Urban bias

Amid the looming political crisis in the country, especially in Islamabad, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the basic issues of the public continue to be neglected by those in power. Education is one such issue. I hail from a rural district in Punjab and, having completed my education through the public system, am well aware of the difficulties being faced by the students in the public education system. There is an acute shortage of teaching staff, especially at the college level. Many colleges have started employing teachers on short-term contracts in order to try and fill vacant posts. Unfortunately, many such hires are not trained in the subject areas they are contracted to fill.

Rural areas suffer disproportionately from this issue. Many trained teachers prefer to work in the urban areas, leading to a gross misallocation of resources where the rural areas remain deprived of their fair share of teachers. The quality of public education in Pakistan continues to nose dive as the never-ending political struggles relegate the problem to an afterthought. There is a dire need for politicians, who always make tall claims of bringing change, to make improvements in the one sector that can actually bring the change they talk about.

Muhammad Faseeh ul Hassan

Islamabad