EDUCATION AND THE STATE
Zia Baloch
Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan, making up approximately 43 per cent of the total area of the country. It is also the poorest and least populated as compared to other provinces. It is rich in mineral resources and the major supplier of natural gas after Sindh. One of the world’s biggest copper deposits have been found at Reko Diq in the Chaghi district of Balochistan, and these are believed to be even greater than those at Sarcheshmesh in Iran and Escondido in Chile, which are the second and third largest proven deposits of copper in the world, respectively.
Indeed, as one analyst notes, “If it were not for the strategic location of Balochistan and the rich potential of oil, uranium and other resources, it would be difficult to anyone fighting over this bleak desolate and forbidding land”. (Selig H. Harrison, “In Afghanistan‟s Shadow: Baloch Nationalism and Soviet Temptations”, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 1, 1982) In spite of that the 69 per cent of the public are running their lives below the poverty line.
How can they get education not only with an empty abdomen but also with fear? Nevertheless they go towards education, but the institutions have more security like army, frontiers Corps, the police and as well as university’s guards as compared to students. Because the country is that type of country in which open borders are less harmful for it rather than institutions. The state have more fear from the institutions as compare to external factors, beyond the reason of this fear is that, if the public get education, they will know their own rights, and also demand about their prerogatives. And this thing is not digestible for it.
Although the Constitution of the state, under Article 25-A which was included through the 18th Amendment, mandates universal education for children up till the age of 16, there is large section of Balochistan’s population that remains uneducated. To deny children of their right to education is therefore a violation of the fundamental rights of children under the constitution of this state.
We can observe favoring of this state as a federation 48 per cent of Pakistani educational institutions are in Punjab, 22 per cent in Sindh, 17 per cent in KPK but only 5 per cent in Balochistan as per National Economic Survey (2005-06). The number of schools in Balochistan are 12500, primary middle, and high school, and 7000 schools have a single untrained teacher with a room and there are only 16 public libraries and exceed number of students, and these are too small to study.
“The principal goal of education is to creat men and women capable of doing new things not simply repeating what other generation have done” (Jean Piaget)
Unfortunately the state is even now to following Parrenialism only for Balochistan rather than other provinces. The school of thought is only focused on past concepts not present and also neglects the interest of students. According to this school of thought, “Human nature never changes”. Early and present human beings are the same, so education should not change. Such schools of thoughts build conservative mind students. Which is not capable of making good social interaction with people and also can’t play an effective role in society.
Madrasah: The school which provide the religion education to students. The significant number of students are enrolled in these institutions. The curriculum followed by these schools is set by Pakistan Madrasah Education Board.
According to Schubert “Curriculum” as the contents of a subject, concepts and tasks to be acquired, planned activities, the desire learning outcomes and experiences, product of culture and an agenda to reform society. The above definition clears that the state knowingly provides that type of curriculum which is only based on sectarianism, discrimination, wrong interpretation of Islam and also promoting Jihad over innocent people. Recently the state tried to promote impiety in the form of curriculum reforms like division of Baloch on the basis of linguistic, but he failed. These types of games have set off from the era of General Zia ul haq, and continue till now.
