PROBLEMS OF PAKISTAN EDUCATION AND SOLUTION

What is Education?

Education is the simple process of learning and knowing. It is not restricted to the schools only. Education starts from the mother’s lap. Parents and family inculcate good manners and make responsible citizens out of their children. Home is called first school of the children, but the formal education starts from the school, where they are taught, how to behave and understand what is going on around them.

Importance of Education

“The foundation of every state is the education of its youth”. Diogenes Laertius

                                         

Education is very important for every human being. It makes one able to understand what is happening around us logically and clearly. Only educated person has the ability to take practical decisions and make right moves at the right time. Human existence without education is just like fecund land. Education not only enables individuals to put their potential to best use and do something productive in the upcoming future, but also plays a main role in shaping an individual to be a better, responsible citizen and an active member of the society. An educated person with self-confidence and precise moves knows how to transform the world. Education provides the ladder for achieving success in life and enables us to utilize skills and caliber in a constructive way. Therefore, it’s the prime responsibility of an individual to get educated and live a prosperous life while being a responsible citizen.

Problems in Education of Pakistan

Education is considered as the cheapest defense of a nation. But the down trodden condition of education in Pakistan bears an ample testimony of the fact that it is unable to defend its own sector. Though 62 years have been passed and 23 policies and action plans have been introduced yet the educational sector is waiting for an arrival of a savior. The government of Pervaiz Musharraf invested heavily in education sector and that era saw a visible positive educational change in Pakistani society. Now a days, the economic situation in Pakistan is under stress and education is the worse effected sector in Pakistan. The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan says,

“The state of Pakistan shall remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory secondary education within minimum possible period.”

In Human development Report Pakistan is placed at 136th position for having just 49.9% educated populace. The primary completion rate in Pakistan, given by Date Center of UNESCO, is 33.8% in females and 47.18% in males, which shows that people in the 6th largest country of the world are unable to get the basic education.

Problems in Education

Following are the problems in education in Pakistan.

         1.    Education System is based on 

             Unequal Lines

The educational system of Pakistan is based on unequal lines. Medium of education is different in both, public and private sector. This creates a sort of disparity among people, dividing them into two segments.

          2.    Regional Disparity

Regional disparity is also a major cause. The schools in Baluchistan (The Largest Province Of Pakistan By Area) are not that much groomed as that of Punjab (The Largest Province Of Pakistan By Population). In FATA, the literacy rate is deplorable constituting 29.5% in males and 3% in females.

          3.     Ratio of Gender Discrimination

The ratio of gender discrimination is a cause which is projecting the primary school ratio of boys & girls which is 10:4 respectively. For the last few years there has been an increase in the growth of private schools. That not only harms the quality of education but creates a gap among haves and has not.

4.    Lack of Technical Education

The lack of technical education is a biggest flaw in the educational policy that has never been focused before. Therefore, less technical people mean less.

          5.    Funds

The allocation of funds for education is very low. It is only 1.5 to 2.0 percent of the total GDP. It should be around 7% of the total GDP.

          6.    Untrained Teachers

The teachers in government schools are not well trained. People who do not get job in any other sector, they try their luck in educational system. They are not professionally trained teachers so they are unable to train a nation.

          7.    Poverty

Poverty is also another factor that restricts the parents to send their children to public or private schools. So, they prefer to send their children to madrassas where education is totally free.

Recently, minister of education announced a new Education policy for that next 10 years. The interesting thing is that the previous educational policy from 1998 to 2010 is still not expired. Although it is projected to give new plans and to make more promises with the nation. It is said in this policy that all the public schools will be raised up to the level of private schools. No plan of action have been discussed, yet a notice is issued to private schools to induct government course in 5th and 8th class and these classes will bound to take board exams. This disturbed the students of private sector also.

Solutions for Educational System

Estimating the value of education, the Government should take solid steps on this issue. Implementation instead of projecting policies should be focused on. Allocation of funds should be made easy from provinces to districts and then to educational institutes. Workshops must be arranged for teachers. Foreign states are using LSS system. This should be inducted in Pakistani schools to improve the hidden qualities of children. Technical education must be given to all the classes. The education board of Punjab has projected a plan to give tech- education to the children of industrial workers. Promotion of the primary education is the need of time. Teachers, professors and educationists should be consulted while devising any plan, syllabus or policy. The state seems to give up her responsibility and totally relying on private sector. The need of time is to bring education in its original form to masses. Burdening students with so much books will not work as he will not understand what the world is going to do next moment. Education is the only cure of the instability in the state and can bring revolution through evolution, by eradicating the social evils. This ishow to remove illiteracy in Pakistan.

Women’s Education in Pakistan

Pakistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world. The picture of educational conditions is grim in Pakistan. More than 40 percent of girls never enroll in school. “The situation is especially alarming in rural areas due to social and cultural Obstacle.

More specifically in KPK and Baluchistan women are severely bound by cultural constraints and prejudices. They are involved in productive, reproductive and community work for 14-18 hours, in these areas the female literacy rate stands between 15 per cent and 25 per cent. a day as well as in northern tribal areas the education of girls is strictly prohibited on religious grounds. Those girls who go schools their attendance rates in primary, secondary, and postsecondary schools are lower than boys.”This is a gross misinterpretation of Islam.

Pakistan is a Muslim’s country; the dominant religion is Islam about 96 per cent of the population is Muslim, which like all religions urges men and women to acquire education. In Islam, it is clearly mention that it is obligatory for every man and woman to receive quality education. This clearly states that women should receive education. 

There are several issues and causes of education problems for girl children in Pakistan

Problems of Access to Education: Inaccessibility of primary education is a result of distance, child labor, male preference, scarcity of teachers, local leaders’ fear of loosing power and frequent policy changes. The problem of access applies to both girls and boys; however it is more serious for girls. Girl’s schools are far away from their homes in many rural areas, Girl child because culturally they are supposed to stay close to home and they cannot travel alone in our society freely, many families cannot afford traveling expenses for their children. Those who can afford transport it is often not available in rural and backward areas. Moreover, teachers that do not belong to the same community are sometimes unable to attend school daily because of above-mentioned problems. 

Problems of Separate Schools:
In our society coeducation is not accepted even in primary schools. Family and parents don't allow their girls to study in coeducation schools due to several reasons. The government often failed to take measures to provide separate school and classrooms for girls.

Child labor: Children often do not attend school because they are working to support their families for their survival. Million of children under the age of 14 are laborers at brick kiln factories, the carpet weaving industry, agriculture, small industries and domestic services across Pakistan. 

Male preference: Parents favor the education of their sons over their daughters. Whenever there is a tradeoff between boys and girls for sending school; parents prefer to expend on boys education as they are they future earning hands of their families. Typically, education of a boy is desirable even for the most disadvantaged people and those who live beyond the designated settled areas. However, education of a girl is not necessarily desirable because any investment made would not bear fruit for their family since girls leave to live with the family of their husband. 

Fear of extremists:

In Pakistan, particularly in the KPK militant group have blasted thousand of schools, especially girl schools, thousand of student have lost their lives during studying. Extremist groups are against girls and women education as well as they have given threats and threatening letters to several Governments and private girl schools for stopping girl education. Women are not allowed to step out of their houses. If they are allowed to go out they have to be covered in heavy burqas from head to toe. In short, women, which are 51 percent on the country’s population, have been forced to just bear children for their husbands and remain within their houses for cooking and cleaning.

Fear of losing power: local landlords oppose girls’ education out of fear of losing power. Whenever the Government and non-government take steps to open formal and informal schools in rural and backward areas where they rule, the landlords oppose such measures, apparently out of fear that people who become literate will cease to follow them with blind faith. In this condition unfortunately, the government has not so far taken any steps to promote literacy or girls education in these areas. It is even reluctant to help NGOs or other small political or religious parties do the job, because in order to maintain control, it needs the support of these landlords and chieftains who, as members of the political parties, are regularly elected to the national assembly.

Frequent changes in education policies: Our governments have announced different plans and policies to promote literacy, especially among women, as Governments have announced various programs to achieve its educational objectives but they have been unable to translate their words into action because of various social, cultural, economic and political obstacles.

Solution of Above Problem:

Change of mind of leaders and local landlords
Change the policies of education
Bring change in local level through awareness and practical action
Equal access of education male and female