After four years, Article 25-A has yet to be implemented

Article 25-A guarantees free and compulsory education for all children from the ages of 5 to 16 years.

Honouring the global agenda on education as crystallised in the Millennium Development Goals, the state’s commitment to provide free and compulsory education to children dates back to 2010.

In the backdrop of 18th amendment, Article 25-A inserted on April 19, 2010, guarantees free and compulsory education for all children from the ages of 5 to 16 years.

Unfortunately, however, only the Islamabad Capital Territory, Sindh and Balochistan have taken steps to implement the law with partial success, said a press release on Saturday.

The lack of effective implementation is reflected in the paltry budget allocation for education amounting to two per cent of GDP, as well as insufficient facilities for learning and infrastructure, incompetent teachers and an overall poor quality of education. This includes inadequacies and missing facilities as well, such as the fact that 52.8 per cent of primary schools lack useable toilets and that 36.1 per cent of primary schools do not offer drinking water, according to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2013.

Other alarming figures cited in the report portray a gloomy picture of primary and mid-level enrolment and quality of education. Some 21 per cent of children aged between five to16 are out of school in rural areas. Moreover, 56.7 per cent of all fifth graders cannot read a sentence in English.

Although the government declared an increase in the education budget from two to four per cent during UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s visit on March 29, the promises will not bear fruit until concrete steps are not taken. A good starting point could be the appointment of education advisory councils.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2014.