Education is the backbone of any society. The more people are educated the better jobs they will get. This in turn is better for Pakistan’s economy and the individual’s situation in life. According to studies and research surveys, countries with high literacy rates make more progress in their community development, economic growth and human development. Education enhances a person’s productivity, communication skills, confidence, critical thinking discipline and much more. If you want to be financially stable, there is no way you are going to be without having a proper education.

The CM has announced a ‘free milk’ program for children studying in Government schools from preschool to Grade V. This decision was made during a meeting discussing ‘important’ changes for education in Pakistan. However, spending 27 billion rupees on milk while the education system is already suffering from a lack of schools and proper facilities for ones already existing, seems irrational and inadequate.

An estimate in 2024 shows that  22.8 million children don’t go to school in Pakistan. Giving students free milk while their school’s classrooms and looms are dingy and filthy is an abomination on the part of the government. Because of the strength of these government schools at least 100 students sit in each classroom with only 2 fans to keep the heat away. The teachers are not well trained and they have worn-down books which have low-quality content. Or in other words the lack of proper allocations of funds and control over them. The schools are disorganised and some in deprived areas are even more so.

Article 25A (2010) states: “The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such manner as may be determined by law.” Yet, instead of free education, it seems that the state is more worried about providing students with free milk. There are 12880 schools in Punjab and 14 lakh students are enrolled, meaning that every school has at least 109 students. The total consumption of milk by only one student is 101kg for 200 days (the amount of working days in a year) meaning that it will cost 19, 231 RS every year for only one student. This means that for 14 lakh students, it will be 26 billion RS for only one year. This really does not seem like a wise way to spend money.

Lahore is known as the educational centre of Pakistan but for a population of 14 million, it only has 7300 schools ( 1300 public schools and 6000 private) to offer. Compare this with Cuba: a country whose population is 11.19 million yet offers 10,698 schools for its children, and Greece: a country with 14,508 schools for a population of 10 million. Both of these countries’ population is less than the population of Lahore but they offer more schools to their civilians than Pakistan’s ‘educational’ centre.

40 per cent of Pakistan’s population lives below the poverty line, meaning that getting their children in expensive private schools is only a dream. And government schools do not have proper facilities and even high-quality books and well-trained teachers. 176,184 schools for a population of 235.8 million isn’t exemplary. 

If those 22.8 million children don’t go to school consequently they will become a burden to our community. Unemployment is one of the major contributing factors to a failing economy and an uncivil society. 60 million of our people are illiterate. How will this country develop if a quarter to half of its population can’t read and write? 

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