Education, health and challenges

Pakistan Affairs · Society and national issues. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Education policy in Pakistan is a long series of conferences, commissions and policies, starting with the first Educational Conference at Karachi in 1947. The aims have stayed much the same: universal primary education, higher literacy and better technical training. Results have lagged because of low spending and fast population growth. Since 2010 Article 25A has made education a right for children aged 5 to 16.

The national challenges are linked. A fast-growing population puts pressure on schools, hospitals and jobs. Weak governance and corruption waste resources, so bodies such as the National Accountability Bureau and the Ombudsman were created. Terrorism has cost lives and investment, and led to special laws and courts.

Rules to remember

First Pakistan Educational Conference: Karachi, 1947.
Commission on National Education, 1959: headed by S. M. Sharif (the Sharif Commission).
1972: Z. A. Bhutto's government nationalised private schools and colleges. 1974: Allama Iqbal Open University began distance education.
2002: the Higher Education Commission replaced the University Grants Commission. The University of the Punjab (1882) is the oldest university.
Lady Health Workers Programme, 1994: basic healthcare for women and children at their homes.
Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman), 1983: complaints of maladministration. National Accountability Bureau, 1999: corruption. The Auditor-General audits public accounts.
Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997: special anti-terrorism courts. National Action Plan: adopted after the Peshawar school attack of 16 December 2014.

Common mistake

The accountability bodies are often mixed up. The Ombudsman deals with maladministration by federal agencies, the National Accountability Bureau with corruption, and the Auditor-General with the audit of government accounts.

Worked example

A citizen's pension has been delayed for two years by a federal department through neglect, with no bribe involved. Which body should he approach: the National Accountability Bureau, the Wafaqi Mohtasib or the Auditor-General?

The complaint is about delay and neglect, which is maladministration, not corruption.
The National Accountability Bureau investigates corruption, and the Auditor-General audits government accounts; neither handles individual complaints of delay.
The Wafaqi Mohtasib was set up in 1983 to investigate complaints of maladministration by federal agencies.

Answer: The Wafaqi Mohtasib (Federal Ombudsman).

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