“Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well.”
― Aristotle
Being educated is one thing and not transferring that education to others is an outrageous thing to do. Education has a vital role to play. Nations transform themselves with the tool of education. In the first world, standard education is the primary concern of governments. Eventually, in third world countries, this aspect of primary concern is missing, naturally security is often the primary concern. Discussing the case study of Pakistan, it is a country which faces low literacy rate due to various issues.
The lowest literacy rate in Pakistan is of Balochistan. According to 1998 census, Balochistan had a population of approximately 6.8 million that gives approximately 5% of total population of the country. The population in 2010 has increased to 9.771 million. The overall literacy rate is 47.7% with marked difference in male and female literacy rates that are 61.5% and 24.2% respectively.
In Balochistan, both private and government sectors are dealing with education. Education for boys in Balochistan is not that sustainable but the girl’s dropout rate is more. According to recent stats, the dropout of girls in last 5 years is 70% in the province. Discussing the overall situation of Balochistan’s education, the male literacy rate is 55% and the female literacy rate is just 25%. The current literacy rate in the province stands at an abysmal 43%.
Due to low literacy rate, conventional threats like poverty, unemployment, law and order situation are lingering upon the area. Moreover, the increasing fee of privately-run schools also contributes to low literacy rate in the province. In a holistic approach, major reforms are required in Balochistan to achieve long-term goals which are mainly connected to the national security of Pakistan.
Analyzing the reforms required in the educational department, Balochistan’s provisional government should again craft a program like Balochistan’s Education Sector Plan (2014-18). The BESP was estimated to cost PKR65 billion to be implemented in addition to the usual annual budget which is estimated to be PKR172 billion for five-year plan. Reviewing BESP it was a serious effort to reform the sector but it could not turn the tables. In the same year the provincial government had passed an act, ‘Free and Compulsory Education Act 2014’, but has so far failed to provide quality education to the majority of the children, especially girls and those who are deprived. The plan initiates to construct 4000 new primary schools by 2018 to enroll 700,000 new children. Yet the plan is not implemented fully.
Recently, Southern Command has initiated the plan under command of the then Southern Commander Lt. General Amir Riaz. The program consists of numerous primary schools which will provide education free of cost to children of Balochistan. Moreover, the provisional government must initiate a special programme loaded with various reforms, for instance, in every district of Balochistan there should be a fixed number of government teachers. These teachers should be accommodated by same facilities like the teachers of federal government get. A sense of ownership is required to inculcate in the teachers so they can perform up to the mark. Moreover, vocational training should be given importance and NGOs should also take initiatives of educating parents regarding the importance of formal learning, following a particular curriculum.