EDUCATION

Education disruption
FOR over a year now, the education sector has been particularly hard hit all across the
world due to the Covid-19 pandemic. All learners, from grade scholars to those studying in
higher education institutions, have been affected, with education systems in both
developing states as well as less-developed nations feeling the effects in varying degrees.
And while high-income states have been able to cope to some extent, countries with
limited resources such as ours — where the public education system is already in a fragile
condition — have faced major challenges in meeting educational goals during the
pandemic. As per Unesco, half the world’s students are still affected by partial or full
school closures, while “over 100m additional children will fall below the minimum
proficiency level in reading as a result of the health crisis”. Schools in Pakistan have mostly
remained closed during the pandemic, opening for short periods when cases have dipped
but closing again when numbers rose. On Monday, the Sindh government announced that
schools could reopen on the 30th of this month if they ensured 100pc vaccination of staff,
as well as 50pc attendance of students. On the same day, school owners and staffers held
protests in various Sindh cities and towns calling for all educational institutions to be
reopened.
Balancing the need for educating Pakistan’s children while ensuring their health and that of
school staffers is indeed a tough call. While college and university students can cope better
with online lessons, younger learners find it more difficult. Also, there are issues of access,
as low-income households cannot afford reliable high-speed internet and tablets,
smartphones etc to enable online learning. Therefore, educational authorities across
Pakistan must ensure that all school staff have been vaccinated so that school can reopen
with strict SOPs in place. Meanwhile, the pandemic also offers an opportunity to rethink the
education system in Pakistan. With the help of technology and greater access, education can
be brought to more children, specifically those millions that remain out of classrooms.
Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2021
PM’s remarks on education
PRIME MINISTER Imran Khan may have his heart in the right place where education is
concerned, but his views on what is wrong with Pakistan’s education system and how to
set it right, lack nuance and understanding. Indeed, so black and white are some of his
opinions on the subject that they could create further divisions in an already divided
polity.
On Wednesday, while addressing the Punjab Education Convention 2021 in Lahore, the
premier praised the provincial government for “doing what no other province is doing”.
That was a reference to the Single National Curriculum which Punjab has been the first to
introduce in the madressahs and from grades one to five in the public and private schools
within its jurisdiction. He then proceeded to strongly criticise the English-medium education
system, saying it had “evolved in such a way that there was less emphasis on education and
more emphasis on creating desi vilayati [local foreigners]. The attitudes and mental slavery
of another culture were absorbed”. The focus of this system, he contended, was elsewhere
rather than on developing the nation.
That is a sweeping statement, to put it mildly, with a blatantly populist slant. It unfairly
disparages students of English-medium schools, many of whom are as invested in building
this nation as are those from other systems of education. In fact, the premier may want to
consider that barring a couple of exceptions, his entire cabinet is a product of English-
medium education. Many expatriates that he considers Pakistan’s “biggest untapped asset”,
and whom he has asked to participate in the nation’s development by investing in major
infrastructure projects, also emerged from this system before settling overseas.
Read: Dissecting the single national curriculum
Certainly, the prime minister is correct when he says the education sector has been sorely
neglected. In this connection, the PTI government from the outset underscored four priority
areas: putting all out-of-school children into school, improving the quality of pedagogy,
introducing a uniform curriculum, and boosting technical and vocational education. Of
these, it has only made progress in designing an SNC, most likely because the other areas
require a massive infusion of funds for building more schools, investing in teacher training,
etc.
But in projecting this curriculum as a major step towards ending Pakistan’s ‘educational
apartheid’, the government is completely off course. Indeed, the SNC, by requiring math and
science to be taught to all students in English from the point these subjects are introduced
in school, may well exacerbate this ‘educational apartheid’. Quality of education and access
to it are the foundational issues that must be tackled. Consider that most parents, even
when they can scarcely afford it, prefer to send their children to private schools because
learning outcomes even in low- and medium-fee paying private schools are far better than
in public schools. The SNC is not even a partial solution. It may even have deleterious
consequences.
Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2021

Illiteracy in tribal districts

A RECENT survey conducted by the KP government and UNDP paints a bleak picture of the
state of education in the newly merged tribal districts. According to the survey, more than
half the population of the seven tribal districts remains illiterate. Only 22pc of the
population has studied up to the primary level, and 10 and 7pc of the people have studied
up to the middle and Matric levels respectively. Given these figures, it is no surprise that
only 3.5pc of the population has been able to attain an Intermediate degree. Though
public education is in a shambolic state all over the country, with the national literacy rate
hovering around 60pc and more than 25m children out of school, the tribal region was
dealt a particularly severe blow due to the activities of militant organisations that
operated from there. Memories of the destruction of girls’ schools in the area are still
fresh.
The sociopolitical dynamics are also reflected in the literacy figures for each district. At
61.2pc, South Waziristan has the highest percentage of illiterate people. This is not
surprising given that this particular region was the bastion of the outlawed TTP as well as
other militants after 9/11. Only 16pc of the population in this area has received a primary
education. Meanwhile, in North Waziristan, where military operations displaced nearly
100,000 people in 2014, around 55.5pc of the people remain illiterate. Figures for the other
tribal districts are: Orakzai 55.2 pc, Kurram 37.7pc, Mohmand 54.2pc, Bajaur 54pc and
Khyber 50.8pc. Now that these areas have been merged with KP, the provincial government
should make a concerted effort to build schools and colleges there and ensure proper
teaching facilities. It is imperative that the people of the merged districts do not feel that
they are still marginalised and do not have the same opportunities as Pakistani citizens
elsewhere in KP and the rest of the country. Not ensuring their rights can prove disastrous
especially given the tenuous situation across the border with Afghanistan.
Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2021
Not in school
A LOT has been said about the country’s appallingly large out-of-school child population
and how it adversely impacts chances of upward socioeconomic mobility. A new report
titled The Missing Third: An Out of School Study of Pakistani 5-16 Year Olds by the Pak
Alliance for Maths and Science contains several revelations about this phenomenon and
clears a number of popular misconceptions. For example, Punjab, the province perceived
to be the most developed, has the largest out-of-school population with 7.7m children
aged from five to 16 years who are outside the education system. Sindh has the second
highest out-of-school population with nearly 6.5m. It is followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
with 3.8m and Balochistan where more than 2m children do not attend school. The report
also addresses the less-discussed subject of equity in access and the age group of school
dropouts. There are more than 63m children in the country aged from five to 16 years.
Among them, some 27m (42pc) go to public schools while more than 16m (26pc) are
enrolled in private schools or seminaries or informal educational set-ups. The remaining
32pc — that amounts to an unacceptable 20 million-plus — do not go to school.
It is not that these children have never see the inside of a classroom. Enrolments occur
much later than five years and peak at around nine years. The report says that the state
does cater to 62pc of all school-going children, however, 90pc of them drop out before
completing 10 years of education, mostly at the age of 11 when primary schooling ends. It
bears repeating that the authorities need to address the underlying issues plaguing the
education infrastructure and the reasons that force students to stay out of classrooms. A
concerted political and administrative effort is required to incentivise school attendance
while ensuring equal access — that goes beyond income brackets to include girls as well as
children with disabilities — so that these 20 million-plus children have a fair chance to make
their place in the world.
Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2021
Grace marks
THE decision to promote all students awaiting the results of their board exams by
awarding grace marks is likely to raise doubts. Though the move may appear fair to many
in light of the current situation in which frequent school closures have disrupted studies,
there is also the issue of how well the students — or at least a number of them — can
cope in a higher grade. The Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference decided on
Monday to award students who had appeared in their board exams for Matric or
Intermediate but who scored below the pass mark, 33pc to make them eligible for the
next stage. It was also decided that students would be awarded 50pc grace marks in
practical examinations. This was a decision taken by education ministers in all the
provinces. There is no doubt that students, teachers and the education authorities have
faced unprecedented challenges in the outgoing academic year, but there is now a greater
challenge to face as unprepared students are thrust into the next academic session which
will obviously require a more advanced understanding of their subjects than they had in
the previous grade. Besides, it will be seen as unfair by those students who, despite the
difficulties, worked hard to earn their grade.
Surely this state of affairs should lead our education departments to think deeply about how
to deal with a challenge that is likely to recur if the Covid situation does not improve and
school closures remain frequent. In addition to devising a marking scheme that is more
reflective of students’ true capabilities, it might want to take lessons from other countries
whose solid educational infrastructure has made access to remote learning via laptops,
smartphones and high-speed internet easy for secondary students. This will not be easy in
our context and new, innovative ways of teaching large numbers of students will also have
to be found. The awarding of grace marks must be a one-time concession. Education
departments know the challenges of Covid by now and should plan accordingly.
Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2021
Education losses
A NEW report on the education losses suffered by Pakistani children due to pandemic-
induced school closures sheds light on some aspects of the shift to online learning and
overall school enrolment. Prepared by the Idara-i-Taleem-o-Agahi and Unicef, the report
elaborates on the students’ support systems — or their lack thereof — both at home and
in school, and the impact on learning outcomes. It was found that school enrolment for
children in the age bracket of six to 16 years, dropped by 2pc when compared to 2019.
Even before the pandemic struck, around 22m children in the country were not going to
school. Learning outcomes were a major casualty of prolonged school closures. The report
states that the percentage of children in Class 3 who could read an Urdu story dropped to
15pc in 2021 from 19pc in 2019. Meanwhile, English-learning outcomes, as a percentage
of children who could read English sentences, went down from 21pc in 2019 to a pitiable
8pc in 2021. With many private and some public institutions shifting to online learning,
63pc of the children surveyed said their families tried to support their education. Out of
more than 47,000 responders, 32pc said their schools provided learning materials while
58pc revealed that no one from the school administration bothered to reach out to them.
The fact that a majority of children felt disconnected from the learning experience and
schooling is reflective of the socioeconomic and technological disparities that exist in
Pakistani society. Moreover, 32pc of the children reportedly found the state television’s
tele-school programmes helpful while another 40pc said they used the internet via
smartphones.
The fact that learning outcomes regressed despite televised and online learning aides is
revealing: not everyone has access to smartphones, a reliable internet connection or the
finances to afford these, and a school environment enables better learning. These findings
could be studied in greater detail to carry out targeted reforms in the education sector. The
government should think of ways to have safe classrooms while also investing in better
online structure for days when school is closed.
Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2021