Islamabad—“Sometimes students go to empty rooms for their tests, fill the paper and leave it on the table, without ever seeing the teacher,” recounts 27-year-old English literature major, Shagufta Amir, recalling test time in her rural primary school.
Amir is among the fortunate fraction of females in rural Pakistan who has been able to complete her education. The majority of girls in her northern Pakistan village never even finish primary school, let alone go to university.
According to the World Bank, only 22 percent of girls in rural areas of Pakistan have completed primary school. Figures from a 2010 UNESCO report show that for 2007–2008, 63 percent of females in urban areas are literate as compared to 34 percent in rural areas.
At best, the overall state of education for females in Pakistan is getting better; at worst, it is abysmal. Levels of education for girls vary enormously across the country. Punjab Province is considered the best, and Sindh Province the worst.
Amir’s father was the first in his village to complete his education and also became its first teacher. He believes wholeheartedly in educating his daughters. Amir’s mother also supports education although she is illiterate herself.
In rural areas there are many demands and restrictions on girls, who are basically raised to serve, first their own family, then their husbands’ families. There is also a strong expectation that girls will marry early and bear many children.
“Many people in rural areas feel that education is only important if their girls are going to go to the city and work. They don’t realize it is important for building awareness and self-confidence, then girls can better care for their families,” says Amir.
There are cultural norms too that can prevent girls from studying alongside boys. In many families, especially in rural areas, it is required that a girl be escorted by a male family member when in public, adding an additional barrier to attending school.
Poverty is another factor restricting girls’ access to education. Many families cannot afford fees, uniforms, or transportation. If parents have to choose between sending a son or daughter to school, they most often choose the boys, who traditionally bring in the income and take care of parents.
“The government should try to raise awareness among the rural populations to help parents understand why educating girls is vital to their communities, open more girls’ schools, and provide transportation,” suggests Amir as ways to improve education for girls.
According to the Pakistani Constitution, “The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 5 to 16 years.”
To date, however, the government has not dedicated enough finances to make this law a reality.
“On average Pakistan’s spending on education has remained around 2 percent of GDP during last 20 years, making it one of the educationally most crippled nations in the world,” according to UNESCO.
“I want my daughter to get an education that helps polish her personality, nurture her God given talents, and helps her recognize right from wrong,” says Amir about her 1-year-old daughter.
Continued on the next page: Taking Steps
Taking Steps
There are many nongovernmental agencies and private citizens in Pakistan who have made it their business to work toward making education better, particularly for girls in the countryside. One such person is Geytee Ara.
Ara has been working with youth and education in Pakistan for over two decades. She is an assistant professor of art at Islamabad College for Girls and was one of the key committee members in developing a national art curriculum for 9th and 10th grades in Pakistan.
Some people might be discouraged by the state of education in Pakistan, but not her. Seeing the huge social need, she decided to take action. In 1995, Ara and her husband bought land in a village near their home, knowing they would open a school one day, which they did in 2000.
Ara’s school has on average 60 students who range in age from 5 to 15, with an almost equal number of boys and girls. The school has one lead teacher and three assistant teachers. Ara charges a nominal fee of 100 rupee (just over $1) per month, and that is only so the parents will place more value on sending their children.
The need to educate girls was made clear to her in 1995, when she worked in villages with Girl Guides (same as Girl Scouts). She saw that they needed not only training in hygiene but also broader skill building.
“When we first started teaching, we catered to females of the area because we wanted to help improve their quality of life so we held classes on proper hygiene, and sewing; we also taught basic literacy,” she said.
Ara believes that better education for females will produce better health outcomes for children.
“Women are in charge of hygiene, and having children. If women are more aware and skilled they can make more responsible choices,” she said.
She would like to upgrade her rural school and add vocational training to the curriculum, but because she is still completing her doctoral studies, her school must wait. Meanwhile, she has found local women to supervise the basic learning.
The school, which lies in the hills 20 miles north of the capital Islamabad, is a simple cement structure with three rooms and wooden desks. To get to there one has to walk across a field, go down a bumpy path, and then cross over some patches of standing water. Approaching the school there is a three-foot broken wall and cow dung, which need to be negotiated. The rooms are barren, but come to life when the children enter.
Ara registered her school with a local private chain of schools in 2005. This school system trains her teachers in primary education. But still, the teachers do not meet the standard because their own education stopped at the fifth grade.
“The quality of the teachers is not good enough, they don’t really put in much effort to teach our children and often the head teacher is absent. I am afraid to complain for fear of retaliation from the teacher or others,” says a mother whose child attends Ara’s school.
Ara would like to shift from being a co-ed school to a girls’ only school.
“I would feel that this school was successful if we had most of the females of the village attending our school and learning skills to improve the quality of their lives, becoming more responsible for themselves and their families, ” says Ara.
Ara’s school still has a long way to go to meet her own expectations for a sound education. But it has at least established roots in the community, and it has an experienced and compassionate visionary to guide its maturation.
Although education is in a state of crisis, especially for girls in Pakistan, Ara has hope for her students, for the education of females, her village school, and her country.
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