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Munir Moosa Sadruddin

Education Accessibility Quality and Inequity

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Universally, there is a challenge of accessibility, quality, and inequity. Regarding cost, I think it is the barrier to overcome these challenges. Education, no doubt is one of the solutions to increase accessibility, but it also carries many challenges like the issue of privacy, quality, etc. Availability of the technological infrastructure and adaptability of the people is also critically important. Regarding universal primary education, this common phrase has only reaped quantitative gains, i.e., more enrollment, poor quality and no assurance of sustainability. In Pakistan, there was an admission drive last year. Results: more enrollment, low quality, and now, ghost students.  Quality of learning can affect conventional as well as technology based classroom as well.

 

Daniel et al (2006) shared that open and distance learning and ICT has improved accessibility, improved quality and cut cost. I agree, but not in case of Pakistan. In Pakistan, during the recent years, the cost of distance education has increased with no quality improvement. Technology based distance education is not yet functional due to social and cultural barriers. In conventional classrooms, ICT equipment are available in private schools, but most of the children go to public schools, where the students are not even familiar to the term ICT. Education for All an SDG failed in many countries including Pakistan. EFA Goal 2 states “Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to, and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality.” During the past three years, many girls schools are blown up in the conflicted areas by the extremists. We can’t trust the data presented in the fabricated reports. Technology in education has potential, but we need infrastructure and resources, as well as need to see the current social, cultural and political scenario.


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