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Therefore, this write-up is mainly focusing on what works, what
not works and what needed to be done to address the educational crisis in District
Diamer in the days to come.
It is alarming to see that as per ASER Survey-2015, 91% of
children (age 3-5) are out of preschools and 52% of children (age 6-16) are
out-of-schools in District Diamer. This means overall a whopping 72% of
children (age 3-16) are out-of-school in Diamer. Out of these out-of-school-children
(OOSC), an overwhelming 69% are girls. And out of all enrolled girls in Primary
schools, only 16% can read a sentence in Urdu and 15% in English in Diamer. However,
it is interesting to note it here that, in terms of learning outcomes (test
scores) in numeracy (mathematics) District Diamer is among the top performing
districts at GB and national level as 65% girls and 64% boys can do at least
two digit subtractions. This shows that the children of Diamer are equally
talented but they needed access to educational facilities and a level playing
to unlock their true potential. And this is where state institutions needed to intervene.
In terms of overall education score of Diamer, Pakistan
District Education Rankings 2016 have placed Diamer at the bottom of the list
as its average score in education is 1st quartile which is much
lower than regional and national average.
Similarly, regarding infrastructure
facilities, the Diamer district has been ranked 79 out of 145 districts at
national level and 4 out of 7 surveyed districts at GB level. Last year it was
ranked 127 out of 148 districts at national level and it was at 4th
position out of 7 districts at GB level. This shows a commendable improvement
in infrastructure in terms of electricity, drinking water, boundary wall and
physical condition of school buildings in Diamer. However, availability of
functional toilets and boundary wall are some of the main issues as 88% of
schools are running without toilet facility and 55% are without a boundary wall
in Diamer. These are the major reasons in this conservative society, due to
which 44% school children (especially girls) are dropping out of school without
completing even the Primary level of schooling in Diamer.
It is befitting to note it here that, out of 239 total schools, 86% are Primary Schools in Diamer. While in GB and national level, there are 63% and 46% Primary School. Similarly, there are 68% Primary schools with a single teacher in Diamer; whereas, it is 35% at GB level and 15% at the national level. In the same way, there are 38% Primary schools with a single classroom in Diamer; whereas, it is 11% at GB level and 7% at the national level.
These indicators underpin the GB government policy through which it has opened small schools with a multi-grade system in isolated and equally scattered areas. As a consequence, there is a proliferation of schools, but ironically many lack quality staff and the basic requirements of a school. According to local media reports, the backdoor appointments of under-qualified kith and kin of powerful government officials as a school teachers have made the matter worst in the Diamer district in general and Goharabad in particular. As a result, the otherwise bright children of Diamer are depriving in getting their basic human and constitutional right in terms of access to quality education. This deprivation have further trapped locals in poverty cycle and exacerbated security related challenges in the region as we have already seen manifestation of this intellectual poverty in the form of 2013 Nanga Parbat massacre, sectarian killing in Harban Nala, terrorist attacks on law enforcement agencies and blown up of girls school buildings in recent past in District Diamer.
Therefore, I call upon the GB government in general and the Education Minister and Secretary Education in particular to enforce educational emergency to address the educational crisis in District Diamer. In this regard, it is suggested to provide all missing facilities in existing schools under forthcoming provincial budget besides starting enrollment campaign through community mobilization with special focus on out of school girls. Also build new girls’ schools and post-primary level schools, closer to large communities with higher out-of-school girls’ populations and low transition levels from primary to middle as it can potentially improve gender parity score. Additionally, it is suggested to offer incentives to get education and prevent corporal punishment to increase girls' enrollment.
Furthermore, proper monitoring
and participatory evaluation of the existing school to ensure the presence of
school teachers, timely control of dropouts along with quality of teaching
through teachers training and merit-based appointment of teachers is the need
of the hour. Besides this, the government needed to involve private sector
through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as this kind of partnership with the
Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) under the Education
Development and Improvement Programme (EDIP) have already proven to be a
highly fruitful venture as it helped increase the enrollment and learning outcomes
for both girls and boys in local schools in Diamer District. Last but not the
least, GB government, educated youth and locals needed to take ownership of
educational development by protecting educational facilities, pinpointing their
educational issues and find local solution with the help of concerned stakeholders, including Non-Government
Organizations besides encouraging children to attend school to address the
educational crisis in District Diamer. To sensitize locals and resistance
forces against girls’ education, it is
suggested to arrange exposure visits to local elders, clergymen and notable
social activist from Diamer to other districts in GB where educational
attainments are impressive and gender parity is at its best in Pakistan. Furthermore,
in the age of social media, GB Education department is needed to virtually
engage targeted communities through social media updates and complaints
redressal. Let’s reiterate our commitment to play our due role to promote quality
education in District Diamer as educated Diamer is in the very interest of
prosperous GB and secure Pakistan.
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Readers of this column also read "Comparative Analysis of Education in Gilgit-Baltistan Pakistan"
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