Educational boards' audit

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The Sindh PAC decision to initiate a special audit of educational boards in the province is a welcome move that could help restore some of the public's shattered confidence in the integrity of the province's education system. Despite some efforts to make education more accessible in recent years, massive gaps remain in the quality of the country's parallel education systems - local boards and foreign boards - and those gaps appear to be widening.

The decision was not taken in a vacuum - there has been a recent tide of concerns regarding financial irregularities and allegations of corruption, particularly in relation to the marking system, leaked question papers, and buying grades. PPP leaders have been blunt in their admission that they had hoped to use education as an issue where they had done well - the government has cut tuition and exam fees to almost nothing. Instead, all the education-related scandals have made a priceless government-supported education valueless. In some cases, top performers from Sindh boards have been at the bottom of their university classes, with many failing to even clear university entrance exams.

The planned audit is supposed to take four months and will cover the years 2022 to 2024, which were rife with controversy. The Universities and Boards Department still has to present the terms of reference of the audit, though the focus will invariably be on the high-profile marking and grade-buying scams. However, the audit is not merely about uncovering past mistakes. Any investigation, no matter how thorough and transparent, will be a pointless exercise unless targeted reforms address the inadequacies that brought the education system into disrepute, rather than just papering over them and claiming victory or success.

The government must utilise this opportunity to lay the groundwork for a reformed, transparent educational system that values integrity if Sindh is to produce the next generation of innovators and skilled professionals.