ISLAMABAD: After failing to provide free and compulsory education for all the children aged between five and sixteen, the four provinces of Pakistan are taking refuge behind lack of legislation.
Everyone has his own story to tell that why, despite clear judgments of the Supreme Court, education has not been made compulsory.
Education Minister for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Atif believes that only legislation could not do the trick as it needed extra resources to ensure quality education in the province.
Punjab Cabinet has recently approved the bill to provide free and compulsory education, however, it is yet to be implemented.
The authorities in Sind’s Education department are hardly aware about the subject as Secretary Education Dr Fazalullah Pechuho said he has no information about the matter.
Interestingly Balochistan Province where the education standards are even much below than the other province has not even a regular minister for education.
A recent study by Annual Status of Education Report 2013, which was conducted for tracking the journey towards the Right to Education as contained in Article 25 A and its provincial and area enactments, presents the true picture of educational standards in Pakistan.
The report’s key finding include that 57 percent children in class 5 cannot read sentences fluently in English. Similarly, 57 percent of the total children enrolled in the government schools studying in class 5 cannot do two digit division.
Not only this, 50 percent children cannot even read story fluently in Urdu, Sindhi or Pashto as well. The report further says that 21 percent children between the age of 5 to 16 years are yet to be enrolled.
Keeping the existing education standards, the provincial governments should have declared emergency in the education sector, however, none of the province has done legislation for the free and compulsory education to all the children.
The report says that the acts are in place for the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and Sindh; the draft rules are being developed for ICT while in Sindh these are yet to be discussed.
Balochistan Compulsory and Free Education Ordinance 2013 was notified on March 15, 2013. Its validity is yet to be established.
The province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa yet to enact the legislation. The progress of implementation on Article 25 A is slow since it was added to the Constitution in April 2010 under the 18th Amendment.
INTERNEWS
