n the last two hundred years or so, the development of technology has grown at an exponential pace. The economies of developed countries have also grown manifold. In 1969, a human being stepped on the moon for the first time. What about the progress in education during this period?

How about education in the pre-Covid versus post-Covid era?

Talking about education systems over the last century and comparing those with the facilities available today, is an eye-opener. In the pre-industrial revolution era, the common man had a great thirst for knowledge but poorer access to the facilities than most people have today.

The Covid-19 pandemic hit the world in December 2019. It spread rapidly almost all over the world. The first Covid case in Pakistan was diagnosed in February 2020. The epidemic affected the societies and economies globally. The lockdowns caused the number of unemployed people to increase abruptly. Poverty rates increased all over Pakistan.

During the shutdowns necessitated by the epidemic, many educational institutions shifted to the virtual mode of teaching. In the best case situations the students and instructors faced problems initially but things became better with the passage of time. However, the efficacy of online classes varied with the location of the students.

Students in Balochistan, the erstwhile FATA and south Punjab suffered more than the students in other parts of the country. Some districts just did not have cellular phone services. The quality of internet services also varied.

Covid-19 affected many facilities in the country, including access to education. The sector was affected in various ways. Its impact on the marginalised people was disproportionately large.

In many areas children were withdrawn from schools to help the family meet its financial needs. Most of these children had studied in government schools.

In many Balochistan villages, a majority of schools could not shift to an online mode of instruction due to poor infrastructure.

Article 25A of the constitution provides for free education of children till the age of sixteen. However, public spending on schools has been inadequate and the surveillance system to ensure the quality of teaching is poor.

Research has shown that forty-five percent of grade five students in public sector schools are unable to read a sentence in the English language. Forty-one percent of students of the same grade are unable to read a story in Urdu. These are findings from the pre-Covid surveys. The situation has likely worsened during the disruption.

Last week, I visited a school in my home district Pishin. I got an opportunity to interact with Grade 10 students at the school. Our interaction continued for about an hour. I had earlier visited the same school before the pandemic. I noticed a decline in standards.

Twenty-three million children are out of school in the country. This is the worst figure in the world after Afghanistan.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many students dropped out of schools due to various reasons. Some of the students had been getting scholarships. Families said they were forced to leave as they were unable now to afford the expenses other than tuition. Many of the Grade 10 students I met knew little about the subjects they studied. None of them had access to books and newspapers.

Schools in more developed cities were able to engage their students during the pandemic.

Some philanthropists have a different way of looking at the literacy figures. They use a different yardstick to gauge a society.

According to available data, the literacy rate of Pakistan at the time of independence was 15 percent. Today, it is approximately 58 percent. The country has completed seventy-five years of independence. Yet, the struggle for a literate Pakistan continues.

It is necessary to think about the future of the country by focusing on education.

The writer is a civil engineer. He tweets @DawoodKhanHere. He can be reached at dawoodkhan0666@gmail.com