Education system in dire straits

A survey by the Institute of Social and Policy Sciences (ISAPS) on the metropolitan’s education system revealed the City District Government Lahore (CDGL)’s poor working

According to the report, the 1,260 schools being run by the CDGL all suffer from insufficient civic and administrative facilities.

ISAPS found that as many as 296,879 children were not attending school. Further, 60 schools lack a water supply, 46 lack washrooms, 145 do not have electricity, 802 lack playgrounds and 66 schools are without boundary walls.

The present educational system is in a dismal state as indicated by the report, the purpose of which was to improve education policies based on the education sector’s work in the last ten years.

Most of Lahore’s educational institutions including primary schools, high schools, madrassas and universities belong to the private sector. This trend has flourished because most government institutions provide substandard education.

The Executive District Education (EDO) told Pakistan Today, “our schools are in satisfactory condition and we are going to implement an educational policy which will make education possible for every person in Lahore. This will take a short while and we will cope up with all the difficulties we are facing right now.

As per Article 25-A of the Pakistani constitution, the state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children between five and sixteen years of age.

Like many other developing countries, the state of Pakistan’s education sector is not very encouraging as evidenced by low primary school enrolment rates, regional and gender disparities, lack of trained teachers, insufficient supply of teaching materials and poor infrastructural facilities in schools.

ISAPS is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is catalyzing knowledge-based social change in Pakistan based on equity and social justice. ISAPS undertakes multi-disciplinary research, develops human resources, informs public policies and engages the state and market in policy dialogues for sustainable development.

The institute’s research and policy support and services are available to public, private and development sector organizations and their staff.

ISAPS also works closely with public sector organizations to ensure system-wide improvements. This is guided by the understanding that the public sector plays an important role in articulating and implementing policies for social justice.