PUBLIC- sector education in Pakistan, particularly at the primary level, is adrift and rudderless. Although the country is in the midst of an 'education emergency', it appears the state is doing very little to rectify matters. Though the alarm has been sounded in the past, yet another reminder of the grim state of affairs has come in the form of a baseline study conducted by the Aga Khan University's Institute for Educational Development under the Strengthening Teacher Education in Pakistan project. The study, which covered nearly 200 schools in seven districts of Sindh, found that around 70 per cent of teachers teach for only 15 minutes in a 35-minute period. Ten per cent teach for less than five minutes. The study also indicates that the surveyed schools suffered from high rates of truancy (only 56 per cent of students attended classes regularly) while pass percentages were largely abysmal. Gender bias in schools was also a major concern. The study may have been limited to specific districts, but it would not be wrong to assume the situation is similar across Sindh.

Though millions of school-age children are out of school in Pakistan, the project's coordinator pointed out that the children that are enrolled are not being educated. This depressing reality should shake the state out of its slumber. Simply enrolling children to fulfil statistical obligations is not enough; once in school efforts must be made to actually educate these young minds. The state is not fulfilling its constitutional obligation by turning a blind eye to the woeful standards of public schools. The study offers numerous solutions — enhancing teachers' morale, improving the capabilities of head teachers, etc. Yet these and other policy prescriptions cannot deliver until the state demonstrates it has the political will to do what is needed to stem the rot in education.