WHEN Javed told me that he had ‘failed’ his Matriculation examination, I was saddened. I knew that Javed, despite the very trying financial circumstances of his household, had worked hard. He had not ‘failed’ as such. He had just not obtained the percentage needed to get into a decent public sector college. This was the same thing as failure to him as this meant he had to leave his studies and start working. His parents could not afford a college education for him. And his marks were not enough to get him a scholarship. So, there was not much of a choice.

This is not just the story of Javed. It is also the story of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of young people in Pakistan. Government schools are free, books used to be free too; the Punjab Education Foundation and similar bodies from other provinces subsidise school education for millions of children. But, post-Matriculation, the support becomes a lot less. We have fewer colleges as well. Millions do not continue beyond Matriculation.

One could argue this is how it should be. Children who get more marks in school-leaving examinations should be the ones to get the opportunity to continue to college level. This makes sense if marks are based on talent, intelligence and ability. In a country where inequality is high, the education system fragmented and where financial capacity determines the type of education a child gets, examination marks do not simply measure ability. Javed, on the basis of his intelligence and keenness, is comparable to any student coming from........

© Dawn