Education is the key factor that helps any country to reach the prime. It is also mandatory for the socio-economic development of a society. As in an educated society they have well decision ability, they can confront their deprived rights, well able to fight against gender and income inequalities. Experts believe that a minimum 70 percent literacy rate is essential for initiating and sustaining economic growth and development in a society. According to research in 2014 the literary rate in Gilgit Baltistan was 65.6% also in Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir the primary school enrollment was 80%.
But during the Covid-19 pandemic due to the closure of schools and restrictions imposed by the government to curb the pandemic many of the students especially primary and secondary school from the backward areas of Gilgit Baltistan such as Shagarthang, Souq and other backward areas of GB where even in the 21st century, the amenities like internet, electricity and internet facilities are not available and their parents haven’t any other source of income to send their children towards cities like Skardu, Gilgit etc to siphon or conduct online classes. So that most the students from the backward areas of GB have deprived of the online education system.
This would truly affect our human capital in the future because with the closure of government schools in these backward areas, poor students from these areas are not able to get further education due to online education. So what they will do? Obviously, they will leave their schooling and will start to spend their days in futile activities. As the world is burgeoning fastly with the amenities like digitalization but we even in the 21st century stood on the same page of a dual economy. Parents from that areas are mostly farmers, they earn some income from their fields, cattle etc so that they send their children into government schools. Nowadays due to the obfuscate government policy and closure of the education sector, a threat of lose of human capital in the future has emerged. In Gilgit Baltistan, during this precarious pandemic, nobody is willing to help these indigent students. So in the future, many of the experts believe that the literary rate would shrink.
But if we look towards our neighbor country Iran where a school teacher bought many tablets for their students who were enabled to continue their online studies because of their worst economic condition. According to the teacher, he bought 143 tablets in the first phase and 200 tablets later for their students. Should we not learn something from this? Yes, we should learn, how a good teacher gives confidence to their students and these students will somersault the country into prosperity.
As we know that investment in education is a long-term policy. Because when investment in education will increase then it will help to increase the division of labor which would then help to increase productivity or economic growth. So human capital could be improved through investment in education that will help us to new innovation, will turn the poor economic predicament. Already in GB due to dual economy, there is a lack of human capital which gave impetus to unemployment, gender inequality, lack of cooperation in decision making etc, So the threat is now surpassing because the government of GB has been failed to nurture and thrive to provide the amenities like mobile phones, internet etc to those indigent students who can’t afford to continue their online classes. If Government would spend some of their education funds to support these students who are deprived to continue their studies online then they would have able to conduct online classes.
• Our government would have to make a policy to reduce the dual economy or income inequalities which could help to fight against this pandemic in the future as well.
• Our elite classes should cooperate and support these families during these stern or hard days. If this happens then it is one the way towards inclusive economic institutions. This cooperation had already done in the case of East Asian Miracles that’s why they grew at an average growth rate of 5 and above from 1965 to the 1990s.