Speakers For Addressing Educational Issues To Accommodate Marginalized Communities

Speakers for addressing educational issues to accommodate marginalized communities

Speakers at a discussion urged all education stakeholders, especially the parliamentarians to address the areas where the existing public education system, and more recently, the digital education is falling short in accommodating the needs of the marginalized communities

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Oct, 2020 ) :Speakers at a discussion urged all education stakeholders, especially the parliamentarians to address the areas where the existing public education system, and more recently, the digital education is falling short in accommodating the needs of the marginalized communities.

The Policy Discussion was arranged here by the Pakistan Coalition for Education as part of its 11th Annual Convention themed around "Education in the COVID era & Beyond".

The discussion also brought focus to the host of unprecedented issues and limitations COVID-19 has brought forth, simultaneously widening the pre-existing divides in the education system.

National Coordinator of PCE Zahra Arshad commenced the discussion with an overview of the educational landscape under COVID-19 and how the already marginalized segments of the society, mainly girls, children with disabilities, students belonging to low socioeconomic backgrounds and religious and ethnic minorities have had to face the brunt of the shortcomings of the system these past few months.

She highlighted how Pakistan's shift towards e-learning and online digital educational platforms may have helped soften the blow, it has unveiled and magnified the inequalities that exist in the education system.

The online education has further exacerbated accessibility issues in education due to an unavailability of broadband access in majority areas of the country, especially for children who do not belong to privileged backgrounds.

In case of women, the cultural and social barriers further restrict girls' and women's access to any form of information technology.

Although the government's Teleschool initiative has been timely and smart considering the chosen medium, it is important to be cognizant of the student population that either cannot afford a television or have been forced into labour or domestic chores as a result of the pandemic, she said.

The first panel discussion of the day was focused around the state of education with respect to RTE Article 25-A & SDG goal 4. The panel comprised of a diverse group of academics and experts in the area who evaluated and deliberated on the progress, challenges faced and lessons learnt during the decade since the passage of Article 25-A and unanimous adaptation of Sustainable Development Goals as the National Development Agenda in 2016.

Areeba Shahid, Executive Director, Pakistan Youth Change Advocates shared the findings of a recent publication on Out of school Girls. The event also highlighted the importance of localization of SDG-4 and the need for synchronization between Pakistan's international commitments and national policy frameworks on education to find a coherent and unified way forward.

Zafarullah Khan, Former Executive Director of Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services emphasized to standardize the government education system.

Usama Khilji, Director BoloBhi added that internet facilities in rural area is rare in Pakistan. Pakistan must use the Universal Service Fund (USF) to provide modern internet connectivity to the far-flung regions.

He further added that the government teacher must be trained to use modern learning technology and learning platforms like Google Meet, and Zoom Meeting.

As a Corporate Social Responsibility, the big tech companies in Pakistan must generated digital content and provide connectivity packages to students in working hours, he added.

He further said that the government must consider internet connectivity as fundamental right of a citizen.

Dr Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro pledged that the governments both at national and provincial levels, must increase the education budget and meet the international standard of minimum 4 percent of GDP.

She further said that skill development and informal education must be included in the curriculum.

The session was followed by a roundtable discussion on the importance of SDG Goal 4.7 that emphasizes on the role of education as a tool to set the foundation of a society based on sustainable development, human rights, gender equality, and the overall promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence.

Harris Khalique also highlighted the areas where the education system is lacking and stated access to eduction is fundamental human right, adopting a bill is not enough, the legislative oversight of these policies is much more important in ensuring the accountability and transparency.

Ghazala Saifi emphasized on the importance of single national curriculum and it's the first step towards ensuring inclusive and uniform education in Pakistan.

The discussion revolved around the urgent need for all education stakeholders, especially the Parliamentarians to come together and address the areas where the existing public education system, and more recently, the digital education is falling short in accommodating the needs of the marginalized communities.

The session placed a special focus on the crucial role of parliamentarians in bringing effective legislative reforms, employing oversight tools to monitor and facilitate the implementation of existing policy frameworks and mainstreaming the policy discourse around inclusive & equitable education.