Details

Technical Note

Educator Copy

Primary & Secondary Education in Pakistan: Key Issues & Challenges

Muhammad Ahsan Rana


INDUSTRY : Education

AREA : Business Government/International Economy

ORGANIZATION : Pakistan

LENGTH : 26

LUMS No : 16-293-2013-2

PUBLICATION YEAR : 2013

DESCRIPTION

KEYWORDS:

Primary & Secondary Education,Pakistan,Key Issues,Challenges,Quality,Public Sector,Private Sector,Role of Government,Governance


DESCRIPTION:

Pakistan faces a formidable challenge in providing quality primary and secondary education to children, especially from less-privileged areas. Approximately, 12.4 million children of ages 5-14 years are estimated to be out of school and the ones that do attend school receive low-quality education with poor learning outcomes. There are significant gender differences in education facilities and enrollment, especially at the primary level. Overall fiscal allocation for school education is around 2.1% of the Gross Domestic Product, which is low by international comparisons. The private sector has emerged as an important provider and around one-third children now go to private schools. Most of these private schools are low-fee schools. Enrollment in elite private schools comprises a small proportion of the total enrollment in the private sector (about 6%). To increase enrollment and the quality of education, the Government can extend and improve its network of existing schools as well as support the creation of extra places in private schools. It will also have to take some fundamental decisions regarding a set of related issues, viz. medium of instruction, curriculum and assessment. These decisions determine whether or not children enroll in a school, how long they continue to study and how good are their learning outcomes.


LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

The note aims to provide updated information on the state of school education in Pakistan, to identify the trends and to highlight inadeqacies and gaps. Also, to critically examine policy choices in the following key referm areas; 1) Public vs Private Sector as the vehicle for education provision. 2) Medium of Instruction. 3) Curriculum and Assessment; and 4) Governance of government schools.


SUBJECTS COVERED:

Business Government, International Economy