Educational problems of Thari villages highlighted in workshop

‘Literacy rate of  Thar going down’

SUKKUR: The participants of a workshop in the remote village of Diplo Dhalyan Chahyo near the Indian border have revealed that due to continuous droughts, the literacy rate of the region is going down each year.

Partab Shivani, the representative of Alf Ailan, an organization working on education in Pakistan, told the participants that now the literacy rate in Thar was below 17 percent, which was an alarming situation, both for the people of the area and government. He went on to reveal that continuous droughts and subsequent migration every year were the major factors behind the decline of education system.

He added that as per official data, out of 4,100 schools 3,900 were deprived of basic facilities like teachers, furniture, drinking water, etc. He deplored that despite the alarming situation, neither the government nor NGOs working in the area were stemming the rot which would be disastrous for the future of the desert, which is already beset with numerous issues.

He divulged that the literacy rate among the women, including cities like Mithi, was a mere sevn percent. He urged the government to declare an education emergency in Thar to educate the future mothers, if they are sincere to save the Tharis from further devastation.

Peeral Chandio, Assistant  Commissioner, Diplo, addressing the seminar   observed that the low literacy rate in the region was the biggest issue facing Thar. Chandio admitted the fact that poverty, lack of awareness, annual migration of the people to barrage areas with their cattle heads, were the factors contributing to the situation, which was rising to an alarming proportion. He urged that there was an urgent need that people from Thar, who had migrated to cities, should adopt schools in their respective areas and help local government functionaries to identify the real issues.

Chandio claimed with his effort some of the closed schools in Diplo and other Tehsils had become operational.Advocate Wasand Thari, the central  leader Quami Awami Tehrik, said successive governments had not bothered to address the real issues of Thar like health, education, drinking water, etc. He added that the Tharis, particularly low-caste minorities, were groaning under extreme poverty and political wilderness. He said many of the villages, having big populations, had not been provided with the basic facilities of health and education. The villagers and area people complained that they were ready to send their kids to schools if proper arrangements were made to ensure quality education to them.

Asad Khoso, Rahul Dev, Nasrallah Sahir, Advocate Qeemat Rai and others also spoke on the occasion. Schoolchildren presented tablues to highlight the importance of education and current situation in the drought-hit Thar.