TWENTY-TWO million children are out of school in Pakistan. The prime reason is parents’ ignorance about the benefits of education and their proclivity towards using their children to earn an income. Getting their offspring employed in low-end jobs destroys the child’s future. The situation demands a task force for education in every province.

This task force should identify districts where the problem is most acute and recommend corrective measures. It should also be tasked with ensuring that all public sector schools perform efficiently, and that they are brought at par with the best institutions in the private sector. In villages, the services of village elders and mosques’ prayer leaders should be enlisted to ensure every child receives 12 years of education.

There is a need to do all of this on a war-footing because education has become very important in the information technology era.

M. Saleem Ansari
Karachi

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2019