Government schools’ plight

Only a small portion of the allocated education budget goes to the improvement of infrastructure.

When we talk about a lack of leadership in Pakistan, we must include the education sector. This is supported by a recent report in this newspaper, informing us that only 50 per cent of Karachi’s government colleges have principals. The other 50 per cent of colleges are left to navigate on their own due to negligence on the part of the provincial education department. These colleges are currently run by senior teachers, who may or may not have administrative skills. If teachers are forced into administration offices when they should be in classrooms, we must question the quality of teaching students are receiving and by whom. Unarguably, senior teachers make some of the best educators as with their seniority comes years of experience.

Another bleak picture is painted in Punjab as hundreds of schools lack drinking water facilities, sewerage systems and boundary walls. Eight schools do not even have buildings. Of some Rs5.64 billion allocated to Punjab districts, Rs5.5 billion were sanctioned for teachers’ and department officials’ salaries, leaving only a small portion of the amount for improving school infrastructures. In Peshawar, a state-run special education school suspended transportation services after it was unable to meet fuel expenses. This impacted some 492 children with physical disabilities who use the facility. As if the state of education in Peshawar was not dreary enough, because of extremist forces, students now have to miss school because of a lack of transport. Better administration was required here to keep track of funds and ensure that students would have the means to get to school.

In all of these cases, there is a lack of responsibility from the state. Ownership and leadership must be shown towards government institutions. Responsible departments should provide the administration and funds necessary to enable the public education system to function smoothly. And we, as citizens, must keep pressing political parties until they act beyond rhetoric.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2013.