The chairman of Higher Education Commission (HEC) has been quoted as saying that “Pakistan’s education system can produce neither good students nor good citizens”.

Given his qualification and experience, he can certainly make some highly valuable contributions towards efforts aimed at improving education system in the country.

In my view, the governments in all the provinces must bring all public sector schools back to the levels that they had attained prior to the ‘invasion’ of education sector by private sector.

The government had conceded that space to private sector by itself for whatever reasons. Improving the quality of education in public sector schools will be a herculean task for provinces, particularly Sindh, to perform.

That Sindh still has a very large number of ‘ghost’ schools and ‘ghost’ teachers is a fact. But it is quite doable. Investing in teachers is the first prerequisite to produce good students as well as good citizens.

Rahat Bashir (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022