Govt fails to improve Punjab’s school education system

Thousands of campuses make do without classrooms, teachers, furniture and water

LAHORE:

The Punjab government has long been harping on its agenda for revamping the province’s education system.

However, little appears to have been done to put those words into action, discount adopting a uniform education policy, which includes introducing mandatory Quran classes for children.

Although the government hasn’t missed a single opportunity to address its educational reforms, education was still among sectors that took the hardest hit during pandemic years. No policy could ever be cleared to ameliorate that, leaving thousands of Punjab’s children out of school and many forced into labour.

Per official data, the 36 districts of Punjab are home to a total of 60,000 public and 35,000 private schools.

In addition to that, the Punjab government also launched its Insaf Afternoon Schools Programme last year, under which thousands of schools were to be upgraded with better facilities to encourage people to send their children to schools.

The project was initially aimed to target over 7,000 schools across the province, with a budget of rupees seven billion. But, so far, only some 4,000 schools could be upgraded, while plans for the rest have been put on hold due to lack of increase in the number of student strength.

However the need for this programme is still of the essence, considering that over 30 per cent of schools in Punjab, the largest province, lack the most fundamental of amenities like access to potable water.

Although the government had touted its plans of installing water filtration plants and solar panels in these buildings to address the potable water issue, but so far, much of these plans appears to be lip service with no on-ground implementation.

Similarly, only 30 per cent of Punjab’s school-going children have access to toilet facilities on campus, while 20,000 schools across the province are in desperate need of new classrooms and some 700 of a boundary wall.

Owing to lack of upgrades and repairs, at least 250 school buildings in the province have now become a safety hazard, feared to start crumbling anytime.

On the other hand, recruitment of staff and faculty has also remained an uphill battle for the government. Per sources, there is is a deficit of over 100,000 teachers in the province’s public schools, which the government has failed to meet.

A local public school teacher speaking in the regard said that they have to cram as many as 100 students in a match-box sized classroom due to the acute shortage of teachers. “This is a severe risk in times of pandemic, but where the government keeps making claims, it has done nothing to improve the local school infrastructure here,” the teacher lamented.

Every successive government has made tall claims about improving the state of education in Punjab, but despite billions in budget each year, the condition of these public institutions only appears to be worsening with time.

The Express Tribune made several attempts to contact Provincial Minister of Punjab for School Education Murad Rass, for some clarity on the matter. But the minister remained unavailable to comment, leaving the province in the dark about the government’s work so far and its plans for the future.

According to an official of Punjab Planning and Development Board however, under Punjab Education Sector Reforms Programme, some steps are being taken to improve infrastructure of colleges in a bid to upgrade quality of college education in Punjab. “We are also taking step to build boundary walls and toilets in colleges and universities. Similarly, reforms are being made by the government to upgrade local schools so that they have access to all basic facilities,” the official told The Express Tribune on conditions of anonymity.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2022.