Karachi, January 28, 2023 (PPI-OT):The Aga Khan University Institute of Educational Development (AKU-IED), Pakistan and the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) joined hands to conduct a dialogue titled ‘Education, Finance and Social Justice’ to initiate a discussion surrounding the financial roadblocks that Pakistan faces in making education accessible to all.
“We initiated this dialogue as an attempt to understand the deeper correlation between economics, education and how the workings of society come into play. We hope that through these discussions we can find a way forward to make education more accessible to more people regardless of their social standing,” said Mr Peter Jacob, Executive Director, CSJ.
Discussing the ground realities of the issue of out-of-school children, Dr Farid Panjwani, Dean AKU-IED said: “Even if we were using our resources to the fullest, and free schools were up and running, there would still be a large number of children out of school simply due to them being the primary breadwinners in their families. To their parents, the daily wage they earn is far more important than the salary they would one day earn in the future after completing their education. These problems need to be kept in mind and our solutions need to be creative and functional.”
Panellists at the dialogue highlighted how education financing comes into play at various levels in making education accessible. The discussions pointed out that while education is often talked about as the government’s top priority – especially when reiterating the country’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals on national and international platforms – the allocated budget for education in the country is almost never fully utilised. The panellists also emphasised the need for the more privileged sections of society to play an active role in contributing towards a mass education system that facilitates everyone, equally.
Additional Secretary Ministry of Federal Education Mr Waseem Ajmal said: “We keep hearing people say that the education budget is not enough. If it is not enough, why do we under spend it every year without fail? At every level, seekers of the budget who could actually make systemic changes possible, are faced with roadblocks. The allocation needs to be more transparent right from grass-roots level. We need to bridge the gap between the available funding and budget seekers.”
Renowned economist Mr Kaiser Bengali said: “Even though the constitution was amended to reflect education as a basic right up until matriculation, our systems and laws do not really reflect that even 12 years down the road. The allocated funding is only a small chunk of the budget and most of it is spent on paying teachers’ salaries while spending on infrastructure and making spaces more conducive to learning remain wanting.”
Bringing in the media’s perspective on the matter, Ms Amber Shamsie, Director, Centre of Excellence in Journalism, IBA, said: “Among the big stories on education that continue to get covered are the under spent educational budgets, ghost schools and out-of school children, because of the shock value they provide. It is time that we connect these stories with holistic ones to shed light on the bigger picture and what really matters.”
Other esteemed panellists included: Baela Raza Jamil, CEO, Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi; Dr Riaz Shaikh, Dean, Social Sciences and Education Department, SZABIST; and Dr Abdul Hameed Nayyar, well-respected physicist.
In conclusion, the experts and participants at the dialogue agreed that much talent in the country goes unrealised due to the lack of access to financial resources to attain suitable education. They also stressed that stakeholders at every level need to join hands for a collaborative and holistic effort to make education accessible for all, guided by clear and well-defined policies.
For more information, contact:
Media Executive
Department of Public Affairs
Aga Khan University (AKU)
Stadium Road, Karachi
Tel: +92-21-34930051
Fax: +92-21-34934294, +92-21-34932095
Cell: +92-301-8258028
Email: rasool.sarang@aku.edu, public.affairs@aku.edu
Website: www.aku.edu