Plain Truths About Primary School Education in Pakistan makes the argument that the schooling available to the majority of children in the country is highly deficient and that it is not going to be fixed by governments. Parents have to recognise the very low quality of education that their children are receiving and demand reforms that ensure good and equitable schooling for all.

These letters take the case directly to parents, the representatives of their children who are the primary stakeholders, and explain the various dimensions of schooling in a conversational style and in the form of a dialogue.

Good education is the key ingredient for a better future, both for children and the country, and primary school education is the foundation on which the effectiveness of higher education rests. Therefore, it is imperative to realise the severity of the crisis in primary school education and resolve to reverse the decline. Otherwise, the country will continue its slide into joblessness, despair, fundamentalism, intolerance, and social anarchy. A sinking ship will not leave any survivors behind which is why it is important for all parents, rich or poor, to join hands in the demand for better and more equitable education for all children.

Dr. Anjum Altaf, a member of the International Coalition for Education Reform in Pakistan (ICERP), obtained MA and PhD degrees from Stanford University. He was a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). He is the author of Transgressions: Poems Inspired by Faiz Ahmed Faiz (2019), More Transgressions: Poems Inspired by Faiz Ahmed Faiz (2021), and co-author (with Amit Basole) of Thinking with Ghalib: Poetry for a New Generation (2021).