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Throughout Season 3 of our podcast, Let’s Talk Education- brought in collaboration with the Society for Access to Quality Education and Pakistan Youth Change Advocates, we had policy experts, academics, and researchers discuss the various challenges and systemic barriers in Pakistan’s education system. However, we must remember those working on the ground, striving to provide quality education to the country’s young minds, i.e., our educators, principals, and teachers.
In Episode 11 of Season 3, we were joined by Ms. Farzana Irfan, Principal of Islamabad Model School for Girls I-X, Naugazi, and Ms. Munazza Kazmi, a Math teacher at the same school. Along with our educators, we were joined by Malaika Idrees, a bright young student currently studying in Grade 9, to speak to us about the challenges, hopes, and dreams of those whom the education system is meant to benefit: our students.
Access to Education: The Challenges Facing Female Students
Pakistan has the largest population of out-of-school children (OOSC) in the world and 13.71 million or 52.7% of them are girls. This gender gap in access increases exponentially at higher education levels.
As a result, access to education, especially for girls, was a key theme of the episode. The guests discussed the most common challenges faced by the students related to access.
“Because the school is in a rural area, most girls do enroll in school, but we have seen here that most of the girls, even from good families, do not get permission to study beyond matric (Grade 10). Their families do not allow them to continue their education .” Farzan Irfana, Principal, Islamabad Model School for Girls Naugazi
According to Munazza Kazmi and Malaika Idrees, economic barriers pose a major obstacle to girls’ continuing their education.
“The expenses related to education are very high and most families are unable to afford it. One of the main expenses is commuting cost. Transport fee for a single student is approximately PKR Rs.4500 to 5000. Then there are other expenses such as uniform, books, stationary items, etc.”
Although the tuition fee is quite low, other allied expenses such as transport costs, uniforms, and books add up, making it difficult for families with limited income to educate multiple children simultaneously.
Addressing Learning Gaps
As mentioned above, Pakistan has the largest number of OOSCs globally, prompting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to declare an education emergency. To mitigate this critical state of affairs, the government has partnered with various civil society and private organizations to establish Accelerated Learning Centers in target areas to help out-of-school children return to formal learning. While this program has had many success stories, it is not without its challenges.
During the episode, Farzana Irfan shed light on the most common issues among students who are mainstreamed in Grade 6 after graduating from ALCs.
“The main issue is language barrier in curriculum. These students (in ALCs) are taught maths, science and other subjects in Urdu, and when they come to Grade 6, they suddenly have to learn these subjects in English. Hence, they find it difficult to cope with the curriculum, resulting in learning gaps.”
Farzana proposed that the students close to graduating from ALCs should be taught selective topics in Grade 6 curriculum after they have learned the foundational skills in the first 2.5 years. This will help the students slowly transition into mainstream education without burdening them at once.
Enhancing Educational Quality
One of the main challenges highlighted by both educators was the incredibly high student-to-teacher ratio, drawing attention to teachers’ shortage in the education system. With 890 students in the school and an average class size of 70-75 students per teacher, individual student attention is severely compromised.
Despite the many challenges, the episode concluded on a hopeful note. While barriers such as economic constraints, teacher shortages persist, efforts taken by the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, such as math labs, coding programs, smart interactive boards, and robotics labs, are a step in the right direction. By prioritizing investment in education, addressing the gender disparities, equipping schools with necessary resources and providing 21st century skills to students, Pakistan can move closer to ensuring that every child- especially girls- has the opportunity to learn, grow and succeed.
Watch full episode here ⤵️
