- And what to do about it
Just last week I finished rewatching a drama serial based on Razia Butt’s novel Bano, the theme of which revolves around the suffering of Muslims, in general, and the female protagonist, in particular, as a result of the partition of the Indian subcontinent. Towards the climax, Bano realises that the sacrifice of millions of Muslims has gone in vain as she sees the newly emerged state of Pakistan falling prey to corruption, dishonesty and profanity, the very agents from which Muslims wanted to be saved.
One tool employed by high muckety-mucks of the country was the same as the British are accused of: Divide and Rule. Their aim was to divide the public into societal classes with demarcations as equally discernable as Pakistan’s border with India so that crossing the bounds becomes as big a crime as trespasing a border. To achieve this they targeted the same group of people which Sir Syed Ahmed Khan had prepared in order to prevent the virus of class difference from spreading among the Indian Muslim community. They earmarked students and they did this by formulating a binate education system comprising private and state schools.
For public understanding, state schools, more commonly known as government schools, are mandated for all children without charge generally till primary, secondary or higher levels, as prescribed by the constitution which describes right to education as a fundamental right of every citizen, and are funded in part or in whole by taxation. Private schools, on the other hand, are non-governmental, privately-funded institutions and partly or wholly rely on fees collected from students. Unlike the former, private schools retain the right of selecting their students on the basis of whatever criteria they set, ranging from religious background to financial status.
Bifurcating the education system to private and state setups and further dividing each into English- and Urdu-medium has harmed no one but children the most and that, too, in an irreversible manner. A third syndicate that exists and needs to be dealt with separately is the madrassa system which has been influencing the society in its own fashion. Brushing that aside for a while, the problem does not actually lie in the existence of two or three systems. It originates from the dumbfounding difference between them.
When parents are reluctant to send their children to government schools and are left with no choice but to do financial sacrifices and enrol them in a private institution
The justification behind referring to government schools as “taat wale school” will not seem illogical after visiting one even in a metropolitan city like Lahore. While renowned private schools provide air-conditioned classrooms equipped with multimedia facilities, majority of the government schools situated in suburban and rural areas of the country do not even have walls and ceilings. While one faction of our youth is taking O and A level examination, the other is still stuck with decades-old syllabi with mistakes in textbooks that have been ignored by editors and publishers since forever. While one lot is too proficient in English to be recognised as locals, the other avoids learning this lingua franca even at post-graduate level. While one group is being provided with opportunity to choose from a variety of subjects and open whatever avenue they wish to, the other is still fastened to such conventional division as pre-medical and pre-engineering.
The aforementioned contrast leads us to ponder over the finances to afford each kind of setup. The condition of government-funded schools is a proportionate reflection of Pakistan’s taxation system. With only 0.57 percent of Pakistani population paying income tax, as claimed by the International Development Committee, and the received amount being subjected to corruption, the presence of unpaid teachers in schools without premises is a miracle. On the other hand, the level of luxurious facilities being provided by private schools cannot be sustained without the fee structure these schools are following.
The honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar is not wrong in highlighting the issue of fee structure becoming beyond affordable. The solution presented, however, is incapable of doing any good. Rather it will decelerate all efforts to provide quality education to the youth of Pakistan.
When parents are reluctant to send their children to government schools and are left with no choice but to do financial sacrifices and enrol them in a private institution, the solution should nowhere be close to nationalising private schools. Instead, the entire focus should be laid on improving the standard of government schools and quality of curriculum being taught in them. Instead of improving the weaker, the posed solution suggests to deteriorate the latter. The dilapidated state of private sector is already being witnessed in the form of mushroom growth of such school systems as ‘Gorgeous Grammar School’ and ‘Daisy School System’ where children, whose parents want quality education in affordable prices, are admitted.
Yes, the private sector is encashing helplessness of people but countering it by nationalising these schools will compromise the future of the future of Pakistan. Raise the standard of state schools to such an extraordinary level that parents are inspired and compelled to admit their children to government institutes. And for this we must collect our taxes, by hook or by crook. And then we must ensure that these funds are utilised in this sector by making it our top priority. Because if we fail to teach one curriculum to our children, we will never be able to bring them on one page and our future will remain blurred. Their horizons and approach would differ, hence the continuity of chaotic situation we are currently messed up in. We need to invest in education sector because, in the eyes of Benjamin Franklin, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest”.
