THE PROGRESS OF COUNTRY LIES IN THE HANDS OF YOUTH

OUTLINE:
Introduction
Hopes Of Youth
Role And Responsibilities Of Youth In Country’s Progress
Youth In Pakistan: Some Statistics
Problems Faced By Youth In Pakistan
• Frustration
• Deteriorating Academic Standards
• Unemployment
• Poverty
• Child Labour
• Growing Use Of Narcotics
• Suicide
• Pressure Of A Rigid Family System
• Dismal Role Of Media
Suggestions
Conclusion

ESSAY

Youth are the building blocks of a nation. It is a fact that the more stronger the youth, the
more developed the nation is. The role of the youth in the nation-building occupies the
central place. The countries which utilize their youth in as right direction are more developed.
The energy and brightness of minds of youth act as torch-bearer for a nation. On the
contrary, the countries which fail to realize the importance of the youth lag behind in every
department of life. This is one of the reasons of the backwardness of Pakistan. Hence the
youth lacks proper patronage. Developed countries are totally aware of the worth of their.
They consider their youth as an asset. Most important, these countries cater to the needs of
their youth and provide them education, employment, recreational activities etc. such healthy
and competitive environment prepare the youth to lead the country through thick and thin. If
youth is not in the right direction and is unconcerned about the future of the nation, it will
become a burden for the nation. Consequently, it will not play any productive role.

The youth hopes for a world free of poverty, unemployment, inequality and exploitation of
man by man. They want a world free of discrimination on the grounds of race, colour,
language and gender.

The countries where the youth are agile and pay their proper contributions towards their
nation are more developed. The entire success of a nation depends on the youth. It is the
duty of the government to provide the youth with ample opportunities to play their role in an
effective manner. Parents also have a major responsibility to fulfil. They must induce patriotic
feelings in their young ones. The youth fraught with patriotism would lead the nation to the
front. The youth have following role and responsibilities towards their nation.

• They must get proper and complete education.

• Take part in welfare activities.
• Spread awareness and education among the masses about their rights and
responsibilities.
• Help other youths in building confidence and pursuing the field of interest.
• Guide newcomers in every field on right lines.
• Promotes the fair image of the country before the world.
• Serve the country with their skills and talent in various fields.

• To nip in the bud all the evils that are polluting our society.
• To reinvigorate the culture, trend and traditions of the society.
• Help the government in the implementation of policies.
• They can play a vital role in the elimination of terrorism.
• The young people are full of vibrant ideas. Their ideas can show the country a new
path towards prosperity.
• Young people have energy to try out things and the patience to learn from mistakes.
Giving them opportunities to plan, to decide and to work prepares them to face harsher
realities in life.

• Young participation is important because youth are the country’s power. Youth
recognize problems and can solve them. Youth are strong force in social movements.

Pakistan has a large youth population. An estimated 103 million or 63% of the population fall
under the age of 25 years. Due to endemic poverty, the majority of youth in Pakistan do not
have the opportunity to experience a childhood. Male youth literacy rate is estimated to be
53% and female youth literacy rate is even lower at 42%. As far employment is concerned
15% of the youth is unemployed.

Despite constituting a major chunk of our population, our youth are lagging behind in every
field. Thy have a major role to play in country’s progress but due to government’s negligence
they are facing many new challenges in today’s society. They have been afflicted by an
identity crisis, lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem, a sense of hopelessness and
confusion and ambiguity concerning about moral issues and future. They have been trapped
in a culture marked by guns, violence and drugs. All this has resulted in an unstable
economy, a shattered confidence of foreign investors, lawlessness and a break-up of the
social fabric. Let’s see what major problems are faced by our youth.

The most impounding problem our youth is facing at present is frustration. This monster is
eating up our youth slowly and gradually. The youth in Pakistan don’t have jobs, means of
healthy entertainment, health resources and awareness. The frustration as a result of
multitude problems is increasing day by day.
Education is the most powerful weapon of the youth. With this weapon they could lead their
country towards progress. But unfortunately, quality and skill based education has been a
dream for our youth especially for the poor. There is no formal guidance for students in
logical selection of a specific course of study. There is no unified and single education
system in the country. Our universities and colleges have become degree distributing
machines. Education does not mean only degrees but in its true sense it is the future of the
youth.

Another major problem being faced by our youth is unemployment. After completing their
education, they find no job to utilize their skills to serve their country. This is the result of
negligence of government towards utilization of the youth in a proper manner. Deteriorating
conditions are also responsible for low investment in the country resulting in less job
opportunities. Unemployment is a multi-dimensional and complex issue which starts a
vicious circle of associated problems like involvement of youth in politics, bank and
household burglaries, social insecurity, lawlessness, use of drugs etc.

Poverty is another major problem of our youth. Due to lack of resources they are unable to
get quality education and pursue their field of interest. Poverty is a sort of disease which is
weakening our youth. They are unable to fully use their talent and serve their country.

Owing to poverty and unemployment, parents instead of sending their children to schools,
prefer child labour for them. They make them do so to support their family and use them as
earning hands from the early age. Child labour is a sort of deluge that is draining away our
precious talent to be utilized in right place. Child labour pushes them into a bad company
and immoral activities such as use of drugs, crime etc.

Our youth in the grim situation finding no other consolation resort to the use of drugs.
Growing use of narcotics is becoming a major problem of our youth. They find it the
cheapest source to fight their miseries. But they never realize that this habit of theirs waste
their priceless capabilities and drags them to the brink of death.

Saddest of all our youth in sheer disappointment are committing suicide. They waste their
life without knowing their worth. Use of drugs, poverty, unemployment and failure in life are
the major reasons behind this curse.

Furthermore, pressure from parents due to rigid system is also a bolt from blue to our youth.
Social taboos hinder our youth to freely decide about their future. Hence, they cannot follow
their dreams. This leads them to escape from their responsibilities towards their parents and
their country.
Last but not least, the role of media in upbringing our youth has been minimal throughout the
history of Pakistan. Most of the youth find our TV programmes non-entertaining and
unattractive. Everybody is interested in watching other South Asian and Western channels.
As a consequence of cultural invasion, our youth’s role in promoting our country has been
dismal.

Despite the multiplicity of problems, it is still a right time for government to take some
pragmatic steps. Of the 15 largest countries in the world in terms of population, Pakistan has
by far the youngest population. Government should not regard the young population as a
burden but an asset. We need to bear in mind that “the destiny of nations is in the hands of
youth”. Keeping in view this fact, here are some suggestions to make good use of our youth.

• Competitive teachers must be recruited who could encourage and guide our youth to
right lines.
• Politics must be prevented in the educational institutions.
• Campaign be started by the media that it is only education which can make our
country more prosperous. We must have 100% literacy.
• It has become a common psyche among the well-educated people that after the
completion of the education they would leave their country in the lurch. Government must
prevent brain-drain in our country by providing full employment and act as a magnet for
bright minds.
• Parents should teach youngsters patience to face the difficulties and be steadfast.
• Youth be given ample opportunities to prove and cash their skill in every field.
• Right men be placed on right places.
• Youth should be clear about their future.
• Youth should be at arm’s length from the bad company.

To conclude, the youth of today can do a marvellous job for the nation. With all the modern
means of this computer age, where everything seems to be possible, why can’t the youth
override the things done by the people in the past? We always consider the heroes of the
past to be the evergreen characters. But today the youth with the proper use of the modern
facilities should be evergreen characters for the times to come.

2) Topic

Same essay from other site

Under the dynamic leadership of Quaid-i-Azam, the youth played an instrumental role in
Pakistan Movement. The Quaid expressed his unwavering trust in young generation when
he said, “Pakistan is proud of her youth, particularly the students, who are nation builders of
tomorrow. They must fully equip themselves by discipline, education, and training for the
arduous task lying ahead of them.”
No movement can achieve its goals unless the young generation actively takes part for the
achievement of the set purposes. It is also true with the movement for the independence of
Pakistan that when young people appeared as key factor in powerful struggle, it transformed
the course of human history.

During Pakistan Movement, the demand for a separate country for the Indian Muslims and
struggle for its achievement was the fundamental part of the charters of student federations,
right from the beginning. Pakistan Resolution of 1940 provided the youth of the Subcontinent
with awareness on the importance of an independent land for the Muslims. Long British
colonial rule in India and the cruel abuse of Indian Muslims on the hands of the imperialists
had shattered their hopes and had forced them to lead a life of misery and wretchedness.
The problems and difficulties of youth directly connected with the prevailing sociopolitical
and economic conditions under the British rule.

Motivated by the idea of a separate state, the youth had participated and played their proud
and glorious role in the struggle for self-determination. Youngsters from all sections of
society played crucial role in the creation of Pakistan insomuch as the Delhi wing of Muslim
League was completely dependent on the Delhi chapter of Muslim Students Federation.
Besides, the students of Aligarh Muslim University also played a key role in the success of
the Muslim League, both in the Provincial and Central Assembly elections and later in the
creation of Pakistan.

Today, the youth of Pakistan are facing various social, political and economical challenges.
In these dark times, the young generation’s participation in national activities is must for the
bright future of the country, and without solving problems of young generation, it will remain
a distant dream.

Nevertheless, the youth of Pakistan have the desire and willingness to overwhelm the ills of
unemployment, illiteracy, communal disharmony, corruption, human right violations and
soaring crime rate by using their youthful strength, élan and the indomitable will power. For
this, we first need to strengthen and empower our youth, otherwise they will fall in the hands
of criminals.

Only an educated and well-informed youth can solve the problems of the country effectively.
Education gives sense of right and wrong or good and bad. Regretfully, many young children
cannot even afford to go to school. They remain illiterate and many of them become victims
of criminal minds. Luckily however, many young educated youth have made it priority to fight
against illiteracy.

The young generation can play a major role for the prosperity and stability of the country.
Today, there is a strongly-felt need for the youth in Pakistan to take revolutionary steps to
protect nation’s destiny. Youth can especially make a very important contribution towards the
spread of literacy in their localities. Pakistani young generation can effect a positive change
in the politics of the country through the ballot paper also. Young voters can be a
powerhouse for the elections as they have the ability to change the traditional patterns of
elections and party rankings.
No doubt, future of our nation lies in the hands of our ebullient and enthusiastic youth. They
are the powerhouse and storehouse of infinite energy. In a country, where the voters in the
age groups 18-29 are 30.5 percent or 25.76 million of the total registered votes, there is a
great possibility of political stability and high democratic values. Young generation has huge
responsibility on their shoulders. Future of Pakistan will not simply be determined by
powerful bureaucracy and political leaders but by its young people.

A young social and political activist says, “Our motherland maybe going through difficult
times, but whatever we are it is because of this country. Our existence attains meaning
because of Pakistan only. We are the ones who can and must work for our nation’s better
future. It is because of our own people that we stand on such a precarious cliff today and no
one from the outside will come to help us out, we must help ourselves out of these trials and
tribulations. No matter how small the part we play nonetheless we must play our part. We,
the youth of today, are the promise of a better tomorrow.”

A young blogger states, “Our demographic situation provides our youth with an extraordinary
opportunity to compete in whatever sphere of life they chose. This is the right time to look at
their problems and try to give them possible solutions before it’s too late. The Government
and the society should support these ‘Nation Builders’ and concentrate on protecting their
physical health; their skill-based education, employment and above all give them the
courage and motivation to move forward.”
Despite of evils of terrorism and corruption, Pakistani youth is playing a leading role in
promoting liberalism, classlessness, and harmony throughout Pakistan in the light of the
vision of the Quaid to brighten up the future of Pakistan.

3) same essay from other site

Title
Improving technical and vocational education

The key to economic growth and industrialization is a skilled and well-trained workforce. We
are at the crossroads of the history with a number of opportunities knocking at our door. Now
it is up to us whether we avail of the opportunities or just let them go wasted. This is a critical
time of our history when the country is passing through the demographic transition. This is
the time to develop the youth by training them in various skills through investment with the
purpose of education and training. By developing this resource we can capitalize the
demographic dividends. This requires political commitment to make decisions to allocate
adequate funds to human resource development and equip our youth with modern skills
especially through education and training.

In this age of liberalization and globalization, Pakistan still lags behind with regard to the
training of a satisfactory number of people in different specialised fields. Every year millions
of students graduate but they do not have specific skills valued in the market. If this trend
continues, it would further aggravate the unemployment problem and thus affect the
economic growth in the long run.

Perhaps the biggest advantages of technical and vocational education training (TVET) to
economy are to help fight unemployment and alleviate poverty. In fact, it has also been
referred to as a solution to terrorism, crimes and other social problems. The time is ripe for
such investment and setting the goals for our future course of action. We need to make
policies which are not only relevant but implementable. We have the best policies but our
implementation side is weak. So along with the policy options we need to look into the issues
of implementation also.

Challenges of the Skill Development

The current state of TVET is not very encouraging. We need at least a million skilled workers
every year to cater to our industry and other sectors. The strength of skilled workers in the
country however remains just around 300,000. It is heartening to note that hardly 16.3 per
cent of the youth cohort completes secondary education, with the result that more than
three-quarters leave educational institutions without foundational or life skills. The majority of
Pakistan’s emerging labour force is either without education and skills or has very little of
both. Thus the sustainable delivery of quality TVET is critical to the attainment of Pakistan’s
economic development goals. The Father of the Nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali
Jinnah, had also stressed the need for scientific and technical education to build the
economic future of Pakistan.

The other challenge of the system is that it does not give due importance to vocational and
technical education. This has resulted in the mismatch between the skilled manpower
required and the skilled manpower available. Majority of workers in the tattered economy
have never been to vocational training institutions, not to speak of their for mal schooling.
Moreover, vocational training courses lack market responsiveness. The
participation/contribution of the industry in the development of curricula is also limited. Due
to this reason there are insufficient linkages with industries and coverage of trades in the
service sector which has higher employment potential.

The training infrastructure of the country is also weak. There is a shortage of trained
teachers and trainers to handle courses and train at the geographic level. Moreover, lack of
adequate buildings, modern equipment and raw material makes it hard to organize courses.
The other noticeable challenge, as one of the reasons, is unattractiveness of vocational
education because of the low economic/financial returns received by vocational and
technical graduates. There are limited scholarship schemes and the drop-out rate of
graduates is high because of non-availability of sufficient scholarships.

The Father of the Nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had also stressed the
need for scientific and technical education to build the economic future of Pakistan.

In Pakistan, people are obsessed with grabbing a graduation degree and generally look
down upon vocational education. This has resulted in a situation where, on one hand, there
are scores of unemployed graduates while on the other, there is a huge shortage of skilled
workers such as plumbers, electricians etc. The formal training system because of its
educational entry requirements and long duration of courses is designed to exclude the
under-privileged informal sector workers. Above all, lack of equivalence for employment
purposes, vertical mobility, lack of convergence between various agencies and recognition
are compounding the problem.Strategies and policy options

In order to address the above-mentioned challenges, the goals of vocational training

programmes in Pakistan need to be promoted in a big way. The following strategies may be
adopted:

Vocational education should be provided out of the mainstream education and there is a
need to expand and upgrade the existing TVET system. The emphasis on TVET may have
been stronger on tertiary programmes, yet there is a need to create clear and strong
linkages with the general vocational education and training system. Technical education
needs to be expanded so as to prompt the research trend in educational institutions;

The educational pattern at the school level should be redesigned to facilitate skill
development. Integration of vocational education is needed at this level. It should be
subsidised and scholarships/stipends should be awarded to deserving students;

Substantial expansion and improvement in quality of vocational education and training is

required at all levels for raising employability and productivity. Proper teaching materials
must be developed keeping in view the requirements of different trades;

The course curricula should be revised periodically through flexible approaches based on
the learning outcome. More and more popular and market-oriented courses need to be
introduced;

Vocational education should be more computer-based and computerized programmes

should be part of the general curriculum. The pattern of training should meet the new and
changing business requirements. There is a need for creation of extensive skill development
opportunities and infrastructure;

The vocational education system should be made more flexible and inclusive for sustainable
growth;The government should introduce suitable reforms and strengthen vocational
education and training. It should make a clear policy to facilitate capacity expansion through
private sector’s participation. It should also make investments in vocational training institutes
and subsidise education for deserving students;

The government should actively work on promotion of industry and academia interaction to
narrow the existing gap between demand and supply of skilled workers. Moreover,
awareness among the general public about these programmes should be created
extensively. There is a lack of awareness about the type of courses, trades, institutions and
opportunities available in case of TVET. The awareness campaign should be such that it
provides all possible information in various fields through various means;
 The government should actively work on promotion of industry and academia interaction to
narrow the existing gap between demand and supply of skilled workers.

Re-branding of vocational education and training institutes and centres as skill development
colleges and with adequate publicity is also needed. Universities should also develop skill
development centres with autonomy;
Vocational education is not easily accessible to deserving students, particularly in rural
areas. It is, therefore, essential to plan vocational education at the post-secondary level
through distance learning mode to help the unemployed youth, rural people, drop-outs and
unskilled industrial workers to improve their knowledge, skills and job potential.

National Training Programme (NPP)

Enhancing employability of the educated unemployed, a national-level training programme –

with a stipend and active collaboration of the industry representatives – needs to be
launched. It should be in phases and different training programmes should be launched in
different cities depending on their skill requirements. The long-term educated (ten years of
education and over) unemployed groups having more than one year of unemployment spell
should be targeted for such schemes.

The qualifying conditions for this programme could be:

I- Talented students who scored high grades in their education careers;

II- Unemployed for more than a year, and;
III- The household earnings are below certain threshold level (those households who
qualify for public assistance/Zakat or other charity may be considered).

This programme can be gradually expanded to cover other groups qualifying the laid-down
criteria. The National Vocational and Technical Education Commission (NEVTEC) in
collaboration with the National Training Bureau (NTB) and Skill Development Council (SDC)
need to be entrusted to conduct training programmes. The infrastructure of existing
institutions can be fully utilised. For financing, the best practice is to go for public-private
partnership scheme because that is doable and sustainable.

If these policies and schemes are implemented in letter and spirit, it can sail the country
through current rough waters towards bright future with high employment and sustainable
economic growth.

Topic

25 education initiatives from 2016: Scholarships, free books, free education and more

1. Government ensures all school children be able to read by November 14

Under the Chunauti 2018 policy, the government wants to make sure every student,
disregarding cognitive challenges, are given fair attention and improve their reading abilities.
In the process, the Delhi government has undertaken an active measure to test students
with dyslexia condition, hyperactivity disorder, and other learning disabilities condition so that
these students are provided with the right environment and guidance to ensure they could
read and write before they reach class 8.

2. BRICS nations adopts New Delhi Declaration on Education

Education is the answer to all the major problems in the world. Realising the need to educate
more and more people, BRICS nations have adopted the 'New Delhi Declaration on
Education' resolving to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote
life-long learning opportunities for all.

3. Jharkhand to provide free textbooks to female students

The Jharkhand School Education and Literacy Department has decided to give free
textbooks, uniforms and notebooks to all the girl students studying in classes 9, 10, 11 and
12 in Jharkhand schools, from the academic session 2016.

4. Free education to girls studying in government schools

The district administrator of Gurgaon has recently announced to give free education to girls
from classes 9 to 12 under the 'Meri Lado Kare Padhai' initiative. Under the Right to
Education (RTE) Act of the Indian constitution, all girls are entitled to get free education up to
class 8.

5. Interest-free loans for all IIT students under 'Vidyalakshmi' scheme

If the proposal of Human Resource Development (HRD) comes through, all Indian Institute
of Technology (IIT) students will have access to interest-free loan for the entire tuition fee
under the government's 'Vidyalakshmi' scheme at the time of admission.

6. UP government to distribute Rs 267.30 crore among 89,100 meritorious girl students

Uttar Pradesh government will distribute Rs 267.30 crore among 89,100 meritorious girl
students under the amended Kanya Vidya Dhan scheme. The government will give a
cheque of Rs 30,000 to girl students who have outperformed in intermediate or equivalent
examinations in the state.

7. Special scholarship worth Rs 75 crore awarded to J&K students

In order to help students in pursuing higher education outside Jammu and Kashmir state, the
central government has recently decided to award scholarships to a few students. Under the
new scheme, candidates will be given over 3,500 scholarships worth a total of Rs 75 crore.

8. AIADMK govt is going to give away 5.36 lakh laptops to school students
The AIADMK government plans to distribute lakhs of laptops to school students under its
scheme to provide free laptops.

9. Higher education study material to be made available for free

After launching the digitisation of education initiative, 'E-pathshala', Union HRD Minister,
Smriti Irani has announced that the higher education course material will be made available
free of cost to the students through mobile app and other sources. According to PTI reports,
1,200 additional educational modules would be prepared and efforts would be made to
provide free access to all books through a mobile app.

10. Arvind Kejriwal directs proposal to increase salary of all guest teachers
The Education department has been directed on Saturday to prepare a proposal to increase
salaries of all guest teachers irrespective of whether they have cleared the Central Teacher
Eligibility Test (CTET) or not.

11. CM Nitish Kumar announces mega schemes: Rs 4 lakh cash limit credit cards for
students
While fulfilling the 'seven resolves' commitment, Nitish Kumar launched three different
schemes for students' welfare under the scheme 'Arthik Hal, Yuvaon Ko Bal,' including Issue
of student credit card, Improving financial condition, free wi-fi connectivity.

12. Madhya Pradesh government introduces Hindi in engineering colleges

Madhya Pradesh government has decided to introduce Hindi for engineering students
keeping in mind the problems faced by students from various parts of the country who
studied in regional languages.

13. Rajasthan becomes first state to make student data available online
Rajasthan is the first state in the country to make the data of students available online. With
the help of a special software, the data of government school students has already
uploaded. Now, the details of students of private schools, military schools, madarasas and
others will be made available online, said Minister of State for School Education Vasudev
Devnani.

14. Special kids in Maharashtra can now avail older writers for SSC, HSC exams
Students with special needs studying in classes 1 to 9 as well as in class 11 in Maharashtra
will now get concessions in academics and examinations by the state government. They can
now avail writers of older age with prior permission of their schools. Until now, only students
with special needs of classes 10 and 12 were considered for concessions in board
examinations.

15. HRD Ministry calls for compulsory aptitude tests before JEE to eliminate coaching needs
The Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry plans to arrange for a national-level
screening test for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) candidates. According to experts,
though the test has been proposed to be a measure to minimise coaching needs, it could
push the candidates to get more help to prepare for the exam.

16. Perform yoga and obtain extra marks: Circular issued to Maharashtra schools
A circular was issued to the schools in Maharashtra regarding a yoga camp, asking students
and teachers to attend the same and make the most of it. Also, state school education
minister Vinod Tawde said that students will be given extra marks for practising yoga.
Although it is not mandatory for students or teachers to attend it, doing the same will be
beneficial for them only.

17. Govt. to fund 'pure science' scholars' for post doctoral research in India
In order to stop the ongoing brain drain in India, the government has recently launched the
National Post Doctoral Fellowship to fund all the science scholars holding a PhD degree so
as to help them pursue their post-doctoral research in India.

18. No uniform syllabus for CBSE, states, says Government

There is no proposal from government to introduce a uniform syllabus in CBSE and state
boards as the common curriculum does not consider the local contexts such as culture and
language, Lok Sabha was informed on Monday. Multiplicity of curricula and educational
resources are desirable across the nation.

19. Bangalore University announces free of cost higher education to orphan students
After seeing the problems faced by those who cannot afford higher education which includes
children from the weaker section of the society and orphans, Bangalore University (BU)
recently announced to provide free education to master degree courses. To implement this,
the varsity has launched a student adoption scheme.

20. HRD launches 32 educational channels for students

The HRD Ministry has provided a digital platform wherein 32 channels would render
systematic instruction to students. Of the 32 channels, 3 channels are devoted for IIT
aspirants.

21. Haryana ties-up with NSIC to establish technology centre in Faridabad

Haryana Technical Education Department enters into collaboration with National Small
Industries Corporation (NSIC) to establish a technology centre at Neemka in Faridabad
district.

22. CBSE makes Aadhaar card compulsory to appear for JEE Mains 2017
From the year 2017 onwards, it will be mandatory for the candidates who will be appearing
for Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Mains to provide his Aadhaar card details while filling up the
online form. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has made this a compulsion
from next year onwards.

23. CBSE directs schools to drop school bags till class 2: MoS HRD Upendra Kushwaha
To reduce the pressure from students, the CBSE has directed its affiliated schools to ensure
that students do not carry school bags till class 2 and also put restriction on the number of
books to be prescribed in classes 1-8, Minister of State for Human Resource Development
Upendra Kushwaha told the Lok Sabha.

24. Delhi: Government launches programme to train school children in saving electricity
Delhi government will now train school children with various means such as switching off
extra lights when not in use and encouraging parents to use ACs with temperature control
and full load washing machines.

25. School students can now read textbooks on mobiles: Maharashtra State Bureau
launches e-Balbharti app
The Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research (Balbharti)
launched an application that will let students read textbooks on their mobiles. Textbooks
produced by Balbharati are published on ebalbharati.in in pdf format. The pdf e-books can
be downloaded free of cost. The policy was aimed at reducing the weight of bags carried by
students to school.

Topic

Education system of pakistan issues, problems and solutions

Introduction

It is mandated in the Constitution of Pakistan to provide free and compulsory education to all
children between the ages of 5-16 years and enhance adult literacy. With the 18th
constitutional amendment the concurrent list which comprised of 47 subjects was abolished
and these subjects, including education, were transferred to federating units as a move
towards provincial autonomy.

The year 2015 is important in the context that it marks the deadline for the participants of
Dakar declaration (Education For All [EFA] commitment) including Pakistan. Education
related statistics coupled with Pakistan’s progress regarding education targets set in Vision
2030 and Pakistan’s lagging behind in achieving EFA targets and its Millennium
Development Goals(MDGs) for education call for an analysis of the education system of
Pakistan and to look into the issues and problems it is facing so that workable solutions
could be recommended.

What is Education System?

The system of education includes all institutions that are involved in delivering formal
education (public and private, for-profit and nonprofit, onsite or virtual instruction) and their
faculties, students, physical infrastructure, resources and rules. In a broader definition the
system also includes the institutions that are directly involved in financing, managing,
operating or regulating such institutions (like government ministries and regulatory bodies,
central testing organizations, textbook boards and accreditation boards). The rules and
regulations that guide the individual and institutional interactions within the set up are also
part of the education system.
Education system of Pakistan:

The education system of Pakistan is comprised of 260,903 institutions and is facilitating

41,018,384 students with the help of 1,535,461 teachers. The system includes 180,846
public institutions and 80,057 private institutions. Hence 31% educational institutes are run
by private sector while 69% are public institutes.

Analysis of education system in Pakistan

Pakistan has expressed its commitment to promote education and literacy in the country by
education policies at domestic level and getting involved into international commitments on
education. In this regard national education policies are the visions which suggest strategies
to increase literacy rate, capacity building, and enhance facilities in the schools and
educational institutes. MDGs and EFA programmes are global commitments of Pakistan for
the promotion of literacy.

A review of the education system of Pakistan suggests that there has been little change in
Pakistan’s schools since 2010, when the 18th Amendment enshrined education as a
fundamental human right in the constitution. Problems of access, quality, infrastructure and
inequality of opportunity, remain endemic.

Issues

A) MDGs and Pakistan

Due to the problems in education system of Pakistan, the country is lagging behind in
achieving its MDGs of education. The MDGs have laid down two goals for education sector:

Goal 2: The goal 2 of MDGs is to achieve Universal Primary Education (UPE) and by 2015,
children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary
schooling. By the year 2014 the enrolment statistics show an increase in the enrolment of
students of the age of 3-16 year while dropout rate decreased. But the need for increasing
enrolment of students remains high to achieve MDGs target. Punjab is leading province wise
in net primary enrolment rate with 62% enrolment. The enrolment rate in Sindh province is
52%, in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KPK) 54% and primary enrolment rate in Balochistan is
45%.
Goal 3: The goal 3 of MDGs is Promoting Gender Equality and Women Empowerment. It is
aimed at eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005 and in all
levels of education not later than 2015. There is a stark disparity between male and female
literacy rates. The national literacy rate of male was 71% while that of female was 48% in
2012-13. Provinces reported the same gender disparity. Punjab literacy rate in male was
71% and for females it was 54%. In Sindh literacy rate in male was 72% and female 47%, in
KPK male 70% and females 35%, while in Balochistan male 62% and female 23%.

B) Education for All (EFA) Commitment

The EFA goals focus on early childhood care and education including pre-schooling,
universal primary education and secondary education to youth, adult literacy with gender
parity and quality of education as crosscutting thematic and programme priorities.

EFA Review Report October 2014 outlines that despite repeated policy commitments,
primary education in Pakistan is lagging behind in achieving its target of universal primary
education. Currently the primary gross enrolment rate stands at 85.9% while Pakistan
requires increasing it up to 100% by 2015-16 to fulfil EFA goals. Of the estimated total
primary school going 21.4 million children of ages 5-9 years, 68.5% are enrolled in schools,
of which 8.2 million or 56% are boys and 6.5 million or 44% are girls. Economic Survey of
Pakistan confirms that during the year 2013-14 literacy remained much higher in urban
areas than in rural areas and higher among males.

C) Vision 2030

Vision 2030 of Planning Commission of Pakistan looks for an academic environment which
promotes the thinking mind. The goal under Vision 2030 is one curriculum and one national
examination system under state responsibility. The strategies charted out to achieve the goal
included:

(i) Increasing public expenditure on education and skills generation from 2.7% of
GDP to 5% by 2010 and 7% by 2015.

(ii) Re-introduce the technical and vocational stream in the last two years of
secondary schools.

(iii) Gradually increase vocational and technical education numbers to 25-30% of all
secondary enrolment by 2015 and 50 per cent by 2030.
(iv) Enhance the scale and quality of education in general and the scale and quality
of scientific/technical education in Pakistan in particular.

Problems: The issues lead to the comprehension of the problems which are faced in the
development of education system and promotion of literacy. The study outlines seven major
problems such as:

1) Lack of Proper Planning: Pakistan is a signatory to MDGs and EFA goals. However it
seems that it will not be able to achieve these international commitments because of
financial management issues and constraints to achieve the MDGs and EFA goals.

2) Social constraints: It is important to realize that the problems which hinder the
provision of education are not just due to issues of management by government but some of
them are deeply rooted in the social and cultural orientation of the people. Overcoming the
latter is difficult and would require a change in attitude of the people, until then universal
primary education is difficult to achieve.

3) Gender gap: Major factors that hinder enrolment rates of girls include poverty, cultural
constraints, illiteracy of parents and parental concerns about safety and mobility of their
daughters. Society’s emphasis on girl’s modesty, protection and early marriages may limit
family’s willingness to send them to school. Enrolment of rural girls is 45% lower than that of
urban girls; while for boys the difference is 10% only, showing that gender gap is an
important factor.

4) Cost of education: The economic cost is higher in private schools, but these are
located in richer settlements only. The paradox is that private schools are better but not
everywhere and government schools ensure equitable access but do not provide quality
education.

5) War on Terror: Pakistan’s engagement in war against terrorism also affected the
promotion of literacy campaign. The militants targeted schools and students; several
educational institutions were blown up, teachers and students were killed in Balochistan,
KPK and FATA. This may have to contribute not as much as other factors, but this remains
an important factor.
6) Funds for Education: Pakistan spends 2.4% GDP on education. At national level, 89%
education expenditure comprises of current expenses such as teachers’ salaries, while only
11% comprises of development expenditure which is not sufficient to raise quality of
education.

7) Technical Education: Sufficient attention has not been paid to the technical and
vocational education in Pakistan. The number of technical and vocational training institutes
is not sufficient and many are deprived of infrastructure, teachers and tools for training. The
population of a state is one of the main elements of its national power. It can become an
asset once it is skilled. Unskilled population means more jobless people in the country,
which affects the national development negatively. Therefore, technical education needs
priority handling by the government.

Poverty, law and order situation, natural disasters, budgetary constraints, lack of access,
poor quality, equity, and governance have also contributed in less enrolments.

An analysis of the issues and problems suggest that:

The official data shows the allocation of funds for educational projects but there is no
mechanism which ensures the proper expenditure of those funds on education.

The existing infrastructure is not being properly utilized in several parts of the country.
There are various challenges that include expertise, institutional and capacity issues, forging
national cohesion, uniform standards for textbook development, and quality assurance.
The faculty hiring process is historically known to be politicized. It is because of this that the
quality of teaching suffers and even more so when low investments are made in teachers’
training. As a result teachers are not regular and their time at school is not as productive as
it would be with a well-trained teacher.
Inside schools there are challenges which include shortage of teachers, teacher
absenteeism, missing basic facilities and lack of friendly environment.
Out of school challenges include shortage of schools, distance – especially for females,
insecurity, poverty, cultural norms, parents are reluctant or parents lack awareness.

Solutions

There is a need for implementation of national education policy and vision 2030 education
goals. An analysis of education policy suggests that at the policy level there are several
admirable ideas, but practically there are some shortcomings also.
It may not be possible for the government at the moment to implement uniform education
system in the country, but a uniform curriculum can be introduced in educational institutes of
the country. This will provide equal opportunity to the students of rural areas to compete with
students of urban areas in the job market.

Since majority of Pakistani population resides in rural areas and the access to education is a
major problem for them, it seems feasible that a balanced approach for formal and informal
education be adopted. Government as well as non-government sector should work together
to promote education in rural areas.

The government should take measures to get school buildings vacated which are occupied
by feudal lords of Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab. Efforts should be made to ensure that
proper education is provided in those schools.

The federal government is paying attention to the vocational and technical training, but it is
important to make the already existing vocational and technical training centres more
efficient so that skilled youth could be produced.

Since education is a provincial subject, the provincial education secretariats need to be

strengthened. Special policy planning units should be established in provinces’ education
departments for implementation of educational policies and formulation of new policies
whenever needed. The provincial education departments need to work out financial
resources required for realising the compliance of Article 25-A.

Federal Government should play a supportive role vis-à-vis the provinces for the early
compliance of the constitutional obligation laid down in Article 25-A. Special grants can be
provided to the provinces where the literacy rate is low.

Pakistan is not the only country which is facing challenges regarding promotion of literacy
and meeting EFA and MDGs commitments. Education remains a subject which is paid least
attention in the whole South Asian region. UNDP report 2014 suggests that there has been
an improvement in other elements of human development such as life expectancy, per
capita income and human development index value (in past 3 years); but there has been no
progress in the number of schooling years. The expected average for years of schooling in
2010 was 10.6 years but the actual average of schooling remained 4.7 for all South Asian
countries. In the year 2013 the expected average of number of years increased to 11.2 but
the actual average of years of schooling of South Asian countries remained 4.7. Regional
cooperation mechanism can also be developed to promote literacy in South Asian region.
Sharing success stories, making country-specific modifications and their implementation can
generate positive results.

Recommendations
Technical education should be made a part of secondary education. Classes for carpentry,
electrical, and other technical education must be included in the curriculum.
Providing economic incentives to the students may encourage the parents to send their
children to school and may help in reducing the dropout ratio.
Local government system is helpful in promoting education and literacy in the country. In
local government system the funds for education would be spent on a need basis by the
locality.
Corruption in education departments is one of the factors for the poor literacy in the country.
An effective monitoring system is needed in education departments.
For any system to work it is imperative that relevant structures are developed. Legislation
and structure should be framed to plan for the promotion of education in the country. After
the 18th amendment the education has become a provincial subject, therefore, the provinces
should form legislations and design educational policies which ensure quality education.
Unemployment of educated men and women is a major concern for Pakistan. There should
be career counselling of the pupils in schools so that they have an understanding of job
market and they can develop their skills accordingly.
Counselling of parents is required, so that they can choose a career for their child which is
market friendly.
There are two approaches to acquiring education: First, which is being followed by many in
Pakistan is to get education to earn bread and butter. The second approach is to get
education for the sake of personal development and learning. This approach is followed by
affluent and economically stable people who send their children to private schools and
abroad for education. The problem arises when non-affluent families send their children to
private schools, and universities. This aspiration for sending children for higher education is
wrong, because the country does not need managers and officers only. There are several
other jobs where people are needed. Hence the mind-set of sending one’s children to
university only for becoming officers and managers needs to be changed.

Conclusion:

The reforms required in the education system of Pakistan cannot be done by the
government alone, public-private participation and a mix of formal as well as non-formal
education can pull out majority of country’s population from illiteracy. Similarly, to make the
youth of the country an asset, attention should also be paid to vocational and technical
training.