Human Rights Commission Pakistan (HRCP) on Friday presented a report on condition of primary, middle and secondary schools in the metropolis.
Talking to media personnel at the Karachi Press Club (KPC), HRCP General Secretary IA Rehman criticised the Sindh government and said that every year the government claims that it is spending more money on education than before. They claim to have built huge school buildings, vast play grounds while also appointing trained teachers in all government schools, but the fact is that these schools have been losing the confidence of the people for the last many years.
He said that the government schools didn’t match the increase in population which had resulted in a drop in enrollment numbers of students in government schools even though the population has greatly increased.
Rehman gave the example of 1998 when government schools in Karachi had on roll 30% of children of Karachi in the primary level. In 2002-3 this percentage fell to 26%, which further declined to 24% in 2005-6. Today in 2014-15, Rehman said, government schools have on their rolls less than 9% of children in the primary level. He said that if we include elementary and secondary level of students, then the percentage drops to less than 6%.
He clarified that these figures have been taken from the 1998 census, as there had been no census in Pakistan after 1998, and for these reasons it’s difficult to calculate the correct number of children. The real situation may be far worse, he cautioned.
Rehman said that the question arises, where are the 91% children of primary school age? “There is no organization in Karachi which can tell us the exact figure as to how many of them are going to private Schools, to Madrassas or elsewhere,” Rehman said.
Lack of people’s trust in government schools, falling number of students in these schools and constant deterioration in the condition of the schools, is quite alarming, Rehman said. HRCP has been monitoring the functioning of government schools in Karachi since 2000 and has conducted several surveys of government schools.
Rehman said their findings are that there are not enough schools in Karachi as compared to 1998. The number of students also shows a decline. “In many one-room schools there either too few teachers or too many,” he said, and added, “The schools management committees are non-functional and we believe there are not only ghost teachers in Karachi but also ghost students.”
HRCP demanded a thorough overhaul of the public schools in the metropolis so that children can get proper education. This is necessary not only for fulfilling state’s obligation to respect children’s rights but also to save them from joining the wrong groups or gangs.