I write to the entire leadership of the country, including the President and Premier, with profound urgency regarding Pakistan’s catastrophic failure to enforce free and compulsory education for underprivileged children in private schools. Here, the most crucial aspect of the case is that only the Sindh Government has enacted a law which binds the private schools to provide free education to 10% of disadvantaged children as detailed below: The Sindh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2013, mandates private schools to allocate at least 10% of their seats to disadvantaged children, defined as those from socially or economically marginalized groups, families below a set income threshold, or victims of terrorism. To uphold Article 25-A of the Constitution, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the ICT must enact similar laws, ensuring free education for deserving students and safeguarding their fundamental rights.
Pakistan stands at a historical crossroads in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation, and digital economies. Education is no longer just a means of progress—it is the sole determinant of survival in the modern world. With one of the lowest literacy rates in South Asia, Pakistan is on the brink of irreversible economic collapse if urgent corrective actions are not taken. No amount of World Bank loans, foreign aid or short-term economic policies will ever make Pakistan a prosperous and self-reliant nation unless we give the best of the best education to our children. Nations are not built by borrowed money—they are built by educated minds.
The Reality of Pakistan’s Education Crisis: Millions of children remain out of school, while in the Sindh province (where 10 per cent free education law is enacted) the private institutions violate laws with impunity. Without a skilled and educated workforce, AI and automation will replace millions of Pakistani jobs, making the country even more economically irrelevant in the global market. Global power and influence are no longer measured by military strength alone but by the quality of education a nation provides to its children, especially at the primary and secondary levels. The current 10% free education quota for private schools in Sindh is absurdly low, given that Pakistan is at the lowest rung of literacy. This is an emergency situation that demands an urgent increase of free education quota in all the territories of Pakistan to at least 30% to ensure rapid national upliftment.
Recommendations for Immediate Action: To reverse this existential threat, I strongly urge the government to take the following measures: Expansion of Free Education Quota to 30%: The current 10% free education quota—limited to Sindh—is grossly inadequate and must be increased nationwide to 30% to address Pakistan’s severe education crisis. Any school or system refusing this enhancement should be taken over by the government and auctioned through competitive bidding. This mandate must be enforced through immediate legislation, ensuring full compliance across all private institutions.
Special Fast-Track Courts for Education Law Violators: Establish dedicated fast-track courts to prosecute private schools violating free education laws. Implement swift trials with strict penalties, including heavy fines, school closures and legal disqualification for repeat offenders. Amend laws to criminalize non-compliance, imposing imprisonment for persistent violators. Mandatory Compliance and Transparency: Launch a real-time online compliance portal where private schools must report details of the 30% under-privileged students enrolled. Conduct regular government audits to ensure adherence. Strict Government Oversight & License Revocation: Grant the Ministry of Education immediate authority to revoke licenses of non-compliant schools. Impose substantial financial penalties, redirecting collected fines toward government education programs.
Formation of a National Education Corps (NEC): Create a National Education Corps (NEC) comprising lawyers, NGOs and government representatives to conduct door-to-door enrollment campaigns in under-privileged areas. Provide logistical and security support through Armed Forces units to ensure nationwide reach. Integration of Polio Eradication & Health Initiatives: NEC teams should simultaneously conduct polio vaccination drives, ensuring children receive both education and essential healthcare. Seek international grants to support these dual initiatives, enhancing Pakistan’s global standing in health and education.
Government-Supported Reimbursement Fund: Establish a Private School Education Fund to assist schools genuinely lacking resources for free admissions, with strict compliance measures to prevent misuse. Mass Public Awareness & Legal Aid for Parents: Launch a nationwide awareness campaign informing parents of their legal right to free education in private schools. Set up free legal aid centres to help underprivileged families take action against non-compliant institutions.
Pakistan’s future depends on one defining factor: education. Without ensuring that every child, regardless of economic background, receives a world-class education, the nation cannot progress or achieve lasting prosperity. The strength and influence of any country are shaped by the quality of education it provides to its future generations, particularly at the primary and secondary levels. History has shown that nations with robust education systems rise to global leadership, while those that neglect their children’s learning become weak, dependent, and irrelevant. Pakistan’s economic survival now hinges on one urgent priority: education. This is not merely a policy issue—it is a national emergency.
The government must act immediately to: (i) Enact laws increasing the free education quota to 30%. (ii) Criminally prosecute violators in special fast-track courts. (iii) Deploy a National Education Corps with the Armed Forces’ logistical support to ensure no child is left behind, and (iv) Integrate education efforts with a nationwide polio vaccination program to safeguard Pakistan’s future in both health and knowledge. This is the only path to long-term national survival and global relevance. The world will not wait for us to catch up—either we reform our education system now or risk being permanently left behind. I urge all of you to take decisive action to prevent Pakistan from slipping into a future of ignorance, poverty and global insignificance.
The author writes about strategic, political, economic, current affairs, and sports.
(nayyarahmad51@gmail.com)
