The uneducated to represent the illiterate?

Importance given to education is evident by the budget allocated for it, and no dedicated minister for the province.

The Tuesday session had been convened at the opposition’s request. So it was fitting that the leader of the opposition Raja Riaz decided to fire the first salvo.

Faisalabad’s Raja was furious at the appointment of Khizer Hyat Hiraj from Khanewal as a special assistant to the chief minister on education. “He is not even a matriculate,” objected Riaz. The house is not known for academic brilliance, lamented Raja Riaz, but the chief minister could have found someone more qualified for the job. Riaz seemed convinced that Hiraj’s only ‘qualification’ was he that he was the father-in-law of an ex-PML-Q MPA who had joined the ‘turncoat group’ when Shahbaz Sharif wanted him to.

The opposition leader does have a point. One fails to understand why Hiraj had to be the adviser on education. He could have been made a special assistant on space research, environmental engineering, stem cell research or the bus rapid transit system. No one would have cared.

Hiraj’s appointment reflects the chief minister’s vision of education. The ‘importance’ given to education is evident by the budget allocated for education and by the fact that the province does not have a dedicated minister for it. Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman, who manages the department, has charge of five other departments.

While the PPP leader was speaking, PML-N’s Ghazala Rana (the lady uses the pre-fix Dr) rose in her seat and said that the opposition leader was “insulting the vast majority of illiterates in the Punjab”. Hilarious as the comment was, it also provided food for thought. In Punjab, 25.07 per cent of the people have completed 10 years of education. And instead of resolving to improve the literacy rate, the government has picked up one of those illiterates for its mission to educate. The most dangerous thing perhaps is that the decision found support in the representative legislature.

Speaker Rana Iqbal, though an educated and gentle soul, is the son of a man who used to be proud of his illiteracy. During his speeches, he claimed to be a ‘true’ representative of the illiterate masses.

If the uneducated are chosen to represent the illiterate, who will make and implement policies to make sure the citizens are educated.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2012.