The million-dollar question is: will the PPP government take any measures
HYDERABAD: It is a well-known fact that hundreds of ghost schools exist in Sindh. These are premises or structures set aside for education, but which, have over the years, been converted into cattle pens or guest rooms by landlords in the province. The situation is so bad that according to official figures, around 5,600 such ‘ghost’ schools exist in the province. The Millennium Development Goals target of universal primary education by 2015 is obviously not going to be reached, least of all in Sindh. Ironically, the Objectives Resolution of the Constitution ensures the principle of equality among citizens in terms of constitutional guarantees and rights, while Article 37 says that the state shall provide education, end illiteracy and provide compulsory secondary and higher education to every citizen. Government-run schools and colleges in Sindh have been in dilapidated condition due to lack of proper infrastructure and abysmal levels of governance and monitoring. Qualified teachers are usually not available in schools while hundreds of schools have no teachers at all.
This gap is filled by the entry of hundreds of private schools which, while providing a much-needed service, have ended up creating a parallel class of students. The Sindh government’s internal report on the condition of schools in the province was placed on record by the court registrar in compliance with its directives. It makes several recommendations to stem the rot, but the million-dollar question is: will the PPP government take any effective measures to implement it so that the province’s poor education indicators can see a permanent rise?
Nasiruddin Soomro
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2014.
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