Out of school

Despite being the most urbanized province in the country, Sindh has an extremely high number of out-of-school children. It is currently estimated that 6.4 million schoolgoing children, or 40 percent of those who should be in school, are not attending classes at any institution. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah gave these figures himself while addressing a visiting delegation that included diplomats from China, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The CM maintained that his government had invested Rs44.2 billion in the school education sector and established 519 new schools. However, this does not appear to show up in the dismal education figures for the province. The CM admitted Sindh should have a better performance in all social sectors including an improvement in the overall poverty level. He maintained that public expenditure and investment were required to drive growth in the province and improve human development.While we are pleased that the CM appears to recognize some of the problems of his province, the real question is why his party’s government – in power in the province since 2008 – has not been able to do more to improve the social and economic situation of people. Every other province and region in the country has performed remarkably better than Sindh in terms of educating children. Merely speaking about these issues is not enough. A plan needs to be put into action on the ground to bring out-of-school children into an environment where they can learn. It is also significant that 31 percent of those enrolled study at private schools, indicating dissatisfaction with the public school system. The condition of Sindh’s schools, many of which lack even basic amenities, has been documented many times before. Setting up new schools is not enough. Steps also need to be taken to maintain quality at the ones that already exist, and make it worthwhile for parents to enroll children. Studies carried out by private organizations working in the education sector show that teacher absenteeism, corporal punishment and the perception of parents that children are not learning in a conducive environment is one of the reasons many choose not to send children to schools. These factors must be considered when revising educational policies.

from The News International - Editorial https://ift.tt/2WueVW6