Long after the Asian Tigers — the globally acknowledged ones, that is — themselves got tamed by the vagaries of time and geopolitics, we still hear of our leadership’s desire to have a roaring go at the title in what is almost always called the ‘near future’. We also have the temerity to stress time and again that the whole Islamic world is looking up to us to provide leadership. Really? Have we conquered the enemy within? But that apparently seems a frivolous line of questioning.

What we have never heard from the leadership is the plan it may have in mind to make such bombastic things happen. Leave out the cynics who may argue that in order to have a plan in the mind, one needs to have the mind in the first place, but even the layman knows that there has neither been a plan nor an intention to turn things around. All we have seen our leaders — both of the political and military varieties, mind you — doing is to indulge in one-upmanship on vital issues; indeed, as they do on most issues. Had it not been so, the leadership would have certainly focussed on such a key area as education. Have we?

According to the recent Global Corruption Report released by the Transparency International, ghost schools in Pakistan result in wastage of billions of rupees and “exacerbate the high levels of frustration experienced by the overlooked, neglected and disenfranchised youths”. Such schools also represent lost opportunities for the potential progress of millions of children. The education sector is severely affected by corruption, says the report.

While the report is an apt reminder of what it is like on the ground, do we really need reminders? With over half of our children not having access to education and the country being on course to have the largest out-of-school population — some 3.7 million children — in the region by 2015, it is anybody’s guess why we could not stop or at least resist the slide halfway through when we had decided to be an Asian Tiger at some point in time, if not ‘in the near future’.

It will be downright wicked to say, or even believe, that the decision-makers in Pakistan over the decades seem to have failed to realise the importance of education. They did. They of course did. The problem lies in what they did, or didn’t do, beyond that understanding. If lip service could have done anything, we would have been the Asian Tiger by now. If the formation of commissions, committees and sub-committees could do much, we would perhaps have been the current Global Tiger. But we are not, and that explains what we have been doing all this while.

Pakistan is now the only South Asian country rated as low in human development, and the main reason for this is low educational attainment. Even when Pakistan’s GDP index exceeded that of Bangladesh and Nepal, we were rated much lower on the education index. With the GDP also having nosedived of late, one can well imagine the plight of human development across the country and the impact it will have on our chances of attaining the coveted but illusive title that stirs our fascination but remains elusive and out of our reach.

In the meantime, the Transparency International report, and, indeed, many others of the ilk, continues to stress that ghost schools and other means of corruption in the education sector represent “a low-risk, high-return activity”, which could be “facilitated by a network of corrupt actors positioned in strategic posts”.

Such practices must be urgently addressed to protect the future of 21 million students in the world’s sixth most populous nation. No effort or resources should be spared to give the future generations the opportunity to rise from poverty, fully equipped to face the challenges of tomorrow for a more prosperous Pakistan.

For the average Pakistani, it is always painful to hear someone ‘else’ lecturing us on what needs to be done for we all know what needs to be done much better than most international agencies because we see it all happening right in front of our eyes and have the basic instinct to have solutions in keeping with our specific ground realities. The only exceptions appear to be those who run the show for us. They prefer to hear it from the others.

It is fitting, as such, to convey the verdict in the words of the said report. “Political will is the first prerequisite for change, yet corruption in education is so pervasive that it permeates the highest ranks in the country. While education may not be valued by all at the highest levels of government, across all provinces in Pakistan demand for high-quality education is strong. Giving the children the education they deserve will require transforming political will through continued media attention and community involvement.” Is someone listening? Hello?

humair.ishtiaq@gmail.com