The pathetic situation of Education in Balochistan..! Over the years, the ruling elite has been polluting the public mind with baseless assumptions and storylines regarding Balochistan. This leaves little room for logical debate on the province and on the appalling socio-economic and political realities that have resulted in the Baloch people’s hostility to the state system. There is no denying the fact that nations can reform and reach the pinnacle of success through education. Our last Prophet (PBUH) also exhorted his followers to seek education, but pathetically despite living in an Islamic country the educational institutions of Balochistan, the area wise largest province of Pakistan, have been wearing a deserted look for the last 65 years due to the apathy and negligence of the federal as well as the provincial governments and their biased attitude may close the doors of education to the students of Balochistan. The further shattered the picture of education can be found in rural and tribal areas of Balochistan where hapless students can neither see their teachers nor can they sit in the ramshackle buildings of their schools. Majority of male and female teachers of those areas get salaries while sitting in the provincial capital Quetta. No serious efforts have been made to understand Balochistan beyond the fact that the province is a mineral-rich region that produces natural gas, and is a colony populated by tribal warlords and their impoverished subjects. There is no denying that the power-hungry tribal chiefs are widely responsible for Balochistan’s woes. But these sardars derive their legitimacy from Islamabad, and are sustained by the government and the civil-military-establishment. However, while the Baloch deeply respect their tribal traditions and culture, this doesn’t hinder their participation in socio-economic development. As a matter of fact, 70 per cent populations of poverty-stricken people dwell in rural and tribal areas of Balochistan and can’t afford to send their children to Quetta for getting quality education; it is a fact that the future of our youth is bleak. It is an ironic that Balochistan, despite being the 43% area of Pakistan and blessed with rich natural resources like oil, gas and minerals, has the lowest number of educational institutions. According to the NEC, out of the total number of institutions in the country, 48 per cent are in Punjab, 22 per cent in Sindh, 17 per cent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 5 per cent in Balochistan”. On the other side, the law and order situation has substantially affected the educational system of Balochistan where nearly 100 students have been killed and a great number of students are missing. In the present scenario, not only Baloch students are terrorized, but also Pashtun and Hazaras. The students of the well-developed Punjab province of Pakistan are being given laptops. But, unfortunately, the students of Balochistan don’t have pen and books to read and write. On the contrary, when the students of Balochistan protest or stage a sit-in for their legal rights, they get clubbed or threshed. This signifies that the right of raising voice for legal rights has also been snatched from them. The government, instead of providing packages, at first ought to play its role for improving the education of Balochistan seriously. Also, it’s better that the government should endeavor to resolve the educational issues as soon as possible, otherwise, the tranquility of Balochistan will be lost forever if students are kept away from getting education.
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 11:23:39 +0000
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