Free and compulsory education: Education activists threaten to protest outside K-P Assembly

Say Article 25-A must be enacted at the earliest in K-P.

PESHAWAR:

Activists have threatened to come out in protest if the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government fails to enact Article 25-A, the Right to Free and Compulsory Education, of the Constitution.

An event to discuss progress made by authorities with regards to Article 25-A was organised by the Community Research and Development Organization (CRDO) in collaboration with Action Aid Pakistan on Monday. Briefing the participants, CRDO Programme Manager Mir Zaman Khan said the other provinces had already enacted the law, but the K-P government seemed to be using delaying tactics.



He said CRDO, Khwendo Kor, Action Aid and other organisations prepared a detailed draft on Article 25-A and discussed the matter with ministers and departments. However, it had little effect.

As a result, Zaman added, non-governmental organisations decided to join forces and formed a working group for the draft. He said various meetings had been held with different stakeholders, yet there was no positive response from the authorities.

“Ministers and the education department assured us several times the bill would be enacted soon, but they all failed,” Zaman said. He shared that the draft had seen its way through many doors, but no official was ready to bring activists up to speed on the current status of the bill or the flaws which kept it from being tabled in the assembly.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Mehmood Jan assured participants that the subject would be brought to the attention of the education minister. He said the official was willing to extend his complete support. Jan reiterated education was the PTI government’s top priority and it had taken various initiatives for quality schooling. He appreciated the role of education activists and encouraged them to continue working for the betterment of people.

Schoolteacher Sardar Ahmad Khan said the need of the hour was to focus on the current situation of schools across the province. He said around 40% of institutes in K-P were without boundary walls and the majority of girls school lacked toilets. He said in Peshawar district, as many as 120 students study in a single classroom with just one teacher.

Activists from various organisations echoed these views and urged the government to take the matter seriously. They said as many as 2.5 million children were out of school across K-P and financially-disadvantaged parents could not afford the expenses of a private education. They threatened to take to the streets if Article 2-5A was not enacted.



The participants announced their future course of action, saying they would first meet senior K-P elementary and secondary education officials. They warned of a protest in front of the K-P Assembly if these consultations were not productive.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st, 2015.