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By: Pashtana Durrani-As much as we are obsessed with promoting education, do we really ask the educational system? Yes, education is important, but do we ask or at least compare the quality of education that is provided to a student in government schools and to students in private schools? Do we question the inequality in this sector? Yes, we all like talking and discussing about education system what reforms should be made. But what are we really doing? Why is it important to question the quality of education? Because that kid who lives two blocks away from your house, the girl who sells flowers on the street, the kid that help’s their mom clean up your house, the boy who cleans up your car in car wash they all owe us something.
Your question excuses me they are not my kids how do they owe me? Good question you reading this surely is a human right? Yes right there being a human you owe that girl the boy those nameless extras in your universe that revolves around you.
So, first child labor second poverty third starvation and fourth illiteracy. Why is it so hard to get a quality education in a world where everyone’s goal is to educate themselves and others? Why getting into a school is more like cracking a business deal? Why asking for their basic right sounds like a luxury (quoting it from free women writers).Why in a world where free education is goal quality education tuition leaves student wonder either to study further or just quit give up on their dreams.
We keep promoting education including me with our posts on social media. But what difference do we really make to a kid whose daily choice is between going to school or being the breadwinner of the house.
In Afghanistan, only 37 percent of adolescent girls are
literate, compared to 66 percent of adolescent boys. Among
adult women, 19 percent are literate compared to 49
percent of adult men (Analysis by World Bank).Now question is we on our list have
1: Security risks (Terrorism)
2: Social stigma
3: closed schools due to corruption
4: No teachers available
5: No female teachers available
6: No resources
But perhaps there is more important issue to focus on; another generation is being robbed of their right of education. Perhaps, it’s time that our government international community and citizens of Afghanistan need to take action.
Well the world needs people whose goal is provision of free education to every child; we need people whose mission is getting students inside schools and colleges. The world certainly doesn’t need more people who treat provision of education as a business. We don’t need fancy schools what we need is schools with quality education for every child so that no child left behind is not just a slogan but reality to the next generation. At the end of the day the world needs humans whose goal is to serve humanity one way or the other world needs humans who are determined to love and educate their kind.
Pashtana Durrani is a writer, educator and civil society activist. She is active in the southern province of Kandahar.
