Higher education plays a fundamental role in the life of people because it helps them improve their academic life and makes them understand major social and global challenges better.
However, Balochistan is, undoubtedly, going through a deplorable situation. The province is experiencing hardships and illiteracy is widening at a fast pace. The problem is that education has never been given the importance it deserves in Pakistan. That leads to people thinking that they can prosper without it or with minimal knowledge, which is incorrect.
To pull the province of Balochistan out of troubles and lead it towards growth, tranquility and to unlock doors of opportunities for the students. Education, especially the higher one, must be prioritized by the governments because that’s the only way to take a poverty-stricken province like Balochistan forward.
According to the statistics, there are only eight universities across the province. That is far less than the numbers in other provinces in Pakistan. For example, the number of universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is around 39, Sindh has a better number with 55, Azad, Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) with 7 universities, Gilgit Baltistan with one and Punjab tops the ranking with 62 universities.
Although Balochistan has a low population compared to other large provinces, it is still enough to deserve some more educational institutes. The education sector has never expressed optimism when it comes to education and the lack of attention is the reason for the miserable condition.
But it is pleasant to see the keen interest of the government of Balochistan in taking measures to facilitate the province by providing educational needs and establishing universities in Balochistan. However, building walls is not what the priority should be. Rather, the government should ensure quality teaching and research.
Every year, thousands of Baloch students leave for other provinces of Pakistan because their own does not have appropriate facilities for them. They keep eyes on university deadlines in Punjab and Sindh to seek admission.
Why would they need to go to another province, spend thousands on accommodation and travel, if they have similar facilities in their own province? Apart from establishing new institutes, the government should enrich and develop the existing ones too. So that those don’t lag behind.
I hope that the current government will fulfill its promises.