THIS is a country characterised by abysmal rates of literacy and school enrolment figures. It is also a developing nation with a population skewed heavily towards the young, which means that it is desperately in need of not just all hands on the deck, but for those hands to be trained and able too. It would, therefore, have been reasonable to expect that no temptation would be succumbed to that might impede the task of education; that schoolgoing children would be given every possible opportunity to carry on with their studies. But, as has been amply demonstrated time and again, a reasonable approach cannot always be expected from the state and its administrative apparatus. The latest example of this came when Sindh and Balochistan decided that educational institutions would remain closed on Nov 9 to mark the birthday of the national poet Iqbal. As the news spread, across the country parents were left puzzled; would the other provinces follow suit? Why had they not received notifications from the schools themselves, and in advance? In the event, most schools in these provinces were closed yesterday (though a handful continued as normal), but thankfully, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa refrained from taking this ill-advised step.

Despite the enormous challenge to make progress that lies ahead of the country, Pakistan seems to persist in encouraging working people and students to take time off. Add to these shutdowns that are brought about by strikes or violence, and educational institutions across the board complain of being unable to complete the academic course on time. Sindh and Balochistan may argue that, given the centrality of Iqbal’s philosophy, a day of commemoration is required. But would the purpose not be better served by encouraging special programmes, seminars and discussions to be held in schools and colleges on this day, and ensuring that students are active participants? Surely, that is better than a day wasted by hundreds of thousands of students, to no identifiable gain.

Published in Dawn November 10th, 2016