Terrorism remains a threat to education

Qualified teachers prefer to be posted in urban areas or towns where safety is less of a concern.

ISLAMABAD:

Teachers are the architects of future growth as they build the foundations for the socio-economic development of a country.

These were the views expressed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) Pakistan Chief of Education Pilar Augliar at a seminar titled ‘Public Forum on Right to Education and Role of Teachers’ during Education Week.

The seminar was jointly organised by Unicef and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and was held at Serena Hotel on Thursday.

“Terrorism remains a threat to teachers whether they are working in public or private schools or in refugee camps. It is a deterrent which causes rising absenteeism,” Augliar said.

Ministry of Education officials, Federal Directorate of Education employees, civil society members, and teachers present at the seminar said it was imperative to boost the demand for teachers.

Augliar said an abundance of teachers would help schools reach out to millions of girls residing in far-flung areas of the country.

“Education for all and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) cannot be achieved without establishing an inclusive and gender equitable system,” she said.

UNESCO Pakistan representative Dr Kozue Kay Nagata said teachers “not only disseminated information, knowledge and new skills to their pupils, but also made learning a participatory phenomenon.”

Nagata said the distance, non-availability of transport facilities and lack of interest from local communities among other factors were reasons for the increasing absenteeism of teachers in the country.

“Qualified teachers prefer to be posted in towns or urban areas, which leaves rural schools, where there is an urgent need for such teachers, largely empty,” she said.

CAD Joint Secretary Rafique Tahir spoke about Article 25-A — the right to free education — and the challenges of its implementation.

Tahir said Pakistan had joined a group of 135 countries who had constitutionally recognised the right to free and compulsory education for their citizens.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2013.