Do you know who I am? Here we go. We enter into the theater ordained deftly with the smudges of cronyism, political mudslinging, corruption, lies, patronage/stature and the trailblazer: “The Protocol/Stature Culture”. Also, Bear in mind that we live in a state deeply rooted in a sea of problems ranging from political/social desolation, economic downturn at the one extreme to the inferiority complex succored by the ‘entitlement culture’ at the other extreme. We live in a state where the people are often bumped off or spirited out in the broad daylight when they refuse to subscribe to or to toe the official line. The ‘entitlement culture’ may rightly be considered as the root of all our problems.
In such a culture, people at the lower rungs of the economic, societal stature ladder are often oppressed at the hands of the people who occupy the higher rungs of the ladder. The problems of the entitled ‘few’ get solved in a matter of seconds whereas the perennial problems of the downtrodden rarely see a light of rectification. The very same culture doesn’t accord due attention to education and is often sidelined in the policy matters. Various trivial problems, generated primarily by the lack of accord to it, often get precedence in the policy matters.
The phenomenon can easily be reflected in the recent government’s policy matters since the onset of Coronavirus pandemic. Education wasn’t given a due importance. Education was often preceded by the discussion/unraveling of policies on economic matters such as the opening of markets, societal matters such as resuming the operations of “Marriage halls” etc. Education was given a lip-service.
It is not beyond the comprehension of occupants of official corridors that online education is no substitute for physical/in person education. The essence of education is greatly scurried by online education. A huge horde of unskilled workforce is in the process of making. Again, it is beyond the comprehension of laymen, that why do the educational institutions get a precedence in matters of closure even when they are better positioned to enforce the SOPs as opposed to the markets or “marriage halls”.
Education provides a basic foundation stone for both the exemplary progress in different fields and the opposite downturn in the very same fields in matters of neglect. A due attention to education is imperative for the higher authorities and the society alike. Without due diligence to education, the economic, technological, social disparity gaps would be further expanding with serious ramifications for the whole of the structural block of the state.
Muhammad Tayyab
Rawalpindi
