RECENTLY, I appeared in the board exams for class X that were held in a government school. It was my first experience to visit a public-sector school. I had heard about inequality and disparity between private and public schools, and my current experience gave me an opportunity to see it for myself.

There were big classrooms with broken doors. There was no seating plan according to the roll numbers. After half-an-hour, a teacher notified the room numbers and roll numbers of the candidates. There were no lights in classrooms, and switchboards were broken, with wires hanging out and posing danger to anyone who might touch them accidently. The windows were without panes. The benches were uncomfortable.

As for the exam itself, it started 10 minutes behind schedule owing to irresponsible staff, but it finished as per the schedule. There was no inkpad for getting candidates’ thumb impressions, and they used their own ink or marker for the purpose. We remained disturbed during the whole exam. I am afraid all this will have a negative impact on our grades.

In contrast, a year ago I sat my class IX board exam that was held in a private school. On entering the school, I had found a big and clean building with marble floors. The room numbers and roll numbers had already been marked. Doors, windows and benches were all in a good state, and the lighting and ventilation arrangements were just fine. More importantly, the exam was conducted in a facilitative environment.

After having had these two experiences within a year, I wonder how we would be able to put the country on the right track with such stark inequalities. It is time the government invested in the education system, and improved the quality and infrastructure of public schools so that people may not have to spend their hard- earned money on paying astronomical fees of private schools that have been flourishing only due to indifference of political leaders.

Faqiha Eman
Kasur

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2024