Pakistan - Plight of Education in Balochistan

Zafar ullah Musyani

On 5th September, Balochistan Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BBISE) Quetta announced the annual result of intermediate exams. According to the chairman board only 7,710 students out of 26,880 passed the examination. Whereas 19,173 candidates failed in the exams. Likewise, this time the result depicted a dark future of Balochistan. And, it also evolved several questions in the minds. For instance, are the students of province that much inept that they can’t achieve passing marks only? Or, is it an unjustified way to push back the students of province? Or it is the failure of Balochistan government?

Whether it is because of the scantiness of talented students or inefficiency of government one thing is quite clear in the light of a natural law that “whatever the input, it’s directly proportional to the output.” Let’s examine the input of Balochistan Government. According to the Balochistan education department 1.2 million children are out of schools in Balochistan, 3,500 ghost-schools are there in the province, 40% primary schools have only one room, 80% primary and 40% middle and high schools lack toilets and 90% primary and 68% middle and high schools have lack of drinkable water.

Moreover, Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) survey conducted by Pakistan Bureau of Statics (PBS) ostensibly shows the inefficiency of government. The report says that in Balochistan literacy rate dropped by 3% to 43% in 2013-14, due to the decline in male literacy rate. Furthermore, three-fourth of women in Balochistan are illiterate, as per PSLM survey.

In addition, owing to the dearth of institutions and competent teachers, students from different districts are compelled to leave homes and live in Quetta. Where they withstand unimaginable and dire miseries, they don’t avail hostel facilities, don’t get to go in any library, because there is only one public library, which itself is in a sorry state. Further, Bolan Medical College (BMC) and University of Balochistan (UOB) administrators have also shut the doors of their libraries to outsiders.

Deteriorating standard of BBISE have also deprived the students of province of getting admission in the prestigious colleges and universities of Pakistan. Majority of passed students are given around 60% marks which are quite insufficient to compete with the students of other provinces whom it’s like a piece of cake to chalk up more than 80% marks. More ruefully, position holders in Balochistan always attain 900-950 marks out of 1100 marks. On the other hand, in other provinces toppers all the time attain more than 1000 marks.

Yes, and of course Yes, the ineptness and heedlessness of government is crystal clear from all the angles.

In nutshell, “Education is the most powerful weapon” we do know but unluckily don’t have the modus operandi to win and utilize it. Things that matter most should not be at the mercy of things that matter least. Quality education, competent teachers, transparent and advanced education system, facilitating the students and institutions, and libraries do matter more than the eye washing rallies and seminars for the eradication of copy-culture.

Unless and until government does not take decisive and considerable measures, it will be a distant dream to improve our educational standard.