EDITORIAL: It is astonishing how Sindh Education Minister Sardar Shah revealed that 14,000 schools in his province did not have drinking water and at least 38 primary schools in Karachi lacked bathroom facilities; as if that was simply the end of the matter.
Can the government really do nothing more than lament on the floor of the house even though it alone has the authority to obtain all the facts and the power to solve all problems? Is it also not its mandated duty to the people to ensure transparency and accountability in all enterprises?
And since this particular issue concerns schools, it also touches upon the sensitive subject of education. Considering overall rising poverty and declining literacy, the government is expected to go the extra mile to make sure the schools that do exist – already not nearly enough to cater to the population – at least function properly. Yet here we are, with said minister also complaining about government-installed solar panels in schools being “stolen after a few days”.
It would have been better, and also more constitutionally correct, if the minister had instead enlightened everybody about how his government had begun solving some of these problems. But since he just listed all that was wrong without offering any solutions, he is reminded that the people of his province still look to him, as their education minister, to provide them with solutions to issues they have already been crying hoarse about for a very long time; since well before he got this portfolio.
To his credit, opposition leader Ali Khurshidi offered “all kinds of cooperation” and made it clear that there would be “no politics on the issue of education”. Now, since the government oversees allocation of funds, commands the law enforcement apparatus, and also has the opposition on board, one would expect to see swift remedial action in the very near future.
This should also serve as a moment for much-needed soul searching. Education is just one of Pakistan’s many collapsing sectors, therefore the government is expected to not just upgrade existing schools but also increase their total number. Yet that is clearly not how things are progressing.
As debated repeatedly in this space, Pakistan’s special advantage of a youth bulge – which very few countries possess – is fast turning into a demographic nightmare precisely because we are unable to adequately educate our workforce for the demands of the modern market. And every now and then we are reminded, like in the Sindh Assembly the other day, that the government is simply asleep at the wheel.
This is unacceptable. The people’s representatives are supposed to provide answers, not just throw up their hands in despair when confronted with difficult questions. Education policy is also one of those areas where voting a government out does not help because whichever is voted in ignores it just the same. For any meaningful progress to take place, everybody will have to work together, as rightly implied by the Sindh opposition leader.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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