Chowrangi

Way back in 1981, I got my three year old daughter admitted into a newly-opened private school which charged Rs. 250 per month. My father had been amazed. When I had been in school (1950-1960) the monthly fee had been Rs. 20 a month, so he thought I was paying too much. I told him that my daughter’s school was relatively cheap, as there were some schools which were charging Rs. 400 per month. But now, with monthly school fees being at least Rs. 5,000 today, how can you expect a poor man’s children to get a good education? The monthly salary of the average man of thirty (with a bachelor’s degree) is Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 40,000 (of course, there are professionals who earn four to five times this amount, but they are very few). So it’s out of the question for the common man to get his children admitted to a decent school. For the poor labourer (who has six children at least), it’s impossible. And that’s why we have so many boys in madressahs, where they get free food and lodging. But then, knowing the kind of education imparted there, the boys who graduate from madressahs cannot live a decent life. The result of course is mass poverty.

The government, as usual, has always given a low priority to education. To build forty schools requires eight hundred and forty thousand dollars, but the government would rather spend this money on buying a Tomahawk missile. It’s obvious that unless the government starts spending more on education, Pakistan will always have potential suicide bombers.

Other posts by Shakir Lakhani

• Why Muslims are weak! - June 29th, 2008
• What if Khalistan wins a war against the U.S.? - June 25th, 2008
• Why Western society continues to prosper - June 22nd, 2008
• The Zikris - June 20th, 2008
• "Smuggleristan" or "Corruptistan"? - June 15th, 2008
• An American's experience of Dubai - June 7th, 2008
• Musharraf should pay for his crimes - June 7th, 2008
• The Homeless Billionaire - June 6th, 2008
• Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan:next President of Pakistan? - May 29th, 2008
• Musharraf's many mistakes - May 25th, 2008