Achieving universal primary education in Pakistan

Pakistan has a net primary enrolment rate of only 66 percent and has 5.7 million children of primary school age out of school. Without significant progress in girls’ education, Pakistan is unlikely to meet the education Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The Pakistani government now acknowledges that the public sector cannot succeed by itself.

A handbook for education policymakers and practitioners, from the Commonwealth Secretariat and Pakistan’s Society for the Advancement of Education, identifies promising practices of working towards achieving universal primary education (UPE) in Pakistan.

In Pakistan’s federal structure, most education responsibility lies with the four provinces, with the curriculum remaining a federal responsibility. The Education Sector Reforms (ESR) Action Plan for 2001 to 2004 is central to the government’s determination to deliver UPE by 2015. The ESR is shaped by links between poverty and literacy. It has a strong gender focus, with strategies for including girls and women at all educational levels.

There is much to be done, however. Pakistan remains one of the few Commonwealth countries in which male teachers outnumber females. The ratio is 3 to 2 at both primary and secondary school level. The country has the lowest gender parity index (0.72) for youth literacy of all Commonwealth countries. In rural areas, girls generally enter primary education later than boys and on reaching puberty are often withdrawn because there are no female teachers.

Pakistan has set out clear gender parity goals:

• All primary schools are to become co-educational (with boys and girls).
• There is a plan to ensure that 70 percent of teachers are women.
• In areas where female teachers are particularly scarce, age and qualification requirements for them have been relaxed.
• Gender stereotyping in textbooks and the curriculum is being reviewed.
• Civil society is working with the government to provide community support for girls’ education in remote and traditionally conservative areas.

The government now recognises that while private schools usually pay lower salaries, their teaching standards are higher and teacher to pupil ratios are lower. The government is changing from being a provider to a facilitator and financer of education, and embracing a philosophy of public-private interaction.

There is greater dialogue with the private sector, donors and local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs). A new scheme is encouraging NGOs and communities to set up and manage schools. Schools are required to set aside a portion of their state subsidy and taxes in order to promote sustainability. Elsewhere, poorly-performing schools have been turned round due to cooperation with private organisations.

Other aspects to encourage reform include:

• a switch from isolated interventions (such as teacher training) to a focus on whole school improvement – looking at all aspects of high quality teaching, materials, curriculum, infrastructure, leadership and community participation
• action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour through education
• a partnership with the Aga Khan University to make education more relevant, efficient and innovative
• building on Pakistan’s Islamic tradition of contributions to education; Pakistani expatriates now have greater scope to contribute to the development of their country of origin.

Source(s):
‘Achieving Education for All: Pakistan. Promising Practices in Universal Primary Education’, Commonwealth Secretariat: London, by Fareeha Zafar, 2007 Full document.

Funded by: Commonwealth Secretariat

id21 Research Highlight: 19 August 2008

Further Information:
Fareeha Zafar
Society for the Advancement of Education (SAHE)
#65-C, Garden Block
New Garden Town Lahore
Pakistan

Tel: +92 425868115-6
Fax: +92 425839816
Contact the contributor: info@sahe.org.pk

Society for the Advancement of Education (SAHE), Lahore, Pakistan

Publications Section
Communication and Public Affairs Division
Commonwealth Secretariat
Marlborough House,Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5HX
UK

Tel: +44 20 77476534
Fax: +44 20 78399081
Contact the contributor: publications@commonwealth.int

Communication and Public Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, London, UK

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