Breakdown of trust

A harrowing controversy has rocked the elite private school sector in recent days. Allegations of sexual harassment by students from multiple schools in Lahore have left parents shell-shocked.

How could this go on for so long without being addressed? Sadly, because one of the fundamental pillars of a caring school environment – a relationship of trust between the school management, teachers, and parents – is broken. The problem is structural, which is why bandaging over the current predicament won’t cut it.

Schools are meant to be about learning and mentoring. The world over, the best models bring together school administrators, teachers and parents as partners in ensuring this. Not so in our case. The environment here is marked by distrust, even hostility.

Parents view private institutions as a money-making enterprise. Teachers often see parents as entitled entities to be tolerated at best, and as a nuisance at worst. Parent teacher conferences, the annual play and sports days are occasions where parents are invited to observe the progress their child has made and to participate in his or her success. The engagement is by and large superficial.

Two years ago, I moved back to Pakistan after spending years in the US. There, I was actively involved in my kids’ schools and therefore managed to experience how a constructive bond between the school management, parents and students helps student learning outcomes.

If I were to single out one key difference between our system and theirs, it would be the role of Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs). The West uses these forums as a crucial ingredient in ensuring school effectiveness and to enhance the students’ learning experience. From tweaking curricula to student discipline issues to extracurricular activities, everything is deliberated. Most importantly, the PTA serves as a powerful mediating agency – as a neutral forum for resolving conflicts around controversial issues. Elected representatives from the parent body not only serve as a vehicle to voice parental concerns, but actively work with the school administration and teachers to address all sorts of institutional issues.

Having had the experience as a PTA member and as chair of the National Arts program of my children’s school in the US, I immediately noticed the problem when I began to engage with schools in Pakistan. I volunteered to establish a PTA at the school my children now attend in Lahore. I was informed politely – but firmly – that Pakistan was not yet ‘ready’ for such engagement.

To my amazement, I learnt that some schools even had a policy not to meet two different sets of parents jointly, even if it was on the same issue.

This is despite the fact that there is widespread demand for closer interaction between schools and parents. A recent survey by Gallup Pakistan indicated that 66 percent of Pakistanis believe that frequent meetings between parents and teachers can prove to be very beneficial for the child’s progress at school.

Still, the demand isn’t about to be met. Translating it into reality requires a genuine desire and concerted effort by administrators, teachers and parents to create a sense of cooperation and trust, and in turn a positive caring environment for children. The prevailing mindset among schools, however, is anything but conducive to such action.

The outlook is evident from the fact that private schools celebrated a January 2018 judgement of the Islamabad High Court which struck down a rule that mandated all private schools to set up a Parent Teacher Syndicate (PTS). The PTS is envisioned to be exactly the kind of PTA I have alluded to. Its mandate includes everything – from assessing disciplinary action against students and assisting the administration in performance evaluation of teachers, to making recommendations as seen fit on virtually any school related issues. The PTS is also meant to be an internal dispute resolution forum.

Private schools must realize that it is as much for their benefit as it is for parents that mediating mechanisms are established at schools. Scandals such as the one that has rocked the education sector in recent days bring the entire repute and credibility of the schools into question. And the schools don’t – and won’t – find any support from parents because they have never been included in decision making in a transparent manner.

The way forward has to be voluntary establishment of PTSs in schools. If starting off with a full-fledged mandate for these bodies is too much to ask for, we can start with a limited scope as a confidence building measure. It will help establish congenial working relations – and most importantly trust – between the parties before the scope is increased. Only when all stakeholders are in sync can a caring and nurturing environment be fostered in schools. And that is truly the best, in fact the only, way to learn.

The writer is founder and head counselor at the Lahore-based Eye on Ivy, an education counseling enterprise. She is also a development specialist.