Reflections on education in Pakistan.

No words are minced when it's said that education in Pakistan is among the worst in the world. Pakistan has the highest number of out of school children. Various reports peg the exact number differently, based on different indicators used for measuring. The number ranges from between an unimaginable 25 million children (i), 12 million children (ii) to 5.4 million children (iii). However, the one statistic that has a consensus, and put these frankly ridiculous numbers into perspective is this:

About half of all children in Pakistan are out of school.

There are numerous excellent reports detailing the extent of the education crisis. The Government as well as international relief organisations are spending significantly across multitudes of programs in honestly an admirable effort to eradicate these issues. Most of the reports you will come across will be about statistics and dollars, challenges and risks, goals being met and not met. What I feel is not highlighted enough, is the on-the-ground reality of how the community reacts to these issues and the projects implemented to counter them.

Recently, as part of the assessment of the Department for International Development (DFID) funded Punjab Education Sector Project (PESP) and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Sector Project (KESP), the largest education projects in the world, I traveled to the districts of Charsaddah and Lahore. 

It is DFiD's aim to build more than 20,000 classrooms across the nation by 2015 (iv). In regards to this project, I visited three government schools each in Charsaddah and Lahore and interacted with their respective communities. And in a word, the response I experienced has me hopeful for the future.

It is all too common to bash the Government, or the system, and focus on the negatives and the problems plaguing our societies, rather than on progress and the, granted relatively small, achievements. This trip, to areas ranging from rural to urban, poor to rich, filled me with optimism because of one common factor: the level of community participation.

As part of the project, leaders are sought from among the community to form a committee, which is to oversee the project's operations in their neighborhood's schools. A salient feature is to increase  awareness of the importance of education, and as a member of the project team put it very nicely: to make the community own their schools and the responsibilities to their children.

I believe that the idea here is beautiful; to encourage the community to take ownership of its own assets, to be aware of their social responsibilities, to feel protective of their children and to think in their best interests; all these result in a stronger, more cohesive, more productive, safer community. The people are aware that the children are their future and that a good sound education is exactly what is needed to make that future brighter. 

At one school in Charsaddah, the committee was made up exclusively of elder community members. Their sons had initially been nominated for the posts, but they took over because they could give the time they thought the project deserved: they visit the school every single day, from morning till dusk. The school has had one classroom for 23 years, where more than a hundred students study, sometimes having lessons in the playground due to lack of space. One of the committee members excitedly told me how the community had themselves funded construction of a new classroom, and of a new water well for the students. After the project's completion, this school will have at least four classrooms.

Keeping in mind that this was quite a poor rural community, their level of zeal and dedication is truly inspirational. The community banding together, taking responsibility, and tackling a prevailing social issue is exactly what gets things done and brings progress to society.

I found the same level of admirable and heart-warming participation in urban Lahore.

At the renowned Kinnaird High School, a 150 years old institution, I had the pleasure of meeting with the president of the Parent Teacher Council, with a history of more than 50 years. Representing more than three thousand parents, she had taken the mantle of president after her own mother. She had galvanized parents to take an active part in the educational affairs of their children, a feat which she impressed was no easy task. She said that parents of private school going children are inherently active regarding their children's education, considering that it is a significant investment on their part. The same cannot be said for government schools, where parental involvement is unfortunately a rarity. Changing the attitude and mind-set of parents in this environment is all the more impressive.

It is heartening to see that awareness of one of the most fundamental rights, the right to education, is spreading. These ideas will take root when they start from the bottom up, from the communities themselves. We all need to take a step back, and realise our responsibility in promoting education and building a better brighter future. Following in the example of these incredible people, there is a need, now more than ever in these times of growing distances and distrust, to unite for a common noble goal. And what goal is nobler than striving for a parha likha Pakistan.


References:
i :  25 Million Broken Promises, a report by Alif Ailaan
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/alifailaan/pages/540/attachments/original/1415950791/25_million_broken_promises_-_Summary-lowres.pdf?1415950791
ii : UK/Pakistan: Education April 2014, by Foreign & Commonwealth Office, UK
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukpakistan-education-april-2014/ukpakistan-education-april-2014
iii : Financing Education in Pakistan, a Country Case Study for the Oslo Summit on Education for Development
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/pakista.pdf
iv : DFID Pakistan
https://www.gov.uk/government/world/organisations/dfid-pakistan