Need to relaunch closed schools

IT is a duty of the state to establish a solid system of education, accessible to both the sexes. When Pakistan was born, only 13 per cent people were literate. There were a limited number of primary schools, fewer technical or higher schools and few institutions of higher learning.

As the situation appeared grim, a conference on education was convened in November 1947. With the ideological ideals of the newly-independent Islamic country, the conference countenanced the concerns over the three elements of a good national education system, namely the spiritual, social and technical.

In its recommendations, it laid stress on universal, compulsory and free education, as well as on the provision of facilities for girls, to beat illiteracy. Despite all planning the results were far from satisfactory because the financial constraints were large enough to meet the demand for infrastructure. The situation went downhill because the rulers always put more emphasis on making education suit their interests instead of the nation’s.

All these factors combined to pull the educational system away from the international standard. The Sharif Commission brought on a new course for raising the standard of education, but it received little success as only the enrolment at primary level increased. There was no radical improvement in the quality of education.

While analysing the state attitude it becomes clear that the rulers have not made any serious attempt to reform education to cope with the modern challenges, and instead the entire education system has been oriented to serve the state line.

Noted historian Mubarak Ali advocates reorientation of the syllabus and textbooks to meet the changes of time.

The education policies have always been made to serve the ideals of the rulers. Thus nationalization of all privates schools and colleges was carried out with the coming into power of Z. A. Bhutto. This promised well for the teachers and lecturers working in the private institutions because they were absorbed in government service, with good pay-scale, security of service, etc.

But it did not help to raise the standard of education, it rather led to inefficiency. Gradually the whole scheme proved to be a financial burden on the education department. The mass education could not attain much success because of the financial constraints, as the major loophole in the nationalization was the immense increase in the government expenditure. The net result was that the government failed to achieve any more success in the universalization of primary education for both sexes.

Gen Zia reversed the nationalization policy, and wanted to Islamize the entire education system. He took a number of steps in this direction, bringing, in the process, the entire system under the control of the rulers. This closed all paths to liberal, secular and scientific education.

The overview of the educational scenario of the past 50 years depicts a gloomy picture that appears to be going nowhere.

The bitter facts came around when the district government of Larkana unveiled the bitter reality of mass closure of schools for girls and boys. About 448 out of 2,674 primary schools have reportedly been closed down in the district for various reasons. The main reason behind the mass closure of schools is that most of these are located in remote areas where shortage and non-availability of teachers and a low ratio of enrolment pose a serious problem.

Moreover, the reluctance of teachers to work in far-flung areas is another factor in the closure of these schools. According to reports, 229 boys and 219 girls primary schools are at present not functionary. But these can be made functional by transferring the teachers from the schools where teaching staff is found and is said to be in large numbers.

At least 15 middle schools (six boys and nine girls schools) are closed in the Larkana district. Unfortunately all this closure of schools in Larkana and elsewhere in Sindh shows the insecurity and inefficiency of the education department. The low priority given to education at the national level is another major factor for low standard and closure of schools.

To reduce the number of closed schools, a plan must be initiated to recruit local teachers. But this step of fresh recruitment must be based on merit, unlike in the past. Moreover, all “ghost teachers” must go, once for all, and the money misappropriated in their names must be invested to meet educational expenses.

Action against extremists

SUFI Mohammad is back from ‘Jihad-i-Afghanistan’ and has walked straight into Dera Ismail Khan jail. The Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM) chief, who had gone to Afghanistan with thousands of his armed supporters trailing behind, keen to fight a holy war against the United States, lost no time in heading home when tables against Taliban began to turn. His ‘Jihad’ was not against the United States only, it was against all those who supported the international coalition, including the Northern Alliance.

What made Sufi Mohammad change his mind and instead hurry back is too obvious. His zeal had evaporated into thin air once he saw he could no longer return triumphantly after fulfilling his ambitious dream of defeating the Americans on the Afghan soil.

He returned and went quietly into incarceration, without making any fuss about it. He is a shrewd man and knows that while in prison he would not have to answer questions of hundreds of anxious families whose near and dear ones he took along to Afghanistan and who are still unaccounted for.

This is the man who is responsible for the death of hundreds of innocent Pakistanis who followed him unwittingly with the blind faith that their Amir would lead them to the heaven. Instead they found themselves trapped in parts of Afghanistan among the bloodthirsty warlords. He should be thankful to the government for having saved him from the ire of his people. He has more than one reason to be grateful to the government. First, he was allowed to assemble thousands of armed people, making a mockery of the government’s deweaponization campaign and then, he was allowed to cross over into Afghanistan in total disregard of the international conventions on cross-border movement.  In fact Governor Iftikhar is on record as saying that those who wished to wage a ‘Jihad’ were free to do so and that his government would facilitate those who wished to go to Afghanistan for the purpose.

The government obviously had its own interest in seeing the back of these people rather than allowing them create a law and order situation at home. Can the government acquit itself from the responsibility of the deaths of hundreds of Pakistanis?  It is the responsibility of the state to protect the lives of its people. But knowing that the Taliban could not withstand the US fire power, also knowing that the days of the Taliban were numbered the government allowed its citizens to cross over and face what looked like imminent death. The government cannot extricate itself of the charge. Perhaps its guilt is more than the crime committed by Sufi Mohammad.

But the government will not put itself in the dock. There is no such precedence. What it could it certainly has done — putting the TMSM Amir behind the bars for three years. This is not a conviction or a sentence, the secretary home & tribal affairs told us. Sufi can come out any time he wants upon furnishing an affidavit of good conduct in future. Does this mean that Sufi would be allowed to walk free and return home after giving an undertaking that he would not lead the innocent Dirojis again into death traps? Detention of up to three years for the death of hundreds of people! Has life become so cheap in Pakistan?

Sufi Muhammad has always been a pain in the neck. Government after government have tried and failed to tackle the TNSM Amir whose campaign for the enforcement of Islamic laws in Malakand division first resulted in a bloody rebellion and later on took the shape of an annual ritual of disrupting the tourist season. Political governments had their weaknesses and compulsions and at times out of political expediency looked on helplessly succumbing to the dictates of the TNSM Amir. What is it with the present government? Does this government also find itself as weak as its predecessors?

Don’t  blame the common man if he does not take  the government’s orders  seriously.  What  happened  to the deweaponization campaign.  The paramilitary forces looked on helplessly when the TNSM activists drove past the check points with guns mounted on their vehicles. Why should the common citizens believe this government when it says that it would take concrete steps against religious extremists and then buckles under such pressures, and withdraws plans to bring about procedural amendments in the controversial blasphemy law.

Mere tough talk will not convince the people. Action speaks louder than words. How will the government liberate the ‘great majority of moderate Pakistanis’ held hostage by a minority of religious extremists when it cannot liberate itself from the extremists.  People remain unconvinced. They say that  the establishment has not divorced its religious allies altogether. This is just a separation. There will be a re-union once the situation cools down in Afghanistan. It will continue to need the support of the religious extremist groups for as long as Kashmir issue  remains  unresolved.

Notwithstanding their present hibernation, the Jihadi outfits would continue to operate, along the holy war in Kashmir. They would continue to push political goals in Pakistan as well.

The government says the extremists stand exposed and that it plans to unveil an action plan against them in the next three weeks or so. The taste of the pudding is in eating it. Time will tell how sincere is the administration in taking on religious extremism.