State, Education, and the Market [with Comments]

This study rests on the premise that efficient public provision of universal compulsory schooling imbues governance with the ability to help create a harmoniously flourishing society and guaranteeing its sustenance. It is argued that individual self-interest and the larger public interest are mutually consistent and not conflicting. The review of the experiences of selected countries, both developed and developing, reveals that the difference when various countries made education compulsory depended on the attitude of those within the State apparatus and upon those outside who could successfully influence State policies, and the notion of education as a duty was more speedily adopted as policy when it was taken up by the former rather than the latter. The efforts of Pakistan for educating its children are evaluated within a comparative world scenario and it is suggested that, with the present state of affairs, it will not be difficult for the world competitors to hold the 'tinsel tiger' at bay. The failures of the educationists in Pakistan are highlighted and it is argued that the education history of the country has always repeated itself as a tragedy rather than a farce, and the education gurus are largely responsible for the retrogressive social pathology of Pakistan. It is concluded that the State needs to go a long way to address the serious problems of school education in Pakistan and, for reforming school education, the country need not wait until the income levels of the poor have risen. Finally, recommendations are made, based on the assertion that it is within State power to improve its educational performance.