Sense of priorities
It is no longer surprising to come across statistics reflecting low official attention according to the education sector. That is why the latest report of the Institute of Social and Policy Studies (I-SAPS) – Public Financing of Education in Pakistan and Agenda for Education Budget 2016-17 – which exposed our education budget as the lowest in South Asia, caused few ripples in the media or political circles. Education has never been high enough on the agenda; and it has not mattered whether dictators or democrats held power in Islamabad. Yet there are findings in this report that ought to send chills down spines of people that do worry about Pakistan’s long-term prospects.
The number of out-of-school children in Pakistan, for example, at approximately 24 million is the second highest in the world after Nigeria. And this is not just a population issue. Countries in our immediate neighbourhood with much larger populations have already overcome this problem through political will and decisive action. Unfortunately, even when our leaders do opt for expansionary fiscal policies and spend on the people, it is more on the lines of mega projects with high political visibility; like the Orange Line, etc.
Our leadership should also ask itself another important question: Is there a link between countries in the region that continuously outstrip us in GDP growth and their education budgets over medium term? Academics and analysts have long warned that not investing in education, and subsequently not expanding the human resource base, limits long term economic options. Is it still surprising that our non-value-add export mix has remained stagnant while others around us have diversified and prospered? If Pakistan is unable to learn from its own mistakes, it should at least find some inspiration around its borders. Unless we, like everyone else, start investing chiefly in our human resource, and build the economy step-by-step, we will continue to be marginalised. It is necessary for our survival, therefore, to take education just as seriously other big projects.
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