Unrealistic budgetary claims

The government has promised to staunch the inflationary tide at 12 percent without developing any mechanism for controlling the prices. The exogenous factors responsible for the current malaise - oil price hike and upsurge in the international food prices - are beyond the government's control. In the international market the oil price has hit $133 per barrel and there is no chance of it climbing down in the foreseeable future. Pakistan is an oil importing country and so it remains adversely hit by increase in oil prices. No serious effort is being made to utilise the alternative oil resources available to us in inexhaustible abundance (like coal). Moreover there is a fat chance of government's retreating from its adventurism into mismanagement. Given this situation, it would not be a pushover to constrain the inflationary pressures.

Take the education sector. Education is a vehicle for social change. It modernises the society and revolutionises the archaic practices. Despite its significance, a paltry sum of Rs 24.6bn has been allocated for this sector registering an increase of 11 percent as compared to the previous year's allocation.

More the pity, this increase too pales into insignificance in view of the runaway double-digit inflation. Our educational system is not in sync with the changing requirements rather it is a reflection of orthodox styles of teaching and conventional learning practices.

Education at the primary level remains the most neglected area in the educational system. There is also a dire need to focus on higher education. But all these reforms cannot be accomplished unless a significant amount of GDP is spent on radical reforms in educational system.