Education has always been the backbone of any nation. All developed nations have made education their top priority. Unfortunately, Pakistan has never done so. Our education system has long suffered from neglect, poor policies, and lack of vision. The recent decision in Punjab to further reduce school timings—now from 8:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.—is yet another example of this decline.
In a country where the quality of education is already deteriorating, it is difficult to understand the logic behind shortening school hours. Pakistan’s summer season is long, and it is true that schools must sometimes close due to extreme weather. But if we look at the overall academic year—affected by political turmoil, protests, sit-ins, weather, and extended vacations—only around 115 effective teaching days remain in the year after excluding examination days.
By comparison:
South Korea: 190 days
Singapore: 190 days
United Kingdom: 190 days
Finland: 194 days
Canada: 182 days
India: 200 days
UAE: 200 days
Clearly, Pakistan lags far behind.
There is neither a comprehensive teacher training system nor a long-term educational policy in Pakistan. Each new government comes in with slogans, rejects previous policies, and introduces new ones—yet the result is always the same: educational loss for children and disappointment for parents.
Another sad truth is that not only the government but some teachers also share the blame. When news of reduced school timings spread on social media, some educators celebrated. But is it not worth asking how a profession built on sharing knowledge can rejoice in reducing the time spent teaching? True teachers know that education demands time, effort, and sacrifice. No sincere educator would wish for students to have less learning time.
Pakistan’s national budget also reveals our misplaced priorities. While billions are spent on defense, protocols, and non-development expenditures, education receives barely two percent of the total budget. At present, over 20 million children are out of school, thousands of schools in rural areas remain closed, and many functioning schools lack teachers, furniture, and basic facilities. Now, with reduced teaching hours, the very essence of education is being buried.
If we compare annual study hours, Pakistani students receive around 650–900 hours of learning per year, whereas in most developed countries, students receive significantly more.
If we continue to treat education with the same lack of seriousness, not only literacy rates but also our intellectual and moral standards will continue to decline. We are producing a generation that may hold degrees but not true education. Nations progress by improving the quality of education, not by reducing school hours.
It is time for us as a nation to take education seriously. We must move beyond temporary slogans, weak decisions, and political showmanship. Education must be declared a national emergency. Teachers must understand their role, parents must set their priorities right, and the government must take practical measures to save the education system—
Otherwise, we will slowly destroy education itself, and only regret will remain.
