A cherished chance of going to school

One girl was luckier than the others. Samira managed to become a teacher after a
long, difficult journey in life. Her sisters were not given the opportunity to study
but they struggled so their younger sister – Samira -- could. Their commitment
seems to have given Samira an endless supply of energy as she teaches at Haji
Azeem Kalmati Alternate Learning Programme (ALP) centre.
In Balochistan’s rural universe – a barren land with patches of green bushes and
population pockets living in scattered houses -- schools are a rarity. And even
when there is one, parents are often reluctant to let their daughters leave home and
go to school.

Samira is personally involved in the performance of each of her students. One of

them is 13-year-old Shehnaz Aziz, who is writing English sentences on the
blackboard under Samira’s watchful gaze.

“With her beautiful hands, Shehnaz has turned my dream of becoming a

well-known teacher a reality,” Samira says.

"I had never seen a school before I came here. Now, I am the one teaching
my father how to write his name."
Shehnaz, student of ALP

Shehnaz’ father, Aziz, is an electrician and the only man in the village to have
installed an electrical water pump at home. He says he did it so his children would
not spend too much time and energy fetching water from the well in the village.
They no longer must go and fetch water three or four times a day – a single trip is
now enough.

“I am not educated but I am glad to know the importance of education,” says

Aziz. “I cannot think of a reason not to send my children to school,” he adds.
Shehnaz says that she is given less chores at home so she can do her homework.
She says that going to school is a daily celebration because she gets to spend time
with her friends and to learn new things every day

“I keep asking myself questions about what I have learnt at school during the
day, so I can memorize my lessons better. I do this all the time, even when
fetching water,” Shehnaz says. “My friends and my brother get annoyed
because I spend so much time studying, but I want to keep learning more and
more.”

Alternative learning programmes provide a route to education for the children who
are excluded, such as those living in impoverished agricultural communities. The
key to success is the involvement of local partners and community members,
which help build ownership and sustainability. This also makes it easier to
convince parents to send their daughters -- and sons -- to the centres.
Many children across Pakistan still don’t have the chance of an education. Nearly
23 million Pakistani children aged 5-16 – half of school-age children – do not go to
school. Most of them are girls. In Balochistan, 70 percent of children do not go to
school and only one girl out of five (20 percent) is enrolled in school.Lack of
education in Pakistan.A tribal area of Pakistan shows absence of 3 million children
out of school.
Aside from teacher shortages, distance to school and safety are the largest barriers
to accessing education in rural areas, with 29 percent of parents saying that schools
are simply too far away. Girls are twice as likely to skip school in rural areas as
compared to their urban peers, from 43 percent in the countryside versus 21
percent in cities and towns. This gap is even more pronounced in middle and
higher education
With effective educational systems many countries are playing a leadership role in
the comity of nations. They are enjoying their liberties and also are politically and
economically free and developed. The education system of Pakistan has not been
able to play its role effectively in nation building. This factor has contributed
towards development of frustration among the Pakistani society. The future
generation of Pakistan is directionless due to defective education system which has
drastically failed to raise the nation on sound economic, social, political and moral
grounds.The directionless system of education is producing forces of degree
holders who are deficient in high order live skills such as reflection, critical
thinking, analysis, research and creativity. The education system instead has
focused on feeding the individuals with outdated information and knowledge
which is less relevant to the current fast changing