As soon as I started teaching class six at a rural school in Sindh in the second half of August 2024, I had a plethora of challenges before me. These included a dearth of textbooks, paucity of electricity, no peon at school, no drinking water, and no sanitation facilities. Despite this, I did not lose hope. I administered a pre-test for diagnosing the academic competency of my students. Alarmingly, 95 per cent of the students could not write English and Sindhi alphabet appropriately. Such is the state of almost all schools in rural areas of Sindh.
How does one teach nine subjects to students who cannot even recognize letters in the language of instruction, in an environment which is not conducive for learning? I ask this question to the local politicians and education authorities. Sixteen years of PPP government in Sindh have not been sufficient to solve these issues. How many more are required to uplift the sorry state of education in Sindh?
Babar Hussain
Larkana