State of education in Sindh

Posted on November 30, 2012 My home province Sindh has a long rich tradition of education especially in theology, philosophy, philology, and musicology. For centuries, various cities of Indus valley civilization such as Thatto, Arore, Rohri, sehwan, Pir jo goth etc. and its erudite scholars have served as custodians and keepers of knowledge. The most remarkable thing about ancient Sindh, even before the partition of subcontinent, education was the fact that in most cased teachers were unpaid professional who chose to be teachers for its intrinsic value. Hindu,Parsi and teachers from other religious minorities were on volunteerism. We believe that he fundamental prerequisite to any intellectual endeavor is independent critical thinking. Educational institutions used to enrich tradition of independent critical thinking. For quiet some, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, continued this noble tradition of promoting critical thinking and intellectualization. It produced towering intellectuals, creative thinkers and writers but unfortunately, nowadays this prestigious varsity has fallen on its evil days and our ruling elite is indifferent to its state of affairs and loss of education. Indeed, the socio-economic development of any nation is becoming less and less dependent on natural resources and more so on social capital formation including the development of the skills of its people. For some inexplicable reason, this truism seems to have been lost to or conveniently sidelined by successive governments in Sindh province. Even the present elected government which is about complete its five year tenure has been more eager to embark on a spending spree for the purchase of luxurious vehicles for the rulers and bureaucrats or the building of gaudy projects that contribute little or nothing to the overall transformation of an agrarian society than to promote programs of human capital formation. Whenever I travel to my home province and visit various villages in different upper Sindh district I do not witness any change there. These days have also witnessed a significant decline in the education system of the province. The system has failed miserably to keep up with demand. The present government has not made any pragmatic attempt to improve childrens education. Misguided policies have caused very few children to receive an education. Our rulers have tried to improve the school system in the province. Literacy and enrollment rates are still low. The government has not revised its curriculum so as to make education more practical and relevant to childrens lives. In the rural remote areas even today our children are at a disadvantage because schools are limited to towns and roadside villages. Like the past, the present government has not taken any action to build new schools close to the communities. So much so the present indifferent rulers have done nothing to save the education of future of millions of disaster victim children whose school buildings are destroyed and they have become street children. Before the educational system in upper and lower Sindh regions gets better, there are many factors that need to be addressed and improved. Sindh government must change the importance of education in their social structure, and children should be encouraged and required to attend school and become educated. This would not only improve the level of awareness in the province and the opportunity for advancement but also it would improve many other aspects of Sindhi society.

However, the present rulers and relevant authorities are requested to revive and promote this noble principle which reads as let the educated teach and let the uneducated learn in the Sindhi society and also make genuine efforts for the promotion of distance education in the province so as to promote literary and education in todays resources-rich but deprived and denied Sindh province. Hashim Abro Islamabad