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EDITORIAL: Education, the building block of socio-economic progress, primarily is a government responsibility. But in this country, for far too long public sector education has remained fallen by the way side facing serious challenges from weak policy commitments, scarce funding, lax and defective oversight, and gender inequities to questionable quality of syllabi content.

At present, an estimated 22.8 million children, nearly half of the population in that age groups, are out of school, the second highest number in the world, according to UNICEF. This is despite the fact the Constitution stipulates free and compulsory education for all children aged five to 16 years.

At the same time, gender disparities are most pronounced among economically disadvantaged sections of society. No surprise therefore that boys outnumber girls at every level of education.

A new initiative announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promises to make things better. He has constituted an education taskforce chaired by him and comprising 19 members, including federal ministers for education, vocational training, information technology, information and broadcasting as well as several education experts.

While the federal secretary of education is to act as the convener of the taskforce, provincial education ministers and secretaries will also be included in it, which is important considering that in comparative terms the number of out-of-school children is much higher in Sindh and Balochistan than in the other two provinces.

As regards the critical issue of financial investments, successive governments have been assigning low priority to education.

Amidst the current economic crisis financial constraint is very real. That issue, though, seems to be surmountable considering that on board, too, are the country heads of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO, and World Food Programme.

The taskforce is to identify the existing hurdles in achieving literacy targets, assess the quality of education imparted in our public-sector school system, and make its recommendations for improvements.

The effort should bring about meaningful reforms in government-run educational institutions, leading to sizable reduction in the number of out-of-school children with a focus on enhanced gender parity. No less important, the taskforce is expected to upgrade what is taught not only in primary and secondary schools, but also in our colleges and universities.

Hopefully, the initiative will effectively rectify the situation by spurring change in the right direction, and put the country on the path of progress and development.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024

Comments

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KU Jun 28, 2024 11:40am
The author obviously has no knowledge of public education system n not interested in what is being taught in schools/colleges n whether education is giving skills to children/youth. Read our history!
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M. Zahid Iftikhar Jun 28, 2024 03:48pm
Fluff piece to humor the government. Yes, Shahbaz Sharif is an effective administrator, but let us not imagine that a task force on education is a harbingers of change. We'll see when that happens.
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Mumtaz Malik Jun 29, 2024 03:02pm
Education should be accessible to everyone, yet in Pakistan, many educational institutions cater only to those who can afford them.
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Mumtaz Malik Jun 29, 2024 03:02pm
In cities like Lahore, elite schools such as the American School system offer exclusive education at high fees, making them unattainable for ordinary families
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Mumtaz Malik Jun 29, 2024 03:03pm
In contrast, countries like China and Japan focus on teaching ethics and essential life skills to children for the first ten years of their education, without the pressure of academic books.
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Mumtaz Malik Jun 29, 2024 03:04pm
This approach emphasizes the importance of teaching children how to speak, eat, and interact with others before introducing formal education.
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Mumtaz Malik Jun 29, 2024 03:08pm
Honorable Premier of Pakistan, we request the establishment of a unified education system where children can learn not only in English but also in their native language.
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Mumtaz Malik Jun 29, 2024 03:13pm
Where children also receive technical education so that when they grow up, they possess practical skills. Do we have such opportunities for our children in Pakistan?
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Mumtaz Malik Jun 29, 2024 03:16pm
According to UNESCO (2022), “Research has shown that education in one's mother tongue is a crucial aspect of inclusive and quality learning”.
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Mumtaz Malik Jun 29, 2024 03:17pm
This means that when students are taught in a language they are familiar with, they are more likely to understand the concepts being taught, and are less likely to feel ..
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Islam 4 All Jun 29, 2024 07:50pm
Islamic education should be prioritised. Teachings of holy Qur'an should be made free and mandatory.
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