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Thursday March 28, 2024

The paradox of private schools

By Kamila Hyat
November 29, 2018

We all hate private schools. Yet, we all send our children to them. According to available figures, 40 percent of school-going children in the country now attend privately-run institutions. The enrolment rate at private schools is also increasing far more rapidly than that of at the collapsing public-school sector – which should, as per the constitution, be catering to the needs of citizens. Madressahs also draw in the most impoverished pupils. But this is a different though highly alarming problem.

The reason more and more people from all tiers of society turn to private schools is because while the state, under Article 25-A of the constitution, is bound to provide an education to every child, it has been unable to do so. Numerous reports exist regarding the condition of public schools in all four provinces. Teacher absenteeism, a lack of facilities, outdated and biased textbooks, poor management and the ill-treatment of children form part of the problem.

Pakistan spends a mere Rs1,412 per month per child attending elementary public education as compared to Rs114,243 in the US. The overall expenditure on education in the country as a percentage of its GDP is among the lowest in the world and well below the figure of four percent recommended by Unicef. This makes it inevitable that the public sector will go into decline, leaving more and more people from lower-middle, middle and upper-income groups dependent on private schools.

Yes, we all like to hate these schools. It is true they are inadequately regulated and essentially run as businesses seeking maximum profits, rather than entities that consider educational needs or the welfare of children and parents. At the same time, it is also true those at the upper end of the scale produce superb results in international exams, send hundreds of pupils each year to top colleges across the world, and offer a varied, well-taught curriculum, with far greater diversity than what is offered by any public-sector institution.

The variety of the curriculum and its content has led to media tirades against these schools in this age of increased narrow-mindedness and orthodoxy. It is also true that private schools running at the lower end of the very vast scale, with a huge gap in fee structure, may not offer quite the same benefits. But parents certainly believe that whatever they can impart is an improvement on what the public sector offers.

We should, therefore, thank our private-school education system while seeking and demanding an improvement in public-sector learning. It is, however, difficult to see this coming in the near future. What is, at times, shocking is how respect for education and educationists has been lost.

According to recent reports, a private school based in Lahore apparently refused to allow some children to attend classes after they had failed to pay their fees for some months. The precise details are unknown. It is uncertain if any child was actually turned away. This, of course, would be humiliating for the pupil, who is not himself/herself responsible for paying fees. But parental reaction resulted in a standoff with the school management, an FIR being registered against the principal and, as per social media reports, abusive behaviour towards teachers by parents who gathered at the school. The school remained closed for one day to protest the treatment of their staff.

Lack of respect for teachers is a problem that has grown over the years. At many private schools, teachers are regarded as little more than minions who parents feel they can address rudely or attack in various ways over minor matters, including the performance of their children.

Scenes have been witnessed at top schools where educated parents have refused to shake hands with a male head of a department as a means of humiliating him. There are a myriad of other examples and many teachers or heads of private schools will testify to these.

The problem is tied into the issues of our educational system. Teaching is a profession of immense importance that has lost all standing and respect. Even though doctors are often as likely to make errors or overcharge as teachers, they are more rarely abused or subjected to media attacks simply because medicine is one of the most sought-after professions in the country.

Respect for teachers is also linked to the salaries and status they receive from their institutions. Many are not even paid minimum wage. This, of course, has had a huge impact on bringing down levels of respect for the profession in a society that values money and makes judgements based on it. Private schools too are guilty of failing to honour the most important people within their institutions.

Let’s compare this with the situation in Singapore. Teachers are paid an average of over $45,000 per year. They also command a huge amount of respect within society and in schools. The same respect for teachers is also maintained in China, which attaches considerable importance to education.

In Finland – which has recently been ranked as a country that has offered one of the best education systems in the world to its children that puts young primary schoolchildren under no pressure, does away with exams till later grades, introduces multiple breaks between lessons while achieving some of the highest rankings in core subjects as compared with other nations around the world – teachers receive salaries that average over $35,000 a year. They are among the highest paid professionals in the country, alongside doctors and lawyers.

It is, therefore, not surprising that they treat their profession as a task requiring dedication and give their very best to their pupils. In turn, teaching is one of the most sought-after professions in the country, but requires high grades and high achievements to receive the requisite qualifications.

The situation at home has been completely reversed. Teachers at private schools essentially require no qualifications at all. Only very few schools make public the degrees held by their teachers and schools catering to lower-income groups almost never do so. Many teachers are people with limited education of their own and no skills in pedagogy or the art of teaching children, which is so fundamental to the profession.

Schools should not only focus on earning profit, but also give parents good returns for the fees they pay and ensure a wholesome environment for their children. In turn, parents and pupils both need to learn that respect for teachers is fundamental to developing a working relationship between parents and educators that can help a child reach her/his potential.

The attacks on private schools don’t help us achieve this. In fact, they may hinder the task of setting up structures that can ensure quality teaching and, by doing so, protect both schools and the children who attend them. With the private-school sector growing every day, both in big cities and small towns, it has become fundamental that this issue is addressed and made a priority as new education policies are put in place by provincial governments in all parts of the country.

The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor.

Email: kamilahyat@hotmail.com