Dysfunctional education system a threat to society, economy

Effective education core to Pakistan’s prosperous future

Call to revive primary education system for national development

Islamabad: (July 25)

Pakistan’s education system which has become dysfunctional due to decades of neglect pose a serious threat to the society and economy unless improved on war footing, an educationist said Thursday.

Pakistan is among top illiterate countries, every tenth illiterate child in the world is Pakistani while country holds second position on the global ranking of out-of-school children, said Dr Naeem Ghani, Chairman Sultana Foundation.

Speaking at a seminar, he said that lack commitment on the part of policymakers has left 25 million children without schools while their number will swell to 50 million in fifteen years with disastrous social and economic consequences.

He said that around 23 per cent of school-age children are deprived of education while 17.6 per cent of them are actively engaged in the child labour.

Dr Naeem Ghani said that too much focus on higher education is taking tool on primary education as thousands of schools are without building, boundary walls, and other facilities.

Schooling of the girl child is extremely important as no education policy can work without gender balance which is yet to be taken seriously, he said.

Apathy on the part of authorities is responsible for declining quality of education which can be reversed through fresh investments in this sector which is core to Pakistan’s development.

He noted that our education system does not provide for a substantial percentage of students to move beyond the primary level.

Pakistan is still a long way from achieving universal primary enrolment which should be taken seriously, he underlined.

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Teacher demand, supply gap threatens future: PEW

Teacher demand, supply gap threatens future: PEW

Cut in Govt spending, int’l aid jeopardises future of millions

July 21

The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Sunday said increasing gap between demand and supply of teachers pose a threat to Pakistan’s future.

Student-teacher ratio as well as teacher recruitment practices, teacher management, teacher attendance, teaching practices and absence of performance monitoring system in majority of schools is resulting in low student learning, it said.

Pakistan’s prosperous future can only be ensured if it is realised that every child needs a teacher for which creation of around fifty thousand new teaching posts in next few years are required, said Dr Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.

He said that the supply of teachers is failing to keep pace with the demand, the world needs 6.8 million teachers to ensure every child’s right to basic education, he added.

Globally, 5.1 million teachers are expected to leave the profession in next two years which and must be replaced, said Dr Murtaza Mughal.

He said that progress on reducing the number of out-of-school children has stalled. As of 2011, 57 million children of primary school age and another 69 million of lower secondary school age were out of school threatening goal of universal primary education (UPE) by 2015.

The situation is most extreme in sub-Saharan Africa, and Saarc region where the school-aged population continues to rise which call for minimum 10 per cent increase in supply of teachers every year to meet the goal of UPE, he informed.

Policies and initiatives to address the problem of exclusion from education and reduce inequalities remain inadequate in many countries including Pakistan, said Dr. Mughal.

Government spending as well as international aid to has seen cuts due to multiple reasons which has jeopardised future of millions of children; it has resulted in two per cent increase in global primary net enrolment rate since 2005.

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Pakistan’s future linked to elimination of power subsidies

Pakistan’s future linked to elimination of power subsidies

Islamabad: July 07

The Islamabad Women's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI) said on Sunday lauded the decision of the government to phase out power subsidies gradually terming it in the best interest of country.

It is very difficult for Pakistan to survive without foreign aid in presence of power sector and energy subsidies, she said.

Talking to Chairman Coordination FPCCI Sheikh Abdul Razzaque, VP FPCCI Muhammad Ali, Chairman Media FPCCI Malik Sohail and others, Farida Rashid said that subsidies have not benefited poor but rich while it misbalances the budget.

She said that subsidies leave little funds with government to spend of public welfare, it boost demand while reduces investment in renewables.

Subsidies also contributes to social injustice, discourages private sector and push up the global warming, she added.

She said that losses of the power subsidy have reached to an extent that it has become an issue of national security.

At the occasion, Sheikh Abdul Razzaque said that different national are paying around two trillion dollar in power subsidies which if abolished will reduce global demand and decrease global warming by 13 per cent.

Last year our oil import bill was $ 14 billion which will touch mark of $ 50 billion in seven years, enough to leave Pakistan bankrupt, he said.

He said that country will be unable to cope with Rs 500 billion circular debt in presence of power subsidies which is deterring local and foreign investors.

Thar holds 99 per cent more energy than whole gas reserves of Pakistan put together but the speed of development is frustrating, he observed.

He said that plight of poor of the country must be considered while abolishing subsidies.

The masses and business community will soon see the positive impact of the decisions of the government which are presently viewed by some as unfavourable, remarked Sheikh Abdul Razzaque.

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