Education Crises in Pakistan

As we know, education is the key to success and getting an education is the fundamental right of every human. However, in the country of Pakistan 23 million children are out of school. While some may think those23 million children are out of school due to no law for education in Pakistan, they would be wrong. In Pakistan Article 25 gaurantees the right to free and compulsory education . By this law, the government is responsible to give free and compulsory education to every citizen of Pakistan from age 5 to 16 years old. In tribal areas of Pakistan, 3 million children are out of school. In one city of Pakistan, Lahore and the surrounding area, 1.5 Million children are out of school.
Below I describe some of the main issues in this education crisis:

1.      Lack of interest: Children are not interested in going to school. They cannot see the benefit to attending school and do see there are many punishments.

2.       Poverty: Parents cannot afford school expenditures for their children, so instead children go to work. Many parents in tribal areas also are not aware about importance and benefits of education in tribal areas.

3.       Lack of adequate schools: In Pakistan, in many cities and rural areas there are not adequate schools Recently, earthquakes have damaged 805 schools in the KPK province.

4.       Terrorism: In the Federally Administrated Tribal Area of Pakistan, 750 schools have been completely destroyed by terrorist violence and bombs Terrorism has also forcibly displaced many people from their homes. Traveling and relocating to IDP camps has further limited their access to education. e.g Khyber and Waziristan agency etc

5.       'Madrasa' system: In the KPK province, 1 out of 3 children receive an education in the Madrasa system, a religious education system. These children to not receive a modern education, and are not taught subjects like Engilsh and science.

6.       Gender issues and gender inequality: There are separate schools for boys and girls; Boys cannot study in a girls’ school and girls cannot study in a boys’ school. In some areas only boys’ schools exist. Due to gender inequality, some parents do not want their daughters to get an education, feeling that it brings them shame.

These are some issues contributing to thelack of educational access for children in Pakistan. Another problem is the quality of education. Many may leave school without being proficient in basic math and reading.Because there is no quality education. There is also no national system—the textbook, policies, and curriculum differ acrossthe 4 provinces of Pakistan.

While this problem is very complex, I have some recommendations to improve the number of Pakistani children receiving an education.

To interest children in attending school, arrange workshops, seminars and activities in school. Provide games in school and playgrounds. Reduce the punishment rate.To address the issue of poverty, allow students to study part time and work part time. In school, provide children with practical schools they can use to work and earn income. The government must build new primary and secondary schools and . provide funds to repair schools that have damaged or destroyed from earthquakes and bombs. In IDP camps, the government must build temporary schools and hire trained staff.

The government must issue an order to schools using the Madrasa education system to include science education in addition to religious education in both the curriculum and textbooks.

For gender inequality, the government must pass a law to protect the right of free, compulsory education for girls in the whole country.

Resources link: http://pakistanconstitutionlaw.com/article-25a-right-to-education/

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/business/21-Dec-2014/socio-economic-impact-of-terrorism-on-pakistan

http://www.radiotnn.com/more-than-900-schools-damaged-by-earthquake-pdma/

http://saypeople.com/2012/05/03/some-of-the-problems-faced-by-students-in-pakistan/

By
Ishtiaq Hussain
Islamabad Pakistan
Ishtiaqhussain1214@hotmail.com