PAKISTAN: Menace of illiteracy

There is much that is wrong with Pakistan’s system of education. Observers have pointed out that even in a city like Lahore there are a number of schools without basic facilities.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Int'l Desk
Source & Credit: Dawn.Com | Editorial

Every now and then we get stark reminders of just how miserable the plight of education is in Pakistan. The Sindh Assembly was told during question hour on Friday that Jacobabad was the province’s least literate district, with only a third of its population able to read and write. Though the news is depressing, it should prompt us to think about what can be done to set things right.

There is much that is wrong with Pakistan’s system of education. Observers have pointed out that even in a city like Lahore there are a number of schools without basic facilities. The situation in other urban centres is probably not too different. The state of schools in the rural areas of the country is much worse. In this regard, Balochistan and the NWFP, where countless schools have been blown up by the Taliban, is perhaps most grim.

The government has pledged to raise the budget outlay for education as part of the GDP significantly by 2015. But the millions of dollars that have already been poured into programmes for the improvement of education over the past few years have proved that simply throwing money at schools will not stem the rot. Unless there is accountability and sustainable policies matters will remain the same. A pragmatic approach towards education is needed not only to help reduce illiteracy but to make young minds realise their potential as productive members of society.

Experts have pointed to the linkage of poverty, security and education. Poor, malnourished and impressionable minds are an easy prey for the peddlers of obscurantism. The proposal of free education for all can only be successful when parents are given incentives to put their children in school and no longer feel compelled to send them into the fields or workshops to supplement the meagre family income.

The Sindh Assembly members were correct in holding previous governments responsible for the state of education today. But if they and their colleagues in the other legislatures simply criticize without taking corrective action, they themselves will become the targets of censure in the future.

Read the original editorial here: Menace of illiteracy