“Do Government Schools Improving And Providing All The Basic

Necessities To The Poor Students?”

INTRODUCTION:

Our topic is “Do Government Schools Improving And Providing All The Basic Necessities
To The Poor Students?” Before starting deep discussion on our topic at first I want to tell about
some important terms.

BASIC EDUCATION:

Basic education is the education given to pupils within the ages of six to 14 years. It is the
education given right from the grass roots as soon as the child can count. Basic education
typically comprises primary and lower secondary education, and increasingly one or more years
of pre-primary education. It usually encompasses compulsory schooling.

TYPES OF EDUCATION SECTORS IN OUR COUNTRY:

There are two types of education sectors in Pakistan. Public and private. Public education
sector refers to the education system provided by government. Where as private sector education
system takes much money for providing the students with quality education.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

• One of the most highlighted public education system problem is that citizens of
Pakistan are facing now a days is lacking government support. Government allocates
only 2% of total GDP fund to the development of education sector.
• Moreover, the quality of education in most of the public schools and colleges is well
below par.
• Pakistani students are not aware of the importance of parallel thinking.

ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN PROVIDING BASIC EDUCATION:

The following are the responsibilities of government with respect to the education sector:
 • It is the role of the government to provide an enabling environment for teachers and
learners; such as good classrooms in a quiet and serene environment to accommodate
pupils.
• The government should also provide competent teachers to facilitate the teaching and
learning in a more effective manner.
• It should also provide good roads to schools, teaching and learning materials.
• There should be good access to potable water and functional electricity, laboratory
equipme

OUR AIM OF CHOOSING THIS TOPIC:

One of our primary concerns while choosing this topic is to highliten that are public schools really
improving themselves? Are they actually making efforts to provide quality education to children?
Is it only the fate of poor child to study in public sector?

Now, getting deeper we shall consider in detail the negative, positive aspects of government
institutions and also discuss the educational reforms that should be taken for the betterment and
prosperity of our country.

Positive aspects of studying in a government institutes:

There are multiple benefits which are always ignored while thinking to get admission in
Government schools for our school-going children. Now a days, it has been observed that everyone
is going to get admission in private schools rather than government schools. Whenever the children
of beurocrate will not get admission in Public schools till then we cannot improve the standard of
schools in Punjab. Mostly, the children of Government teachers are also studying in any private
schools. It means school teacher in Govt school is also not satisfied with the prevailing standard
in our Govt institutes.

The private schools are charging more fee than compare to the Govt schools. But parents are
stratified with the education and environment standard. Beside of all these points there also a lot
of positive aspects of studying in a government institute specially for those who can not afford
private school fees.
▪ All teachers in government schools have at least a master’s degree as well as a professional
degree of Bachelor of Education, in addition to many M.Phil and Ph.D.
▪ Government schools have beautiful school buildings.
▪ Education in government schools is absolutely free and there is a well-organized system of
scholarships, uniforms and free educational facilities for eligible students.
▪ Every child gets free books in government schools.
▪ The curriculum of government schools is prepared under the supervision of the country’s top
academics and authors.
▪ Professionalism is taken care of in government schools, such as science teacher science
subjects, while the responsibility of teaching and training of languages is given only to the
master degree holder of the relevant language.
▪ There is a systematic record of all children in public schools and this data is stored in a
software app that contains a complete record of everything from your child’s health to
educational trends and from attendance to distance from school to home.
▪ There is a regular mechanism for teaching Quran after morning assembly in government
schools.
▪ The latest methods are adopted for education and training in government schools.
▪ ECE Rooms and LND Rooms in primary schools and modern science and computer labs in
high schools are a shining examples.
▪ In government schools, curricular and extra-curricular activities are regularly organized.
▪ Public schools have a well-organized check and balance system.
▪ There is a chain through which teachers, head teacher, clerks and other staff are closely
monitored as well as trained and given certificates of appreciation and rewards for good
performance.
▪ Cleaning maintenance and attendance in government schools are officially checked several
times a month and attendance must be at least 90%.
▪ Government schools have the strictest internal and external forensic audits.
▪ In order to improve the quality of public schools, in addition to the concerned
officers, MEAs are deployed who visit three schools daily and in addition to the strictest
checking and audit also take online test of children called LND and this test is done in one tab.
▪ In government schools, your child is brought up in a clean and spacious environment and
flourishes with strong and secure hands.
▪ There is a regular series of examinations in government schools and question papers of all
terms are printed under the supervision of government agencies and come to the schools.

Positive initiative taken by the government:

Insaf Afternoon School Programme 2021:

The Insaf Afternoon School Program aims to provide
equitable educational opportunities to children in areas where access to schools remains a
challenge along with low retention and high drop-out rates. The program is designed to ‘upgrade’
the existing primary or middle schools to middle or high ool level sch respectively, This program
was approved by the Punjab government on 16th September 2021. Total 3,956 primary
schools are selected for the Insaf Afternoon Schools category.

NSB Funds Primary, Elementary, High & Higher Secondary Schools 2021-22:
Punjab
Education Sector Reform Programme (PMIU-PESRP) Lahore has issued the official notification
on 21st September 2021 to all the Chief Executive Officers, District Education Authority, and
District Education Officers , of allocation of NSB Funds for primary, elementary, high and higher
Secondary Schools in 34 Districts.

First Transgender School in Multan Punjab Pakistan:

On 6th July 2021, Provincial Education
Minister of Punjab Dr Murad Raas announced to open separate schools for the transgender
community in selected cities of the province and the first of its kind is established in Multan.

Punjab School Education Scholarships 2021 Class-6th to 10th:

Punjab School Education
Department has issued raised an educational stipend of Rs. 6 billion project for schoolgirls of 16
low-literacy districts of Punjab for Class-6th to Class-10th. The amount of Rs. 1000 monthly
scholarships will be paid to the schoolgirls on a quarterly basis.
SHORTAGE OF PROPER CLASSROOMS:

A lot of Government schools, especially in rural areas, still lack furniture, classrooms and even
blackboards due to apathy on the part of the education authorities and public representatives.
Students are forced to sit outside due to the shortage of classes. The students are exposed to the
harsh weathers that make it difficult to focus on the studies. Exposure to too much sun in the
summer and cold in the winters results in health problems which is a major hindrance in their
education. During rain the classes are canceled.

Zareen Gull, a second grade student, said that due to the lack of furniture, students had to sit on
the floor and many of his classmates fell ill after sitting on the floor in the cold. Meanwhile, being
made to sit on bricks is difficult in the scorching heat.

A teacher said: “Even though we have put forward several requests, the authorities have failed to
construct new rooms.”

LACK OF CLEAN WATER:

A lot of government schools lack filtered water. Lack of clean water has serious effects on
students’ academic performance and attendance rates. The lack of safe water can cause even the
best students to lose momentum as they deal with stomach pains and diarrhea from disease and
hunger. Moreover, government schools lack proper water supply toilets and sanitary facilities. This
also leads to many health problems. Poor sanitation in schools impairs children growth and
development. It also limits school attendance and retention of students and negatively affects
student's ability to concentrate and learn.

The more that clean water will be available the lesser will be the number of students taking leave
from classes. As UNICEF points out “safe water and adequate sanitation are as important to quality
education as pencils, books and teachers”.

UNHYGIENIC FOOD

The food provided in most of the government schools is unhygienic, made using contaminated
water, poor quality oil etc. In most of the schools, the kitchen and dining halls are found to be
located in congested sheds. The areas for cleaning vessels and waste disposal too are in a similar
condition. This contaminates the food being prepared that results in a number of health issues in
students. Ranging from severe stomach pain to diarrhea. Because of this, many students skip lunch,
eat less, or begrudgingly take the food, which is still often of lower quality and health standards
than a growing child requires.

Unhealthy school lunches can also mentally affect your students. Students eating healthy foods are
found to be academically brighter. Unhealthy lunches decrease brain power and can also cause
memory loss. Poor eating habits can also affect a child’s sleeping patterns, which may influence
the student’s behavior and academic performance.

Three students at the secondary level, Saad, Niaz and Naveed said, "Canteen managers think only
about their profits and pay no attention to students' health. The canteens are run by workers are
who are least concerned about hygiene or the nutritious value of the food they serve.”

Dr Hafiz Shafiq, a medical specialist and cardiologist, said that the poor-quality food supplied in
school canteens is the reason behind several diseases.

POOR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

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.

Outdated curricula are one of the most important problem of government schools in Pakistan. The
curriculum acts as a tool to achieve the educational goals of a nation. However, the school
curriculum in government schools is seldom updated as per the demands of changing times. Instead
of encouraging deep, powerful learning, critical thinking, etc. it promotes memorizing and
cramping.

LACK OF PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS:

One of the problems related to the government schools of Pakistan is low-quality teaching. This is
because schools lack professional and quality teachers. The situation is worse in villages where
one could also find a good number of ghost schools also.
One would hardly find teachers using friendly strategies and pedagogical skills. A major part of
teachers does not know about lesson planning and its importance. Those who know about lesson
planning do not make it practically. Consequently, such teachers instead of encouraging
conceptual learning promote the culture of cramming and memorization (the surface learning).

URDU MEDIUM SYLLABUS:

The educational system of Pakistan is divided into three major categories on the basis of the
medium of instruction: 1. The government vernacular-medium schools which use Urdu, and the
regional languages as Sindhi, Balochi, Punjabi, Pashto, etc. as their medium of instruction for
teaching almost all the subjects. 2. English medium schools (private elitist; state-influenced
public schools and cadet colleges; and non-elitist private English-medium schools) which teach all
subjects in English except Islamiat and Urdu compulsory. 3. Religious seminaries (madreassas of
the two major sects of Islam Sunni and Shia) which mostly uses vernaculars for teaching.1
However, at higher education level (colleges and universities), there is only one medium of
instruction: that is English.

Thus there are two streams of students entering from the schools into our higher education
institutions: a. Students from Urdu- or vernacular-medium background b. Students from
English-medium background. As far as English medium students are concerned, they do not feel
much difficulty in coping with the environment as well as the advance study; whereas, the urdu-
medium students face a lot of problems in competing them. These students cannot comprehend
the lectures and books which are mostly in English. They have to face so many hurdles in
explaining their points of view due to the lack of verbal competency. Their academic results suffer
a lot as they usually secure low grades due to their inability to write proper English sentences.
Their difficulties in English language result in their failure in the particular subject. And since
English is a compulsory subject, failure in English means failure in the entire University
examination.3 Due to poor academic results and failure, these students suffer from financial and
economical problems.

These not only affect the academic performance of the students but also their physical and mental
health. The students have to study more hours to compete with the English medium students
resulting in many health problems due to restlessness. These also produces a sense of inferiority,
low self-esteem and depression in the students. This depression leads to mental issues in the
students.

What betterment can be made in government schools:

Identify why children are not in school:

The biggest factor is economic constraints, and the fact that kids often need to choose between
work and school. In an ideal world, we would be able to demonstrate the link between schools
and future earnings. We need to get better at promoting the value of education to parents and
children.

Set universal minimum standards for schools:

What makes a primary or a secondary school? Currently, you see a school under a tree with two
teachers in one place but a primary school with a huge building and many teachers in another
place - the same is the case for curriculum, teachers’ qualifications and examinations.
Government, community and private schools should have to adhere to the same basic principles.

Provide transport for children and teachers:

Lack of safe transportation is a major factor in teacher absenteeism and fatigue. It also affects
children’s attendance. School van transport is a valuable perk for our teachers.

Mobilise parents:

For girls, parents are the biggest impediment to their education. More than half of girls who are
out of school lack either parental consent or ability to pay schools fees. We need to advocate
more for parents to get involved with community schools – whether they are on the management
committee, or helping with the building, financing or security at their child’s school.
Scrap teaching in English:

We focus on English too much which is why we’ve ended up with so much rote learning. Many
teachers are trying to teach in a language they’re not even fully competent in. Meanwhile,
children who are confident in their own language are condemned as dumb if they can’t pick up
English.

Listen to teachers:

What do they need to be more effective? What needs to change for them to increase motivation
and spend more time in the classroom? This feedback is not adequately collected or used at the
moment.

Offer stipends to girls:

It’s a slightly controversial method but in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa we found that providing stipends
to girls at risk increased girls’ attendance. Of course setting the amount for a stipend is very
tricky to make sure it is not too expensive to do at scale, but we’ve delivered 400,000 so far.

Make provisions for children with special needs:

I think we always neglect the children with special needs and their education in our society. As
minister for special education, I came out with a national plan of action for people with
disabilities and the most vital element was inclusive education. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen it
widely implemented yet.

Collect a wider variety of data:

Most government data is focused on school building contracts and teachers’ salaries, rather than
on what the children are learning. How about running community focus groups routinely and
having more nimble programmes that allow for mid-course correction?
Incentivise teachers to learn as they earn:

Teachers should be encouraged with salary incentives to take college qualifications and get a
bachelors degree. Additionally, annual professional development workshops and in-service
training should be provided. Higher competency should be rewarded.

Take sanitation seriously:

At our schools we have cleaning staff to maintain toilets during school hours. They also help
with hygiene of young kids before they go to class as many children are from homes that do not
have running water. Toilets, sanitation and privacy are not a trivial requirement.