With one of the lowest education budgets in the world, where should Pakistan begin to reform its school system? One of The Guardian‘s panelist from the Aga Khan University, has this recommendation:
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.
Dr Mir Afzal Tajik, Director, Aga Khan University’s Institute for Educational Development, Karachi, Pakistan
In Pakistan, more than five million children are not in school and literacy levels are the third worst in the world. Of the schools that do exist, they vary greatly in quality with over 7,000 ghost schools where teachers who’ve left have not been replaced.
With the Peshawar school attack still fresh in memory, safety in schools is at the forefront of many Pakistani parents’ minds, but discussions also need to be had about teacher recruitment, improving sanitation facilities and the type of curriculum to offer. Solutions to correcting the gender imbalance in classrooms must also be found when currently three million girls make up two thirds of the country’s out-of-school children.
More on the Guardian’s panel and their recommendations via:
- The Guardian | 14 routes to better education in Pakistan
- The Guardian | Live Q&A: how can access to quality education be improved in Pakistan?
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