Over the years, the ruling
elite has been polluting the public mind with baseless assumptions and
storylines regarding Balochistan. This leaves little room for logical debate on
the province and on the appalling socio-economic and political realities that
have resulted in the Baloch people’s hostility to the state system.
There is no denying the fact that nations can reform and reach the pinnacle of
success through education. Our last Prophet (PBUH) also exhorted his followers
to seek education, but pathetically despite living in an Islamic country the
educational institutions of Balochistan, the area wise largest province of
Pakistan, have been wearing a deserted look for the last 65 years due to the
apathy and negligence of the federal as well as the provincial governments and
their biased attitude may close the doors of education to the students of
Balochistan.
The further shattered the picture of education can be found in rural and tribal
areas of Balochistan where hapless students can neither see their teachers nor
can they sit in the ramshackle buildings of their schools. Majority of male and
female teachers of those areas get salaries while sitting in the provincial
capital Quetta.
No serious efforts have been made to understand Balochistan beyond the fact that
the province is a mineral-rich region that produces natural gas, and is a colony
populated by tribal warlords and their impoverished subjects. There is no
denying that the power-hungry tribal chiefs are widely responsible for
Balochistan’s woes. But these sardars derive their legitimacy from Islamabad,
and are sustained by the government and the civil-military-establishment.
However, while the Baloch deeply respect their tribal traditions and culture,
this doesn’t hinder their participation in socio-economic development.
As a matter of fact, 70 per cent populations of poverty-stricken people dwell in
rural and tribal areas of Balochistan and can’t afford to send their children to
Quetta for getting quality education; it is a fact that the future of our youth
is bleak.
It is an ironic that Balochistan, despite being the 43% area of Pakistan and
blessed with rich natural resources like oil, gas and minerals, has the lowest
number of educational institutions. According to the NEC, out of the total
number of institutions in the country, 48 per cent are in Punjab, 22 per cent in
Sindh, 17 per cent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 5 per cent in Balochistan”.
On the other side, the law and order situation has substantially affected the
educational system of Balochistan where nearly 100 students have been killed and
a great number of students are missing. In the present scenario, not only Baloch
students are terrorized, but also Pashtun and Hazaras.
The students of the well-developed Punjab province of Pakistan are being given
laptops. But, unfortunately, the students of Balochistan don’t have pen and
books to read and write. On the contrary, when the students of Balochistan
protest or stage a sit-in for their legal rights, they get clubbed or threshed.
This signifies that the right of raising voice for legal rights has also been
snatched from them.
The government, instead of providing packages, at first ought to play its role
for improving the education of Balochistan seriously. Also, it’s better that the
government should endeavor to resolve the educational issues as soon as
possible, otherwise, the tranquility of Balochistan will be lost forever if
students are kept away from getting education.