Alarm bells ring in Pakistan’s education landscape as girls’ progress halts abruptly post-primary, underscoring policy paralysis. Key hurdles – sparse middle schools, hazardous transport, male-heavy staff, entrenched conservatism – eject motivated students despite their grit against poverty, floods, and unrest.
Nishat Riaz, Malala Fund Pakistan CEO, delivers a searing indictment in The Express Tribune. This isn’t ambition deficit; it’s systemic shutdown. Girls pursue knowledge relentlessly, but officials pat themselves on half-baked outcomes.
The fanfare fixation – school openings, ribbon snips, media blitz – veils the tragedy: girls evaporate from classes amid teen years ripe for transformation. Insights from the impending girls’ education report reveal primary positivity yielding to sharp declines. Exclusion masquerades as dropout.
Beyond staffing woes, enrollment persistence falters. Middle schools lag in number and proximity, distances amplified by perils, caregiving loads, norms, and costs. Absent safe passage or local access, rights rhetoric fades by late childhood.
Riaz stresses: rudimentary reading sans advanced skills fosters compliance, not command. Primary suffices for basics; secondary sparks opportunity.
Secondary woes intensify, threatening national vitality by marginalizing females at pivotal stages. Pakistan needs paradigm shifts: expanded facilities, gender-balanced faculty, secure mobility, mindset evolution. Genuine commitment turns potential into prosperity.