Sustainable Development Goal 4 SDG-4 in the Context of Pakistan: SDG-4 Opportunities and Challenges for Pakistan
SDG-4 in Pakistani Context & its Challenges and Opportunities for Pakistan
Background
Challenges:
1. Access to Education: Despite progress, Pakistan faces disparities in access to education, particularly in rural areas. Limited infrastructure and economic constraints hinder the ability of many children, especially girls, to attend school. Pakistan is one of the leading countries in the world where around 23 million children are out of schools.
Whereas Sindh, one of the four provinces of Pakistan has the highest number of the out of schools children. At the moment there are around 7.5 million children in Sindh who are out of schools due to multiple reasons. However, poverty and socioeconomic inequality are one of the main reasons as far as out of schools children in Sindh is concerned.
2. Quality of Education: While enrollment rates have improved in some regions of Pakistan, the quality of education still remains a concern. Outdated curricula, inadequately trained teachers, and a lack of educational resources contribute to a subpar learning experience. Pakistan spends a very meagre amount of only 2% of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Whereas, advanced countries of the world spend around 8% to 10% of their total GDP.
Another major factor in the low quality education system in Pakistan is of the massive corruption especially in Sindh province. Selection of incompetent officials, purchasing of low quality material, lack of accountability, ignorance of the federal and provincial governments, and outdated audit system are some of the common reasons that cause massive corruption and low quality education.
3. Gender Disparities: Gender inequality persists, with girls often facing cultural and societal barriers to education. SDG-4 emphasizes gender equality in education, and Pakistan must address these deep-rooted biases for meaningful progress.
Girls have very limited opportunities as far as provision of the quality education is concerned. There are multiple factors including lack of separate schools for girls, poverty, tribal beliefs, and cultural values that hinder equal access to education for girls.
Girls living inside rural areas of Pakistan particularly Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtoonkhowa (KPK) are still being deprived of the basic right of education. Similarly, there are a few universities for girls in Pakistan.
4. Infrastructure and Facilities: Insufficient school infrastructure, including lack of proper classrooms, sanitation facilities, and safe learning environments, hampers the overall educational experience and contributes to dropout rates. In rural areas of Pakistan around 90% to 95% schools lack basic facilities including lack of proper infrastructure.
5. Massive Level Corruption: Every year Pakistan seeks billions of rupees of loan and aid from international organisations including IMF, UNO, ADB, and US Aid. The reason behind getting this aid and loan is due meagre 2% budget allocation of the total GDP. However, this huge amount of money instead of spending on education goes into the deep pockets of the corrupt bureaucrats and ministers.
6. Ineffective Assessment & Grading System: Pakistan, particularly Sindh province has an ineffective assessment and corrupt grading system. It is an open secret that Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education in Sindh sell grades and marks to influential candidates. Unfortunately, this practice is also observed in many public and private sector universities where degrees are being awarded to ineligible and incompetent graduates if they offer bribes or use political sources.
In Sindh there are around 24000 primary level schools which are either closed or have only single classroom. Moreover, most of the rural area schools are single-teacher schools.
Additionally, most of the country side schools across Pakistan lack electricity, furniture, drinking water, toilets, books, internet, budget, and transportation facilities.
Opportunities:
1. Government Initiatives: The Pakistani government has initiated programs to enhance education accessibility and quality. Continued commitment and effective implementation of these initiatives can contribute significantly to achieving SDG-4.
Some international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) including UNICEF, US-Aid, British Council, Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, and British Council are supporting Pakistan for achieving sustainable development particularly, SDG-4.
2. Technology Integration: Leveraging technology for education can bridge gaps, especially in remote areas. E-learning platforms and digital resources can supplement traditional teaching methods and improve overall learning outcomes.
Government of Pakistan can take advantage of digital learning opportunities by providing access to internet and electricity in the remote areas.
3. Community Involvement: Engaging local communities is crucial for overcoming cultural barriers and promoting education. Empowering communities to value and actively participate in educational initiatives can foster a more inclusive and sustainable approach.
Pakistan can achieve better results including improving literacy ratio and dropping down out of schools children ratio by involving all the local stakeholders. In this regard, education ministry need to involve and engage local communities in decision making process.
Drawing rooms approach in policy making will never have any fruitful results until and unless local stakeholders including teachers, parents, students, and community members are involved at decision making levels.
4. International Collaboration: Collaboration with international organizations and sharing best practices can offer valuable insights and resources to strengthen education systems in Pakistan.
Pakistan need to pay heed to local level research including realising the 21st century trends in education. There are ample opportunities for Pakistan to bring positive reforms in educational sector by collaborating with international organisations who are already working in different parts of the country.
The only thing that Pakistan requires in this regard is to focus the rural areas where illiteracy and out of schools children ratio is very high.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, while Pakistan faces challenges in achieving SDG-4, there are opportunities for improvement through effective governance, technological integration, community involvement, and international collaboration. Addressing these issues is essential for ensuring that all children in Pakistan have access to quality education, aligning with the broader global commitment to sustainable development.
Sustainable development without focusing the future generations would not be possible for Pakistan especially when the 23 million children are deprived of the access to quality education.
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