KARACHI: The education of girls cannot be dealt with in isolation; if you focus on them alone, boys will be left out, said development economist Dr Kaiser Bengali on Monday, at a seminar titled ‘Best practices for promoting girls’ education’.
Organised by the Indus Resource Centre (IRC), the seminar highlighted ways of encouraging inclusive education for all across the country, and how the political and ruling elite must take charge.
Stressing that education cannot be delegated to NGOs, Dr Bengali went on to dismiss one-room schools prevalent in rural areas as “useless” and said these must be shut down.
Dr Bengali said there is a need for building consolidated schools — with proper teaching staff, facilities and most importantly school buses which ferry kids.
Sharing his observations, he said in Pakistan there is no political compulsion on the ruling elite to deliver. Pakistan has no political constituency, and no public representative feels the compulsion to deliver in terms of education, health, etc.
However, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have started showing signs of political constituency and things are improving, but the same is missing in Sindh and Balochistan, said Dr Bengali.
He noted that properly equipped, well-staffed schools — particularly girl-friendly schools that cater to the needs of females — are needed.
Writer and senior journalist Zubeida Mustafa spoke about the role of media in spreading awareness on gender disparity. Although Pemra has issued a notification whereby media should have 20 per cent of airtime dedicated to social issues, this is hardly seen in reality.
Sindh education and literacy department’s head of curriculum, Dr Fouzia Khan, said the gender wing will be functional soon and efforts would be made to include gender in teacher training modules to bring about greater change.
Urging for public-private partnerships — since the private sector has the efficiency — chief guest Anis Haroon said political will is needed to bring change in the education system.
“Why can’t MPAs take responsibility of education monitoring in their constituency?” the former chairperson of the National Commission on Status of Women questioned.
In almost 70 years, we have not been able to provide education, health and clean water to our children but this needs to change, she added.
What works for education?
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2016, Pakistan ranks 143 out of 144 countries in the gender inequality index. The only country ranked below is Yemen, while Syria is one place ahead at 142.
In her detailed presentation, executive director of the IRC Sadiqa Salahuddin lauded the Sindh government for the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation unit in the education department, biometric checks for teachers’ attendance, as well as the creation of a gender unit.
Sharing details from IRC’s report Assessment of best practices to promote girls education, she highlighted how the interventions facilitated and helped more girls in getting education.
The study, funded by Oxfam and conducted in 2016, studied various models in Sindh including The Citizens Foundation (TCF), Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (Szabist), Sindh Rural Support Organisation (SRSO), Institute for Educational Development of the Aga Khan University, and Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee (BRAC).
These schools managed to enrol, increase and maintain the number of female students in primary schools and provide a decent blueprint that can be replicated by the public sector on a large scale.
Some of the interventions include appointing all female faculty members; focus on teacher training and development; active role of principals; functional and well-maintained infrastructure; toilets; and availability of water. Another important factor is the provision of transport for female teachers.
The report noted that “regular and proactive engagement of school management/teachers with parents resulted in motivated parents, students and teachers; positive learning environment and focus on quality delivery.”
The report recommends that the number of female teachers be increased consistently through revisions in recruitment procedures. It further stresses that boundary walls, separate, working and lockable washrooms and water facilities be invested in to bring more girls to school.
Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2017
Organised by the Indus Resource Centre (IRC), the seminar highlighted ways of encouraging inclusive education for all across the country, and how the political and ruling elite must take charge.
Stressing that education cannot be delegated to NGOs, Dr Bengali went on to dismiss one-room schools prevalent in rural areas as “useless” and said these must be shut down.
Dr Bengali said there is a need for building consolidated schools — with proper teaching staff, facilities and most importantly school buses which ferry kids.
Sharing his observations, he said in Pakistan there is no political compulsion on the ruling elite to deliver. Pakistan has no political constituency, and no public representative feels the compulsion to deliver in terms of education, health, etc.
However, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have started showing signs of political constituency and things are improving, but the same is missing in Sindh and Balochistan, said Dr Bengali.
He noted that properly equipped, well-staffed schools — particularly girl-friendly schools that cater to the needs of females — are needed.
Writer and senior journalist Zubeida Mustafa spoke about the role of media in spreading awareness on gender disparity. Although Pemra has issued a notification whereby media should have 20 per cent of airtime dedicated to social issues, this is hardly seen in reality.
Sindh education and literacy department’s head of curriculum, Dr Fouzia Khan, said the gender wing will be functional soon and efforts would be made to include gender in teacher training modules to bring about greater change.
Urging for public-private partnerships — since the private sector has the efficiency — chief guest Anis Haroon said political will is needed to bring change in the education system.
“Why can’t MPAs take responsibility of education monitoring in their constituency?” the former chairperson of the National Commission on Status of Women questioned.
In almost 70 years, we have not been able to provide education, health and clean water to our children but this needs to change, she added.
What works for education?
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2016, Pakistan ranks 143 out of 144 countries in the gender inequality index. The only country ranked below is Yemen, while Syria is one place ahead at 142.
In her detailed presentation, executive director of the IRC Sadiqa Salahuddin lauded the Sindh government for the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation unit in the education department, biometric checks for teachers’ attendance, as well as the creation of a gender unit.
Sharing details from IRC’s report Assessment of best practices to promote girls education, she highlighted how the interventions facilitated and helped more girls in getting education.
The study, funded by Oxfam and conducted in 2016, studied various models in Sindh including The Citizens Foundation (TCF), Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (Szabist), Sindh Rural Support Organisation (SRSO), Institute for Educational Development of the Aga Khan University, and Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee (BRAC).
These schools managed to enrol, increase and maintain the number of female students in primary schools and provide a decent blueprint that can be replicated by the public sector on a large scale.
Some of the interventions include appointing all female faculty members; focus on teacher training and development; active role of principals; functional and well-maintained infrastructure; toilets; and availability of water. Another important factor is the provision of transport for female teachers.
The report noted that “regular and proactive engagement of school management/teachers with parents resulted in motivated parents, students and teachers; positive learning environment and focus on quality delivery.”
The report recommends that the number of female teachers be increased consistently through revisions in recruitment procedures. It further stresses that boundary walls, separate, working and lockable washrooms and water facilities be invested in to bring more girls to school.
Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2017
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