The dismal state of education department in Gilgit-Baltistan

By Tajwar Ali
It has become a common trend in the third world countries to ignore teacher and education department. Same is the case with the teaching department of Gilgit Baltistan; here teachers remain in the same grade for more than twenty years. Provincial administration is solely responsible for this shameful act. When teachers stage a protest then bureaucrats and politicians try to stop them by making some fake promises. According to a survey Gilgit Baltistan’s education department suffers the most as compared to that of all other four provinces. Very much slow promotion process has made this sacred profession most vanquished and humiliated. All other departments of Gilgit Baltistan are gaining benefits from the government quite better comparatively. Powerless politicians can give only statements but the real power lies with bureaucrats about the future of teachers, they have turned down the issue of promotion of teachers. The central government has given time scale to teachers; similarly all other provinces have given time scale. Why the government is not giving this in Gilgit Baltistan. Are we not Pakistanis? This is our question to the chief secretary of Gilgit Baltistan. Secondly the government feels very much easy to criticize teaching department for corruption. In fact some unable politicians made this department corrupt in Zardari era.
The process of promotion in education is very much slow, many teachers have been died waiting for promotions, some teachers have got retirement but still the government of Gilgit Baltistan is doing nothing because teachers are by nature noble and gentle they cannot create agitation in Gilgit Baltistan. The gentleness and nobleness of the teachers of Gilgit Baltistan should not be considered as their weakness. The standard of teachers of Gilgit Baltistan should be raised and it should be made equal of the teachers of all other provinces especially the teachers of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Only then it would be possible for us to expect a standard education system.
The writer is a social worker and a freelance journalist. He can be contacted at tajooformanite@yahoo.com