Penalising knowledge

Varsity teachers and academic staff are reportedly up in arms against the federal government for imposing a 50 percent cut in the higher education budget. Education and healthcare have been treated badly by successive governments. On the pretext of economising government expenditures, these two sectors become the first casualty. It seems the PTI government is doing exactly the same.

Before the PTI came into power, it had been chiding governments for ignoring education and healthcare. Imran Khan during his speeches drew attention umpteen times towards the 25 million children out of school in Pakistan, and vowed to put education on top of his agenda if voted to power. This is yet another case of the PTI going back on its promise. Meanwhile, the federal minister for education, Shafqat Mahmood, who otherwise has been vocal in defending his party at various forums, is conspicuous by his absence and has not spoken on the nasty step of slashing the education budget by half. Does the government want to turn out illiterates?

Huma Arif ( Karachi )