Role of Government:

Poverty is a major threat to the existence of humanity in modern times especially in the
developing world. The world leaders all are on a consensus to eradicate this evil and have
proposed and signed many agreements however the issue remains persistent as at least 80% of
humanity lives on less than $10 a day. More than 80 percent of the world's population lives in
countries where income differentials are widening. This issue effects all necessities of life with it
and amongst the chief of them is education. While it is a necessity and a basic right, education
in every sense is also one of the fundamental factors of achieving sustainable economic
development through investment in human capital. Education fosters self understanding,
improves quality of lives and raises people’s productivity and creativity thus promoting
entrepreneurship and technological advances. In addition it plays very crucial roles in securing
economic and social progress thus improving income distribution which may consequently
salvage the people from poverty. So it is apparent that education is also a very good weapon
against poverty.

However as mentioned that an evil as big as poverty cannot be nipped in the bud or even
brought under control unless there is a strong support from the government of that area. In this
section we will try to assess the possible ways the government can play a role in improving the
education sector in such poverty ridden areas.

Poverty and unsustainable economic conditions are hugely detrimental to students’

performance in the classroom. Research in the United States have shown that socioeconomic
disadvantage and other risk factors that are associated with poverty (e-g, lower parental
education and high family stress) have a negative effect on cognitive development and
academic achievement, smaller effects on behavior and inconsistent effects on socio-emotional
outcomes.. Hence government intervention is of paramount importance regarding this issue.

According to Standard economic theory, individuals and markets alone are not suitable for
investment that yield positive externalities and will always lead to underinvestment. This is
because individuals, while making investment decisions, take into account the private returns
only and not the social returns.

So what can the government do for improving education in poverty ridden areas. Firstly, the
government needs to subsidize education — particularly basic education where the social
returns are higher than at any other level. The Pakistan government has, in general, been
targeting the education sector through supply side interventions and inadequate attention has
been paid to the demand side.
And while subsidizing education is a welcome step, scholarships and general concession
schemes are required for students who cannot afford even the bare minimum. The concept of
free education (as applied in many European) should be implemented at the basic levels
atleast.

Another major step that the government needs to take is to spread awareness amongst these
poverty ridden areas. As it is known that child labour is another huge issue in the country Child
labor is also one of the reasons that enrollment ratios are very low in the country (Pakistan is
the 3rd ranked country with the highest number of children out of school). Families depend on
these children for income so they are forced to work. So the government needs to organize
awareness sessions for these families and emphasize on the fact that the education of these
children will provide for a better life not only for themselves but also for the whole family.

Government must also provide free or accessible vocational and professional education. It is a
form of investment in human capital precisely analogous to investment in machinery, buildings,
or other forms of nonhuman capital. Its function is to raise the economic productivity of the
human being. If it does so, the individual is rewarded in a free enterprise society by receiving a
higher return for his services than he would otherwise be able to command. This step is a great
way to kill two birds with a stone.

Teachers are an irreplaceable part of the education system. However teachers specially in the
government sector are ill paid. The result is that they have to look for multiple sources of
income thus neglecting their duties as nation builders. Hence the teachers should also be
provided for by the government.