ANALYSIS: State of education in Balochistan
By —Mir Balach Baloch
Published: Tuesday, January 17, 2012, Daily Times
In modern times, no government, and particularly an economically
shattered country like Pakistan, could control a massive land and its
people through outdated colonial policies and an oppressive regime
Pakistan’s
strategic heartland and resource-rich province Balochistan is deprived
and suffering from all types of social, political and economic crises.
Unbearably mismanaged and misgoverned by Islamabad’s puppet leaders,
Balochistan is only thriving in the field of institutional corruption,
appalling human rights violations, mutilated corpses and endless
political violence.
The major concerns of Balochistan are rarely mentioned and
highlighted in the Pakistani media. Centuries-old perceptions and
rhetoric coined by the colonial rulers and followed by the current
establishment is widely repeated by the less-informed and mostly
controlled media persons, journalists and TV anchors.
Along with other appalling issues, education in Balochistan has
always been intentionally neglected by the federal and provincial puppet
regimes. The recent spate of violence, started in 2001 and escalated
into a full-fledged civil war during 2005, has unimaginably resulted in
worsening meagrely available education resources and institutions.
Indiscriminate military operations, condemnable killings and
intimidation of teachers by armed groups, a corrupt regime, daily
protests, strikes and growing insecurity among the Baloch youth has
resulted in a sharp decline in the quality of education.
Over the last six decades, the federal government very successfully
and uninterruptedly established a security network consisting of naval
bases, cantonments, airfields and strategic developments but when it
comes to education, Islamabad’s colonial mindset always blames the
Baloch people and so-called Sardars for the poor and outdated education
network and facilities.
In the words of former Senator and Baloch leader, Sana Baloch: “How
can a region progress when it has more soldiers than teachers, more
garrisons than universities, more naval bases than science and research
centres and more funds for extermination rather than training? In
Balochistan today, the Frontier Corps (FC) cantonments outnumber
colleges, there are more police stations than vocational training
centres and more checkposts than government high schools.”
This is the exact cause of frustration among the Baloch youth that
in this modern age Balochistan has all modern security arrangements but
when it comes to its demand for just rights, education and graceful
employment the same security institutions are being used to intimidate
and torture them.
The poorly designed education system in the province is further
destroying the life of thousands of students. At an early age, in the
public schools they are compelled to read and write in Urdu, which is
not even recognised at the provincial and federal public service
structure. With 43 percent of the total national territory and vast
natural resources, Balochistan happens to be the largest province of
Pakistan. But the province has the lowest literacy rate.
The province also has the smallest number of educational
institutions, according to the NES: “Out of the total number of
institutions, 48 percent are to be found in the Punjab, 22 percent in
Sindh, 17 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 5 percent in Balochistan.”
No doubt, students in Balochistan have eagerness and talent but lack
of proper institutions, modern teaching techniques and guidance are
stumbling blocks in their career. If the government of Pakistan is truly
sincere and wants to win the hearts and minds of the Baloch people and
particularly enraged youth, they have to focus and modernise
Balochistan’s education system rather than the FC and police. They have
to ensure slow but steady social change through education, not by force.
They have to focus on recruiting more qualified teachers than soldiers,
building modern schools and institutions rather than expending security
networks.
In modern times, no government, and particularly an economically
shattered country like Pakistan, could control a massive land and its
people through outdated colonial policies and an oppressive regime.
The
only way out of Balochistan’s appalling crisis is to develop a social
and economic bond between the Baloch and the state by increasing the
Baloch people and Baloch youth’s stake in the system. If the FC, Coast
Guard, Navy, police and all government security consists of non-locals,
what option and trust will the Baloch youth have in the state system?
Trust and respect must be mutual and investment in the social
sector, particularly in modern education, and the security sector must
be just and fair.
In : Mir Balach Baloch
Notes