikely that they would be allowed off the premises to fetch water from surrounding areas. In any event, it is a requirement that clean drinking water be present on the premises of all state-run educational institutes.
The monitored schools were also lacking in support and sanitation staff. This non-teaching staff is essential as it not only provides assistance to teachers and students but also helps in maintaining school cleanliness. Though, the support and sanitation staff was lacking in most of the monitored schools, the class rooms of 85 per cent of schools were found to be clean. It is possible that due to absence of non-teaching staff the responsibility of keeping the class rooms clean was taken up either by the students or by the teachers themselves. With militancy-hit areas like K-P and Balochistan, the security and sanitation of educational institutes should be of prime importance to the government.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 13th, 2011.
Most of the government primary schools for girls lack facilities of clean drinking water. Other factors like shortage of teaching staff and furniture coupled with more pressing issues like security threats reflect poorly upon government’s commitment for women empowerment.
The government, while recognising provision of safe drinking water as a fundamental human right, formulated National Drinking Water Policy 2009 with an objective to improve the quality of life of the people of Pakistan by reducing the incidence of death and illness caused by water-borne diseases.
However, two years later, the progress in meeting the objectives can still not be seen, as highlighted in the recent report by Free and Fair Election Network, titled ‘Education Institution Monitor’ conducted in April 2011. The report reveals that about 45 per cent of these schools monitored in 52 districts in four provinces lacked clean drinking water for students and 88 per cent lacked a serving sanitary worker. Despite deteriorating law and order situation and constant threats by extreme forces, only 27 per cent of the 78 monitored government girls’ primary schools were provided with a security guard.
Out of 78 schools, in 35 the provision of clean drinking water was not available. This includes eight in Punjab, 11 in Sindh, 12 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and in all the four schools monitored in Balochistan.
According to the report, non-availability of clean drinking water is a cause for concern since the school-girls stand at risk of dehydration, especially as it is unlikely that they would be allowed off the premises to fetch water from surrounding areas. In any event, it is a requirement that clean drinking water be present on the premises of all state-run educational institutes.
The monitored schools were also lacking in support and sanitation staff. This non-teaching staff is essential as it not only provides assistance to teachers and students but also helps in maintaining school cleanliness. Though, the support and sanitation staff was lacking in most of the monitored schools, the class rooms of 85 per cent of schools were found to be clean. It is possible that due to absence of non-teaching staff the responsibility of keeping the class rooms clean was taken up either by the students or by the teachers themselves. With militancy-hit areas like K-P and Balochistan, the security and sanitation of educational institutes should be of prime importance to the government.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 13th, 2011.