March 25, 2004

Lack of proper educational facilities in the NWFP, especially for girls, has had a negative impact on the development, reports M. Sadaqat

Social scientists believe a strong correlation between universal primary education and economic development in Third World nations. They are of the view that education plays a key role in boosting human capital through increased socio-economic mobility, enhanced participation in a range of social activities, improvement of living standards and above all, a well documented positive impact on the demography of these countries.

Girls’ education, particularly, guarantees an increase in the per capita income and contributes towards poverty reduction. Research has shown that that educated women shoulder more responsibility for the family’s household budget than men.

To accomplish the goal of educating a maximum number of children of schoolgoing age as agreed upon at the World Education Forum (WEF) of Dakar, Senegal, in 2000, the government, this time round, appears to be serious about achieving the targets set by the WEF. For this purpose the provinces were asked to remodel and reform their education system in line with the WEF’s criterion through a Comprehensive Literacy Programme.

The NWFP’s Rs99 billion draft plan, for example, envisages 100 per cent enrollments for boys and girls by 2010 and 2015 respectively. It also aims to construct 25,000 new schools with the help of non governmental organizations and donor agencies, along with recruiting over 8,000 teachers. However, the plan is yet to be approved by the MMA’s provincial cabinet.

According to the UNDP’s 2003 report on Human Resource Development, Haripur is on top of the Human Development Index (HDI) ladder in terms of economic growth, health, quality of life and education in the NWFP. The ground realities, however, in relation to girls’ basic schooling suggests a dismal situation. In the rural areas, the number of children not attending school is increasing, and while school buildings exist, people are deprived of their constitutionally guaranteed right to educate their children. Teachers are transferred to places, and schools in remote areas are closed down.

Haripur district has of their choices 286 primary, 54 middle, 15 high schools and only four higher secondary schools for girls and six for boys for a population of 800,000. For 30,553 enrolled girl students in 286 primary schools there are 963 teachers compared to 1,703 for boys’ schools.

The dropout ratio according to the education department was18 per cent for 1999/2000, 20 per cent for 2000/2001, 16.7 per cent for 2001/2002, and 15.3 per cent for 2002/2003. Girls’ enrollment during these years, remained at 756,957 for for 1999/2000, 770,008 for 2000/2001, 761,575 for 2001/2002, and 807,872 for 2002/2003. Official statistics collected officially suggest that over 2000 children remain un-enrolled every year in Haripur alone, while girls constitute about 60 per cent of that number.

A visit to Nara Amazai and Bait Gali, the remotest union councils of district Haripur, show how people are condemned to abject poverty, deprived of civic amenities like health, sanitation, roads and above all lack education facilities.

There are 31 primary schools for girls, a breakdown of which is the following — 12 in Nara Amazai union council and 19 in Bait Gali union council, 8 government masjid schools, 7 middle schools for boys, 3 high schools and 55 primary schools for boys. All this is for the 30,800 plus population of the two union councils.

These schools were built under the Gadoon Development Project in the mid-’80s when the then government enticed the farming communities to abandon poppy crop cultivation against an incentive package they have yet to receive in full.

The education profile of the 27 villages of these highly underdeveloped union councils shows that there are only 79 male students in class V, 49 in class VII, 45 in class VIII, 56 in class IX, and 49 in class X in all the three state run high schools; while 178 are enrolled in seven middle schools of the area.

In 55 government primary schools for boys there were 2,399 students enrolled during 2002/3 while the figures for masjid schools operating in the area paint a relatively better picture where enrollment of 200 male and female students was recorded.

However, the state of basic schooling for girls is dismal with only 24 girls enrolled in 31 primary schools of these union councils where 95 per cent of these schools, records suggest, failed to enroll even a single girl student at the start of the last academic year.

This was either because of reluctance by parents to send their daughters to school, or the indifferent attitude of the education authorities who reportedly, because of political influence, transferred 95 per cent of the female teachers to schools of their choice.

Although the 1998 census report estimated 44 women as matriculate graduates and 206 with primary education in these two union councils — with 25.1 per cent literacy rate as compared to 47.4 per cent of the entire Ghazi Tehsil — the information collected from the villagers during a visit to this area, showed that only two girls had an education up to class X. This too was only possible when their families migrated to the district headquarters, Haripur, or to Tehsil Ghazi.

It is believed that all matriculate graduates had studied up to the secondary level in other places rather than within the limits of their union councils,since there is not a single middle or high school for girls in the two union council.The only way to the district headquarters is by travelling about 60 kms from the territory of district Swabi.

In accordance with the census report one finds that at the rate of 2.09 per cent annual growth in the population of the districts of the two union councils, the registered population of (both sexes) at 27,868 is increasing by 583 people per year, and during five years 2,912 people had been added to the total.

Children born in 1998 in these areas would have been of school going age last year, but unfortunately they remained out of school for various reasons. Likewise, out of 2,492 children, 55 per cent are girls from these 27 villages who remained deprived of the right to basic schooling.

They could not be enrolled due to the shortage of teachers, politicization of the education system, and the indifferent attitude of poverty stricken parents who had been compelled to cease poppy growing (their only source of income), without any alternative except for the incentive package which they have not received in full.

Interestingly the high rate of illiteracy in these remote areas not only affects the socio-economic growth and living standard, but it also robs the poor villagers of their basic right of political consciousness. Records show that the people of these areas do not permit their women to use their right to vote and not a single woman took part in the local government elections of 2001.

Saeeda Bibi, the district officer of primary education department puts the blame on politically influential people who she said compelled the authorities to transfer the teachers from the area leaving the schools closed. She said that the department was also short of 85 female teachers and would now try to recruit local women.

She claimed that while Haripur is ahead of the entire province with a 93 per cent primary literacy rate, blame fell on people of these two union councils who were responsible for the low literacy rate, adding that people prefer to keep their daughters at home. She said that lack of lodging and transport facilities in these hilly and underdeveloped areas are some of the main problems discouraging non-resident female teachers.

On the other hand Khurshid Khan, nazim, union council, Bait Gali and Anwar Khan, nazim, union council, Nara Amazai rejected the notion that people in this area do not send their girls to school. They said that teachers visit their schools only once a year at the start of the new academic year, and receive salaries despite sitting at home, and this happens in connivance of the education staff.

They accused the district education staff of taking bribes from the teachers. They disclosed to TR that, despite being conservative most of the people have started sending their daughters to schools originally meant only for boys, that are being run by male teachers.

Notwithstanding their economic problems owing to the ban on poppy cultivation, if the ghost schools are made operational, if staff is provided, and facilities are given and children encouraged with free education facilities, surely the people will want to have their children educated. They realize that education holds the key to reduced infant and mother mortality rates, better living conditions, consciousness of socio-political rights and, above all, is a solution to their miseries.

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