Govt move over universal primary education sought
By Mukhtar Alam
KARACHI: Non-governmental organisations have urged the federal and provincial governments and civil society to take steps to ensure that every child starts primary education at the age of five years.
Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday at the press club, leaders of various NGOs and foundations, led by the executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Labour and Research (PILER), Karamat Ali, demanded that the government take urgent measures for the enrolment of every child of school-going age in school during the current academic year.
“The Constitution of Pakistan after the passage of the 18th Amendment clearly binds the state under Article 25A: Right to education, to provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen,” the Piler’s executive officer added, mentioning that primary education had now become the fundamental right of every child and was not any arbitrary entitlement.
He said that as envisaged in the national education policy 2010 the government was required to allocate seven per cent of its GDP by 2015 for the education sector, while it was supposed to allocate 3.19 per cent for the current financial year.
However, according to the latest data received from the National Commission for Human Development, the government has been able to allocate 1.9 per cent of its GDP for 2010-11, the lowest spending on education by the country compared to other countries in the region.
He also mentioned that Pakistan had 70 million children in the age group of five and 19 years, out of which only 27.9 million were enrolled in schools.
He observed that the government had badly failed to enforce the relevant laws in the past, despite the fact that an increase in the rate of primary school enrolments was suggested through its various educational and social reform policies.
The education sector targets under the Millennium Development Goals also required Pakistan to ensure a 100 per cent schooling of children of either sex everywhere for a full course of primary education by 2015, he added.
He said Pakistan was undermining the growth and development of the country by sidelining reforms in the structure of education.
He said the government should make elaborate arrangements and concrete plans and implementation action, making them public under the Right to Information Act, to give the fundamental and constitutional right to children.
“I personally understand that provinces, after a complete devolution of the education sector to them, would be in a much better position to allocate funds for education and training of its deserving population,” Mr Ali noted.
He also said that to exert pressure on the government and mobilsing society for promotion of primary education in Sindh and other provinces, a signature campaign would be launched in a week’s time. The leader said that the orgnaisations that had already endorsed Piler’s initiatives for provision of primary education to every child of the country hoped that the Supreme
Court would also take suo-motto notice of the issue.
Piler had also planned to send appeals to the president, prime minister, chief executives of the provinces, the chief of federal implementation committee on the 18th Amendment, while a formal petition would also be submitted to the Supreme Court, he said.
“We need to work for an improved primary education system and avert further increase in the number of illiterates, which was around 105 million, he concluded.
A. Aziz Kabani of the Sindh Education Foundation said that enrolment at primary schools could not be increased for various reasons, including the non-availability of public schools, inadequate infrastructure, shortage of teachers and a lack in teaching standards, social and economic inequality, lack of interest of parents and the community’s failure to monitor the public sector schools.
Aziz Baloch of Strengthening Participatory Organisation stressed the need for a uniform educational system across the country and promotion of education as a tool to eliminate poverty.
Mahnaz Rahman of Aurat Foundation also addressed the conference.
Source: Dawn
Date:5/5/2011
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