Ajmal Kakar
Education plays an important role in the prosperity and progress of a Nation. It is the youth of the society which speeds-up development, sustains economic growth and ensures peaceful life. Contrarily, Balochistan is moving backwards. It is pertinent to mention that poverty, unemployment and instability are reasons behind the educational backwardness but in fact educational backwardness is prime mover behind these factors.
24% of the total budget of recent year was allocated for the education, in which lion’s share has been spent upon salaries of Teachers. Furthermore, educational emergency has been declared in the province. Despite this enormous reforms have been brought recently but over-all, outputs are unsatisfactory.
Beyond the curtains, there are still 1.8 million children are out of school; in the same way two out of three girls are uneducated in Balochistan. Therefore the province has the lowest literacy rate in Pakistan. Absenteeism amongst the teachers is a common practice rather taking classes, always participating in protests. Moreover, the situation of education in rural areas is more devastating. The curriculum of education is not qualitative and sub-standard. There is no strict action against the responsible factors and no accountability of the teachers by the highly concerned authorities. Lack of schools, colleges and universities and paucity of infrastructure and qualified teachers augments the educational backwardness. University of Balochistan, the biggest university of the province, is merely a student’s political training institute. The bewildering situation in the province has forced people to send their children outside the province, principally those who could afford.
It is appropriate to voice-on the issue of dismal education system in Balochistan. Unluckily our representatives and rulers have no care of others’ children because their own are studying abroad, as Bhutto said to his friend once, while replying a question on Nationalized education.
“Relax, mine and yours children are not going to be studying here in Pakistan anyway.”
Political leaders of the province as well as other stakeholders should pay full heed towards promotion of education in the province rather paying attention to minimize other social issues, because these all are the fallouts of paucity of education. Secondly reforms should be brought in educational sector. Teachers should be made fully accountable, and strict action is exigent, not only against dishonest teachers but also against sordid officers should be taken, because these together spark off educational evils. That is why Education and instability are inversely proportional to each other.
Apart from this NGOs, INGOs and federal government, particularly Higher Education commission, should contribute much in this regard, in a bid to jack-up educational system of Balochistan. Otherwise children and youth of this resources equipped province will remain in darkness.
Writer is a student of political science in GCU Lahore.
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