Lost Potential: Pakistan’s Education Crisis and the Urgent Call for Change
Pakistan – a country rich in culture and blessed with a diverse population – struggles with crucial challenges in its educational sector, restricting its overall growth and development potential. These challenges, however, are not new but rather dating back to colonial-era policies. The educational obstacles in Pakistan are intricate, complicated and multifaceted, including – but not limited to – issues of access, quality, socioeconomic factors, and governance. And while there have been finite government initiatives over the years, there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that every child in Pakistan has access to quality education. A brief overview of the numerous complicated issues existing in our so-called education system is provided in this article.
1) Dropout Rates:
According to a report by the Pakistan Education Statistics, approximately 22.8 million children in Pakistan are out of school, which is profoundly worrisome. There are various reasons behind students dropouts. At times its poverty, other times its child labor or employment. Pakistan is a poor country where child labor is sadly and unfortunately a commonality. This snatches the right of education from children, hence the surge in dropout percentage.
2) Gender Disparity in Education:
In addition to the overall dismal statistics for education, there also is a gender disparity in education accessibility, which is evident. Girls often face a greater number of barriers to attending school, which sustains inequality. Deep-rooted patriarchal norms discourage families from sending their daughters to school. Early marriages and societal expectations also restrict girls’ opportunities to pursue academics. The male literacy rate of Pakistan stands at 70%, while the female literacy rate lingers at just 49%.
3) Inadequate Infrastructure:
Another crucial issue in Pakistan’s education system is the lack of adequate infrastructure and facilities in many regions which hampers students’ access to quality education. In many cities, a lot of schools – be it private or government – lack proper buildings, electricity, and clean drinking water. The absence of basic necessities such as water and electricity, or in worst case scenario, lack of furniture i.e. school desks makes it challenging for children, to attend school regularly. Additionally, long commutes to distant schools also discourage parents from sending their children to get an education.
4) Redundant Curriculum:
Not only is access to education limited, but even the quality of education provided in Pakistan is questionable. We are still being taught the curriculum invented in the stone age. It’s redundant and fails to prepare our students for todays fast paced world. It is heavily focused on memorization only, which eventually immobilizes critical thinking and problem-solving skills of students. Similarly, our examination system is also inappropriate and incorrect.
5) Untrained Faculty:
One of the chronic problems of our education system is the shortage of trained teachers. The facts regarding education clearly show that the major factor that is affecting literacy is the unavailability of quality and trained faculty members in educational institutes.
In conclusion, our education system lags behind in basically every aspect that one can imagine. There is barely any “education” left in the education system. Education is known to shape human beings into rational thinkers, but our educational institutes are creating aimless beings who have no goals in life. We are blindly handing over degrees to candidates with little to no value addition. At no level – from the educators to policymakers – do we evaluate what we are teaching. This hollow approach leads to complete absence of education in social contribution, resulting in the developmental failure of the country.
In comparison, if we analyze India and Bangladesh’s progress alone, we would feel ashamed of what we have attained so far. Rather than progression, we are only regressing with time. While our policymakers are busy with their rivalries, generation after generation is getting ruined due to sub-standard education. 77 years after the partition, Indians are ruling globally whereas Pakistanis are nowhere to be found. Similarly, Bangladesh has developed a lot as well, with hundreds of businesses investing in the country, taking it to the top of global economy charts.
There isn’t any rocket science behind this large disparity. The only reason behind the progress of these countries is that they moulded with the changing world and did not shy away from adapting to new policies and taking risks. Moreover, they invested in their education system by allocating astronomical budgets, upgrading curriculums every few years and improving the quality of educational environments. They invested in IT, sports and what not, while simultaneously giving equal opportunities to their women.
The intention is not to sound envious, repulsive or discouraging, but the truth is that we have failed. We have failed as people, as a nation, and as a country.
All Hope Lost?
As a 22-year-old, I feel frustrated and vexed over our collective collapse. 7 decades are a prolonged period to learn from our mistakes, but have we ever tried to? The answer is no. Because we are too busy being broody, arrogant and delusional. I and many others have lost hope. We do not think there is a light at the end of this dark dark tunnel. Ever since I’ve opened my eyes in this country, I have only seen never ending incessant crisis. It’s tiring.
It’s exhausting having to wake up feeling hopeless each day without fail. I don’t know when we will put our personal benefits aside and think collectively about this failing state. The youth is exasperated and eager to leave this “homeland” as soon as they can.
Read More: Why are we paying for mistakes we did not make?
Not because of one, but oodles of reasons.
The question remains: does anyone care?
One thought on “Lost Potential: Pakistan’s Education Crisis and the Urgent Call for Change”