The business of education

Educational institutions in Sindh, especially in rural areas, are offering everything but education. In a culture where getting good grades depends on the amount of money one can offer to officials sitting at examination boards and where cheating is a norm, one cannot expect revolution. The syllabi are outdated and teachers untrained and incapable of teaching students on modern lines, etc.

Conditions like these offer the perfect ground for the private sector to exploit the situation to its advantage. Thus education has become a lucrative business. The fee private schools demand is beyond the means of the middle and lower classes. The Sindh government should realise its constitutional duties under Article 25A that calls for providing free education to children between 5 and 16 years of age.

Engr Arsalan Thahim

Shikarpur