KARACHI: Despite investment in education projects across the province, enrolment of girls in primary schools remains low while seven per cent girls do not study beyond primary education for multiple reasons, including absence of female teachers, lack of facilities and security.

This was revealed in a study conducted and presented by Indus Resource Centre to educationists and parliamentarians on Tuesday.

Sharing the findings of the study with the parliamentarians, educationists and the media, development economist Iffat Ara said it was conducted on education in the Mittho Babber area of Dadu where absence of female teachers was found among other reasons behind parents’ reluctance to send their daughters to school. Another reason, she pointed out, was the lack of a proper structure or a boundary wall around the school. “The attendance rate of girls is a mere 15 per cent in this district, whereas the enrolment for boys stands at 50pc,” she said. Adequate resources must be allocated specifically towards educating girls in the province, as they suffer the most due to lack of infrastructure and proper facilities, she added.

Ameer Hyder Shah, a lawmaker from Thatta, said that currently “336 out of the 350 schools are not functional in Thatta.” He said: “I raised this issue many times in the provincial assembly. We need to understand that allocating a budget and building a structure is not enough; we need to ensure that these schools run,” he added.

It was said that only seven per cent of the girls did not study after completing their primary education, while those who completed their education, according to similar studies, could not read textbooks of Class II.

Dr Kaiser Bengali, adviser to the Balochistan chief minister, said textbooks in particular need to be gender-sensitised. “Majority of the books that I read as part of my research while preparing a report for the IRC, show male bias. Since pictures have an impact on children, most of the pictures showed boys doing the outdoor chores or activities while the girls are shown helping mothers inside the home. If we want to make women a priority, this needs to change,” he added.

While appreciating the Sindh Education Sector Plan (SESP) 2014-18, he highlighted the need for more effective steps to be taken in order to make education a priority, specifically girls’ education.

Published in Dawn January 18th, 2017