The Nation Gets A Big F in Education
Without further ado, it’s time to break out the red pens and mark Pakistan’s education system’s report card.
Spoiler alert: pause the celebrations.
The result isn’t pretty! With a laundry list of education indicators that are nothing short of abysmal, it’s safe to say we will need extra paper and perspective to accommodate all the failing grades.
Did you know that a whopping 4 out of 10 kids in Pakistan are out of school?
That’s almost 23 million kids missing out on education! But don’t worry, who needs education? We only need doctors, engineers, and scientists to build a thriving nation. No biggie!
Only 2 out of 10 families can afford to send their kids to school.
Who needs schools when you can learn everything from YouTube tutorials? Who needs textbooks, chalkboards, and trained teachers? All you need is a smartphone and an internet connection. We can’t fulfill the simple idea of normalizing education. Expecting us to use technology to improve education is a frontier as far as the next galaxy.
Did you know that only 2 out of 5 primary school teachers in Pakistan get
formal training?
No big deal, right? It’s not like teachers play a crucial role in shaping young minds. Teachers don’t prepare kids for the future anywhere in the world. Memorize everything for exams and forget it all later! The definition of quality education in Pakistan.
5 out of 10 children in Pakistan cannot read after primary school.
That’s right! They can’t even read, write or replicate a sentence in English. But who cares about literacy when you have the power of imagination? Who needs to read books when you can watch movies and TV shows?
4 out of 10 students in Pakistan meet global grade level benchmarks.
That means half of the 5th graders can’t read a simple sentence. But who needs to read when you can memorize everything? Who needs critical thinking skills when you can regurgitate information for exams? Isn’t that what education stands for?
Pakistan’s education budget grade is a big fat 0 out of 10. That’s right!
We spend less on education than in Rwanda.
Don’t worry. Education has never been a priority for us. Who needs to invest in education? Military and other endeavors will remain our priority. Whatever spending that’s left for education. It has to answer to the rigorous checks of corruption and nepotism. Hey Education! Life is never easy.
Did you know that the focus on learning and skills development in Pakistan
is 1 out of 10?
That means we are the 6th worst country out of 130 countries.
But who needs skills when you have connections, right? Who needs to learn new things when you can rely on nepotism and favoritism?
And last but not least, did you know that only 1 out of 10 children in Pakistan
are safe from physical punishments?
That means 9 out of 10 kids are at risk of facing physical abuse in schools. Who needs a safe learning environment when you have fear and intimidation?
In conclusion, education in Pakistan is a complete joke.
At least we have a good sense of humor about it. We can laugh and joke about the poor education system. Our kids remain uneducated, our teachers remain untrained, and our budget remains nonexistent. A good laugh is more satisfying than an education system!
Well, it looks like we’ve got a real mess on our hands when we talk about education in Pakistan. But hey! Let’s not worry too much about it, right? What can we do to help these poor kids anyway?
Oh, wait, how about we try some fancy technology to make a difference? Crazy idea, but hear us out.
An ed-tech company in Pakistan, Taleemabad, provides an app-based solution to fuel education for 1.4 million children. Yes, you read that right – 1.4 million!
Maybe, just maybe, this is a glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak situation. Who needs real teachers and adequate resources when you can download an app? Right? (Note: that was sarcasm, in case you couldn’t tell.)
But seriously, as much as we like to joke around, the fact remains that these children in Pakistan deserve a chance at a decent education. And if technology can help make that happen, then maybe it’s worth giving it a shot. Let’s face it we could all use a little hope these days.