Education makes or breaks a
nation and taking teacher synonymous to education for a while, no further
explanation is required to say that teachers are backbone of development of any
nation.
Education and upbringing are not mutually exclusive rather they are intertwined.
A good teacher acts both as educator and character builder. They are not only
responsible for imparting education but also as social mentors being the
spiritual godfathers. Teachers always play an important role in the enrichment
of society and human behavior. Experienced teachers are most valuable assets
that no nation can afford to lose. All this is true for teachers who have the
knowledge, skills, commitment and sincerity. Otherwise they are drain and
liability to the nation, which could stain generation unproductive and
uncivilized. On the other way we could say that a teacher should have training,
relevant education and experience specially for teaching primary classes.
Ironically, a large chunk of teaching cohort comprises those who had no other
option but a compulsion to make some sort of living for them-selves. A teacher
is a teacher not by choice but by bad luck because he/she didn’t find any better
living. How much committed they could be to their profession is any-body’s
guess. In absence of talent and potential, inputs soon become irrelevant and
this is the precise reason why numerous trainings have failed to improve
efficiency of teachers especially in Balochistan.
Despite all these challenges, educational institutions in Balochistan were open,
students and teachers attending classes, a sort of educational activity was
going on. Wave of target killing and especially against teachers have put
education system in Balochistan almost stand still. A large number of government
teachers comprise Punjabi / Urdu speaking and they were scattered all over the
province. It is recognized that these teachers were performing their duties more
regularly than the local teachers. Wide scale migration of Punjabi / Urdu
speaking teachers from one half area of Balochistan to Quetta and other
provinces have put a halt on functioning of schools. Students’ attendance has
dropped significantly, teachers are not attending schools and classes and
parents are on the roads concerned with the education and future of their
children. Why teachers have been selected predominantly for target killing? Why
one institution is being targeted? Why the political and tribal leaders
including government functionaries have sewed their lips on this matter? Why?
During early seventies, when a nationalist was the Chief Minister, a similar
campaign was launched and many intellectuals of the province today say that the
province has not come out from negative fall out of that move taken some 40
years back. Even then, local female teachers were not available and government
was compelled to recruit female teachers from Southern Punjab’s districts,
adjacent to Balochistan, like Zhob, Killa Saifulah and Loralai. Economic
compulsions brought them here. With the passage of time their relations got
stronger and they got married with the local communities and now they have their
generation with different professional carrier and experience of almost forty to
fifty years of serving this province with different professions with their
children as well and fifty years is sufficient time, beside those who really
migrated from upper and lower Punjab, several families were already serving this
area even so long before 1947. Few institutes and organizations like
Anjuman-e-Islamia and Tamer-e-Nau are some of them.
Pakistan’s official literacy rate is 53% with almost 245000 (colleges and
universities) educational institutes and Balochistan’s official education ratio
is 36% with 11706 educational institutes out of them five universities and few
dozen colleges. With this ratio and number of institutes we are covering largest
province of Pakistan. The present security situation, when the sons of soil are
targeting their own teachers and willing to get them out of this province, as
they assume that they are part of them, those are getting their rights.
In this situation almost twenty five senior PhDs already transferred to other
part of Pakistan from University of Balochistan, including Dr. Masoom Zai, Dr.
Semi Naghmana Tahir, Dr. Mansoor Ahmed Kundi, Dr. Nadir Bakht, Dr. Shafiq Ur
Rehman, etc.
The current situation got worst when the lady assistant Professor Mrs. Nazima
Talib, Department of Mass Communication University of Balochistan was targeted
outside the University on Tuesday, 27th April 2010. Almost two hundred teachers
are affiliated with the University of Balochistan in Quetta and out of them
seventy have submitted applications for transfer after this incident. As the
Govt. put the ban on transfers and posting the teachers got long leave or even
ready to resign due to this current target killing.
The Government Degree Collage Quetta, which was closed down for two years and
just opened but does not have any teacher that agree to conduct the classes as
it is situated on Sariab road, which is no go area now a days. Not only above
mentioned lady Assistant professor, but a huge list of educational affiliated
personalities targeted during last few year. The Provincial Minister education
Mr. Shafiq Ahmed Khan was targeted on 25th November 2009 just out side of his
home, when he arrived after attending a program. Acting vice chancellor UoB,
Prof. Safdar Kiani targeted on 22nd April 2008 near his house, when he was
taking his regular evening walk. Prof. Khurshid Ansari, Department of Library
Sciences, UoB was targeted during November 2009 before Isha Prayers, when he was
going to Masjid. Former Chairman Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education
and Principal of Tamer-e-Noe College, Prof. Fazle Bari was targeted with his
driver in the morning of 22nd March 2010, when he was going to his college.
Professor Mirza Amant Ali Baig, Principal Government College of Commerce Quetta
was targeted during 2009 at the gate of his institute in the morning.
They all are those who have been martyred, there are several who have stayed
safe from their targets like Professor Jamshaid Ahmed, ex vice principal of
Govt. Degree College Quetta saved from a hand grenade attack on 12 April 2009
noon, when his colleagues just left his house, who were working as a group on an
English book of primary class. Professor Riaz and Professor Furqan of Tamer – e
– Nau targeted through hand grenade at their houses. Mr. Numan, Director of
private collage was attacked with hand grenade, although he survived, his
daughter died in this incident. Mr. Hamid Mehmood, Secretary Board of
Intermediate and Secondary Education was targeted in the morning of Saturday,
31st October 2009, when he was going to his office. With the blessing of Allah,
he is saved although a bullet penetrated into his head and still fighting with
life at Al Shifa international, Islamabad. And there are several who have been
badly injured or got maimed by their targets.
With this current worst security situation teachers are leaving Balochistan
province. The districts Bolan, Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, Kech, Awaran, Kharan,
Noshki, Chagai, Panjgor were already vacated by the settlers. All educational
institutes are almost non functional because their local teachers were already
not taking any interest. Now the schools of District Quetta are also facing the
same problem. The teachers are leaving the province so rapidly. This situation
is not only for the government schools, but also for the private sector. The
quality of education and degree of this province were already in doubt and now
this issue will take us in the Stone Age. The present government statements
regarding Balochistan package and establishment of colleges and universities in
Balochistan is just political statement, what will we do in these buildings, if
build doesn’t have the teachers.
Reason for this situation is the prevailing and continuity of hundred and
thousand years old system of domination, which continues. Those who have been
ruling could not see their failure.