Arguing that non-state actors can address the challenges of educating the Pakistani youth is like arguing that sticks and stones are effective weapons in the face of nuclear war. The idea of non-state actors as the saviours of education in Pakistan is a fairy tale, and reasonable adults need to snap out of it. non-state actors simply cannot do what is required to educate Pakistan. The scale and scope of the education challenge can only be addressed by the state. It doesn't matter how good reading Three Cups of Tea makes us feel, or how good donating money to our favourite philanthropic school makes us feel, or how good sending our children to private schools makes us feel. The education debate cannot be about how good we feel. If we are to spare only one area in Pakistan of our overwhelming capacity to be emotional and irrational, it has to be education