SCHOOL COUNCIL POLICY IN THE PUNJAB: A STUDY IN PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION IN PUBLIC POLICY-MAKING PhD DISSERTATION Submitted by Rafaqat Islam Reg. No. NDU-GPP-Ph.D-09/F-006 Supervisor Dr. Sarfraz Hussain Ansari Department of Government & Public Policy Faculty of Contemporary Studies National Defence University Islamabad 2015 SCHOOL COUNCIL POLICY IN THE PUNJAB PROVINCE: A STUDY IN PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION IN PUBLIC POLICY MAKING PhD DISSERTATION Submitted by Rafaqat Islam NDU-GPP-Ph.D-09/F-006 This Dissertation is submitted to National Defence University,Islamabad in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Government & Public Policy Department of Government & Public Policy Faculty of Contemporary Studies National Defence University Islamabad 2015 Certificate of Completion It is hereby recommended that the dissertation submitted by Mr. Rafaqat Islam titled ‘School Council Policy in the Punjab Province: A Study in Problem Identification in Public Policy-Making’ has been accepted in the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in the discipline of Government & Public Policy. ____________ Dr. Sarfraz Hussain Ansari Supervisor ___________ External Examiner Countersigned By _____________________ Controller of Examinations Head of the Department i Supervisor’s Declaration This is to certify that PhD dissertation submitted by Mr. Rafaqat Islam titled ‘School Council Policy in the Punjab: A Study in Problem Identification in Public Policy-Making’ is supervised by me, and is submitted to meet the requirements of PhD degree. Date: _____________ Dr Sarfraz Hussain Ansari Supervisor ii Student’s Declaration I hereby declare that the thesis submitted by me titled ‘School Council Policy in the Punjab Province: A Study in Problem Identification in Public Policy-Making’ is based on my own research work and has not been submitted to any other institution for any other degree. Date: _____________ Mr. Rafaqat Islam PhD Scholar iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTENT PAGE Table of Contents iv Abstract v Acknowledgments vi List of Tables viii List of Figures ix List of Maps x Maps xi Abbreviations and Acronyms xiii Chapter-1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 School Management Committees (SMCs): Improper 13 Identification of Educational Problem Chapter-3 The Post-Independence Indigenous Attempts at Education 34 Policy-Making Chapter-4 Post-1951 Internal and External Politics: Their Impact on 70 Education Policy-Making Chapter-5 School Councils as a Major Tool for Reforms of Elementary 96 Education Chapter-6 Education Sector Reforms 2002 Onward: Concerted Efforts at 128 Problem Identification Chapter-7 Teacher: The Pivot of Basic Education Reforms 176 Conclusion and Recommendations 193 Bibliography 196 iv ABSTRACT Since the decade of 1980s, a school reform movement, pedaled by the World Bank (and associate donors) has emphasized the importance of community participation in school management. In 1994, the Punjab Province of Pakistan was given a World Bank loan for education reform under the government’s Social Action Programme (SAP), on the condition that community participation in school management would be ensured. The Punjab government ordered formation of school management committees (SMCs) in all primary/elementary level schools with numerous oversight functions, such as increasing enrolment, reducing/eliminating dropouts, controlling teachers’ absenteeism/ensuring their attendance, supervising that teachers’ instructions were imparted properly etc. The SMCs, however, did not make much difference to improve the low education indicators of the Province. Yet the international donors have stuck to their condition of SMCs ever since the SAP (of 1994), and have continued to press for making the SMCs viable, providing generously in later credit approvals (well into 2010s), for SMCs to take root. This study argues that under the 1994 World Bank conditionality, overemphasis on the SMCs as a panacea for education ills was somewhat misplaced. It was not a proper identification of problem in education policy-making. Education policy-making in Pakistan, properly done during 1947-51, depended on active political support for education sector. The political leadership, with the help of experts, evolved a vision of educating ‘whole-man’, i.e. emphasizing man’s physical, biological and moral-spiritual aspects. It identified the teacher to be the agency for materialization of such vision. The 1994 interest on the part of political leadership evidenced the existence of political support (though quite lukewarm), but without emphasizing the education vision and the pivotal role of the teacher in contradiction to the World Bank backed ambitious role of SMCs. Indeed, creation of effective SMCs, particularly in vast rural areas, was itself a problem. Starting with 1994, the Punjab Government experimented with several types of structures that school management committees could take: Who should be the members of SMCs? Who to head; school head, a teacher or a parent, whose ward is in the school, or who else? Similarly, functions to be performed by SMCs had to be changed several times. At the top of all, district education bureaucracy did not show much interest in SMCs. The 2014 report titled, ‘Review of Implementation of School Council Policy’, found that majority of the district education officials could not recall the procedure which was to be followed for reconstitution of school councils as per the 2013 revised policy. With such indifference towards SMCs on the part of district education bureaucracy responsible for formation of SMCs, reform of the education sector through SMCs cannot be achieved. Similarly, assessing contribution of SMCs to educational reform, the Punjab government’s recent document, titled ‘Punjab School Education Sector Plan 2013- 2017’, characterizes the SMCs as a low success area. The same document further holds that in a few instances of successful community involvement strong leadership from schools was a major factor. This view supports the contention of the present study that overemphasis since 1994 on SMCs as a panacea represents a questionable identification of the education problem. The real problem consisted of since 1951 in the lack of effective political support to the education sector in contradiction to enthusiastic support among policy-makers exhibited during 1947- 1951 educational conferences and subsequent work by committees established under those conferences. It was around the year 2000 that Punjab’s political leadership showed visible commitment to education sector, and the matters affecting teachers received more attention. Also, by 2000, donors began to show more positive attitude towards teachers, the pivotal roles to be played by them and finding ways and means to build teachers’ capacity to play their role. As such, the last chapter of the study supports adoption of measures to restore the place of the teacher, who would also promote the idea of SMCs, which at present needs cultivation and nourishment. Keywords: Education Policy Making, School Education, School Management Committees (SMCs) / School Councils (SCO), Punjab Province v Acknowledgments First and foremost, my utmost gratitude goes to my supervisor, Dr. Sarfraz Hussain Ansari, Assistant Professor. His support and encouragement I will never forget. He has been my inspiration, whenever I faced any challenge. My first step in this journey towards PhD degree was, no doubt, thrust upon me by Dr. Ansari. I owe a lot to him, so caring, concerned and thoughtful supervisor that he is. My special thanks to Dr. Syed Bashir Hussain, Head of The Department, Government & Public Policy, who has provided us an environment exceptionally conducive for research. His guidance and help have always been available to all students. His passionate persuasions about my coursework and research never let me relax in this journey. I am thankful to Dr. Ch Islam Siddique, the Director Public Instructions, Elementary Education, Punjab, who has been a great facilitator during my prolonged and frequent study visits to different districts, towns and schools. I express my gratitude to the officers of School Education Department working at Secretariat, District and Tehsil levels, head teachers, teachers, parents and community members who willingly participated in my research discussions and provided their valuable input. My sincere thanks are due to Mr Muhammad Hanif Khattak, Ex-Executive District Officer (Education) Attock and Mr Akram Zia, District Education Officer, Elementary Education Jhelum, who were so generously providing me time and rendezvous for clarifications and interpretive interviews. Their comments, administrative and personal support cleared away so many obstacles for me. vi Finally, I thank my parents and siblings whose prayers, love and support have always been with me. I would never be able to express my indebtedness and gratitude to my parents, whose prayers served as invisible hands to move the wheels of my life to a meaningful and productive direction. I thank my wife Shaheen Akhtar, who faced the ordeals and kept me free from domestic obligations for such a long period. Without her patience and sacrifice this journey would have not been possible. At the end let me make an apology to my daughters Laiba and Maimoona and son Inamullah who have been eagerly waiting for completion of my PhD that had denied them outing opportunities on weekends. May Allah keep all of them under His infinite mercy. Ameen. Rafaqat Islam vii LIST OF TABLES Table - 2.1 Categories