Decaying education system

In an address at the Lahore Institute of Health Sciences (LIHS) recently, Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar expressed concern over the plight of the education sector as well as the low literacy rate in the country. Justice Nisar told his audience that education had been neglected in the country and no country can hope to achieve anything tangible if it does not have a robust educational system in place. Recalling his visits to different schools across the country, the chief justice said that in some provinces like Balochistan, there was absence of an even basic education system while in others where schools did exist, these places lack proper classes, boundary walls or even toilets.

According to a survey done in 2018 by a local NGO, Alif Ailaan, 22.6 million boys and girls are out of school. In rural areas, the condition is even worse where around 53 per cent of girls are deprived of primary education and never have an opportunity to attend school. Of those children who do go to school, the majority receive an education of poor quality. One can recall days when we had some good government schools but most of them have either shut down or deteriorated so much that parents are wary of sending their children there. Also, going to school is no guarantee of education, be it in the urban or the rural areas. In many instances, we see government schools turning into ghost schools – where the buildings stand while no classes are held as the teaching staff is missing. What is worse is that 43 per cent of government schools are in a dangerous or dilapidated condition and lack basic facilities such as furniture, bathrooms, boundary walls, electricity and running water, 21 per cent government primary schools are operating with a single teacher and 14 per cent with a single classroom. These are frightening numbers. It is time to declare an education emergency. One hopes this is done at the earliest.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2019.

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