Pakistan: Appalling state of education

Disturbing revelations from the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) indicate that as many as 16 percent of children in Punjab between the ages of six and 16 do not go to school. The remaining 84 percent are not much better off as they do not seem to be learning much. The survey was conducted on as many as 59,092 children and it found that, among other things, student competencies in learning the English language and Arithmetic were pathetic, and that students in class five had trouble constructing and reading sentences fit for class two students. These kinds of ‘achievements’ in education smack of a lacklustre attitude by the authorities in charge when it comes to opening up a brighter future for our upcoming generations. The Punjab government, whose ruling PML-N is also in power at the Centre, seems to have paid little heed to a matter it has been harping on about for some time now: education. We have seen the government of Nawaz Sharif, even before he became the prime minister last year, raise slogans of empowering the youth with knowledge and education but the ASER is enough to cause his credibility to fall flat in this area. We have seen how the laptop scheme and the Daanish school scheme have backfired. It is being reported now that some students who received their big, shiny new laptops went on to sell them in the open market. Equipping students with computer laboratories in their schools would have been far more useful than handing them machines they can pawn. All these showpiece projects seem to have been designed to exhibit interest in education when they do not address the fundamental problems of the existing educational structure. Even minimal standards of education have not been achieved because the real problems in education have not been tackled. Teachers are not properly trained and inexperienced staff is kept at deplorable wages. This results in classes where the student is not adequately helped to learn anything substantial. Our curriculum and textbooks are nowhere near being up to the mark. Drop out rates are huge because of these very reasons. Private schools show slightly better attendance and progress but they too can do better. These private schools should not be just money spinning enterprises. They must also provide a befitting education. With this kind of situation on our hands, is it any surprise that we are producing more ‘educated illiterates’ than ever before?