1.

10 UNDERSTANDING SYSTEM DEFICIENCIES

35. There are two fundamental causes for the weak performance of the education sector: (i) lack of commitment to education –
the commitment gap; and (ii) the implementation gap that has thwarted the application of policies. The two gaps are linked in
practice: a lack of commitment leads to poor implementation, but the weak implementation presents problem of its own.

1.10.1 The Commitment Gap

36. The low resources stand in sharp contrast to the commitment required by the policy statements which set up ambitious
goals for the sector. The national emphasis on education goes back to the enshrining of the right to education in the
Constitution. 37. The contrast between the vision and the commitment has been pointed out by the Planning Commission: “We
cannot spend only 2.7 % of our GDP on education and expect to become a vibrant knowledge economy”5 . 38. The
commitment gap could come from two reasons: (i) lack of belief in education’s true worth for socio-economic and human-
centered development; and/or (ii) a lack of belief in the goals themselves. In regard to the first, the analysis done during the
policy review, including reviewing recent international research and policy experience, confirms the potent role education can
play in achieving economic growth and social development. On this basis, the commitment gap could not arise for this reason.
39. The second reason, the lack of commitment to the policy goal itself may, therefore, be the real problem. At the time of its
birth as a nation, Pakistan inherited an approach to education that had two features. First, the education system of the time
was designed to supply the skills needed to run the colonial administration. The accent was on education for the few, basically
to fill public service jobs. The prevailing objective was service to the administration rather than service to the students and
learners. This assessment is echoed by the Economist Intelligence Unit assessment in its latest review of education, in which it
observes that “Pakistan’s education system is among the most deficient and backward in Asia, reflecting the traditional
determination of feudal ruling elite to preserve its hegemony”6 . Second, the economic structure of Pakistan at its inception
was almost entirely agrarian, with little manufacturing and a small services sector. The skill needs of the economy did not
influence the structure of educational provision. The tradition of British education, which Pakistan inherited, emphasized
academic skills (to serve the administration) rather than skills and competence for use in the production sector.

1.10.2 The Implementation Gap

40. The implementation gap, though less well documented, is believed to be more pervasive in that it affects many aspects of
governance and the allocation and use of resources. One piece of evidence relates to the amount of developmental funds
allocated to the sector that remains unspent. Estimates range from 20% to 30% of allocated funds remaining unutilised. The
underlying causes may lie in the lack of a planning culture, planning capacity and weaknesses in the accountability mechanisms.
41. Another type of implementation problem surfaces in the corruption that is believed to pervade the system. Anecdotes
abound of education allocations systematically diverted to personal use at most levels of the allocation chain. Political influence
and favouritism are believed to interfere in the allocation of resources to the Districts and schools, in recruitment, training and
posting of teachers and school administrators that are not based on merit, in awarding of textbook contracts, and in the
conduct of examinations and assessments. The pervasive nature of corruption indicates a deeper problem where the service to
the students and learners is not at the forefront of thinking and behaviour on the part of some involved in operating the
system.

Filling the Commitment Gap: System Values, Priorities and Resources

2.1 EDUCATIONAL VISION AND PERFORMANCE

44. The Constitution of Pakistan sets out an egalitarian view of education based on values responding to the requirements of
economic growth. Article 38 (d) speaks of instilling moral values and of providing education to all citizens irrespective of gender,
caste, creed, or race. Article 37(b) explicitly states that the State of Pakistan shall endeavour “to remove illiteracy and provide
free and compulsory secondary education within minimum possible period”. Article 34 requires that “steps shall be taken to
ensure full participation of women in all the spheres of national life”. It is in this perspective that Pakistan has made a
commitment to achieve six Dakar EFA Goals within the specified target dates.

45. In contrast to this vision for education, there has been little commitment to achieve the ambitions of a National Educational
Policy. Governance and management of education have fallen short of the commitments. As a consequence, Pakistan’s
education system, is far from being a cohesive national system, is afflicted with fissures that have created parallel systems of
education and has performed poorly on the criteria of access, equity and quality.
46. As the ‘Vision 2030’ describes it, the reality on the ground is “the divide between the prevalent school structure and
differences in levels of infrastructure and facilities, media of instruction, emolument of teachers, and even examination systems
between public and private sectors. The rich send their children to private run English medium schools which offer foreign
curricula and examination systems; the public schools enrol those who are too poor to do so.” This divide can be further
categorised across low cost private schools and the elite schools. There is another divide between the curriculum that is offered
to the children enrolled in DeeniMadaris and the curriculum in the rest of the public and private establishments. There is also
an unresolved and continuing debate on how and what religious and moral values to be taught through the educational system
and how to accommodate non-Muslim minorities.

47. Pakistan’s commitment to universal primary education by 2015 under EFA Framework appears elusive on current
performance, as participation is low and drop-out rates continue to be high. There are persistent gender and rural-urban
disparities. Girls continue to remain underrepresented in the education system, both public and private. The rural urban divide
is stark on most indicators of school provision and participation, which becomes particularly attenuated in some Provinces and
Areas. International comparisons of education quality are also not very encouraging.

48. An education system cannot remain in isolation of the challenges and opportunities provided by globalization. These are in
the field of business and commerce, technology, cultural values, identity and many more. Unfortunately a comprehensive
national analysis and debate on the potential impact and possible benefits of globalization has been a major deficit. 2.2 A
REAFFIRMATION OF EDUCATIONAL VISION

49. Recognising the commitment gap, a first priority is a reaffirmation of the fundamental vision of education. The goals and
targets, and the financial and human resources required to achieve them follow closely from the commitment to a clearly
articulated vision.

50. There are solid reasons for the reaffirmation. New research provides convincing evidence of education’s contribution to
both economic and social development, which can be achieved simultaneously because the processes of economic growth and
social development are interlinked. There are close links between equity in educational opportunities and equitable income
distribution and income growth. If the education system is constructed on a divisive basis the divisions it creates can endanger
long run economic growth as well as stability of society. An unjust society creates an unstable society and an unstable society
cannot sustain stable long term growth.

51. The contribution of education to economic growth of societies is well established. A long history of research has confirmed
that each year of schooling contributes 0.58% to the rate of economic growth. The evidence is not just for the developed
economies of the world but, importantly to the point, for the developing nations as well.

52. This new research highlights the possibilities of both a vicious and a virtuous circle operating from equity of educational
opportunities to equity of income distribution, and from social cohesion to economic growth. An affirmation of commitment to
Pakistan’s egalitarian education vision in the service of all citizens and as a driver of economic and social development can help
to produce a virtuous circle of high levels of human and social capital leading to equitable economic growth and social
advancement. The education sector policies have to be reoriented if they are not to fall in the vicious circle trap.

53. The reaffirmation of educational vision requires a change of mindset that would permit development of goals, policies and
programmes in support of the vision. The Planning Commission’s ‘Vision 2030’ also argues for such change of the mindset,
which commits to a new set of societal goals. The Ministry of Education has adopted following vision: “Our education system
must provide quality education to our children and youth to enable them to realize their individual potential and contribute to
development of society and nation, creating a sense of Pakistani nationhood, the concepts of tolerance, social justice,
democracy, their regional and local culture and history based on the basic ideology enunciated in the Constitution of the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan.”

2.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1. To revitalize the existing education system with a view to cater to social, political and spiritual needs of individuals and
society. 2. To play a fundamental role in the preservation of the ideals, which lead to the creation of Pakistan and strengthen
the concept of the basic ideology within the Islamic ethos enshrined in the 1973 Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. 3.
To create a sense of unity and nationhood and promote the desire to create welfare State for the people of Pakistan 4. To
promote national cohesion by respecting each others faith and religion and cultural and ethnic diversity. 7 Equity, Quality and
Economic Growth, The World Bank, 2007. 18 5. To promote social and cultural harmony through the conscious use of the
educational process. 6. To provide and ensure equal educational opportunities to all the citizens of Pakistan and to provide
minorities with adequate facilities for their cultural and religious development, enabling them to participate effectively in the
overall national effort. 7. To develop a self reliant individual, capable of analytical and original thinking, a responsible member
of society and a global citizen. 8. To aim at nurturing the total personality of the individual, dynamic, creative and capable of
facing the truth as it emerges from the objective study of reality. 9. To raise individuals committed to democratic and moral
values, aware of fundamental human rights, open to new ideas, having a sense of personal responsibility and participation in
the productive activities in the society for the common good. 10. To revive confidence in public sector education system by
raising the quality of education provided in government owned institutions through setting standards for educational inputs,
processes and outputs and institutionalizing the process of monitoring and evaluation from the lowest to the highest levels. 11.
To improve service delivery through political commitment and strengthening education governance and management. 12. To
develop a whole of sector view through development of a policy and planning process that captures the linkages across various
sub sectors of the education system. 13. To enable Pakistan to fulfill its commitments to achieve Dakar Framework of Action
EFA Goals and Millennium Development Goals relating to education. 14. To widen access to education for all and to improve
the quality of education, particularly in its dimension of being relevant to the needs of the economy. 15. To equalize access to
education through provision of special facilities for girls and boys alike, under-privileged/marginalized groups and handicapped
children and adults. 16. To eradicate illiteracy within the shortest possible time through universalizing of quality elementary
education coupled with institutionalized adult literacy programmes. 17. To enable an individual to earn honestly his/her
livelihood through skills that contribute to the national economy and enables them to make informed choices in life. 18. To lay
emphasis on diversification from general to tertiary education so as to transform the education system from supply-oriented to
demand-oriented and preparing the students for the world of work. 19. To encourage research in higher education institutions
that will contribute to accelerated economic growth of the country. 19 20. To organize a national process for educational
development that will reduce disparities across provinces and areas and support coordination and sharing of experiences.

FILLING THE COMMITMENT GAP: SYSTEM VALUES, PRIORITIES AND RESOURCES

Educational Vision and Performance

A Reaffirmation of Educational Vision

Aims And Objectives

Overarching Priorities: Widening Access and Raising Quality

Mobilizing Resources for Education

FILLING THE IMPLEMENTATION GAP: ENSURING GOOD GOVERNANCE

Developing a Whole-of-Sector View

Ensuring Policy Coherence

Overcoming Fragmented Governance

Bridging the Public-Private Divide

Overcoming Structural Divides

Building Management and Planning Capacity

Getting Stakeholders Involved

BROADENING THE BASE AND ACHIEVING ACCESS

Early Childhood Education (ECE)

Elementary Education

Secondary and Higher Secondary Education

Literacy and Non-Formal Learning

Education in Emergencies

RAISING THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION

Improving Teacher Quality

Curriculum Reform

Quality in Textbooks and Learning Materials

Improving Student Assessment

Attaining Standards in the Learning Environment

Matching with the Labor Market

Gaps in education policy implementation in Pakistan

Following are the main gaps in education policy implementation in Pakistan: 6.1 Poor communication system Policy
implementation is a dynamic process. Education policies in Pakistan are plagued by poor communication, less support from the
stakeholders, less ownership of the policy by the stakeholders, lack of commitment on the part of the implementers, no
collaboration and cooperation, less accurate and consistent approach towards the completion of the policy goals (Rashid,
2004). Therefore, according to Shahid (1987) inadequate information creates distances between the policy implementers and
the beneficiaries and ultimately causes serious obstacles to policy implementation.

6.2 Weak administration Government of Pakistan (1979) says that for proper implementation of policies effective
implementation agencies are important. Various initiatives for policy implementation failed due to weak administrative
machinery at the grassroots level. The agencies at this level did not own the policies (UNESCO & Government of Pakistan,
2003). The poor management capacity of the directorates of education at policy formulation levels, school heads at
implementation level is one of the many factors which also responsible for this mess. Government of Pakistan (1998) considers
weak and defective implementation mechanism, inadequate personnel, poor training, low political commitment and absence of
incentives as reasons for the failures of educational policy implementation in Pakistan.

6.3 Poor policy evaluation mechanisms Conversely, Akbar (1995) elaborates that precise, accurate and clear policy directives
produce creativity and adaptability which helps in the effective implementation as well. On the other hand, less precise
directive does not leave room for the policy implementers to use their discretion and flexibility which is normally needed for
better policy implementation. In the words of Bukhari (1995) it must also be ensured that a not just information rather a highly
relevant and adequate information is provided on the implementation process.

6.4 Financial gaps and irregularities In its report UNESCO (2005) has found that inadequate financial resources for education in
Pakistan have hindered the policy implementation. According to Saleemi (2010) financial resource in any system plays the role
of a life blood. Without enough monitory support no system can work effectively. No matter, how clearly and accurately the
implementation orders are transmitted, if the resources both financial and material are less, the implementation will result in
problems. Therefore, according to World Bank Report (2000) resource availability must be ensured by the implementers and
the policy makers before developing a policy. The resources include adequate number of staff, enough financial support, quality
and trained staff. Therefore, it is necessary that equipments and buildings must be provided for better policy implementation.
Without sufficient resources like these, required services will not reach the beneficiaries directly (Siddiqui, 1993).

6.5 Attitudes and dispositions of public servants Attitude and disposition is one of the key factors that affect implementation
process. It has been explored by Abbas (1994) that bureaucratic underpinnings have placed more pressures on the teachers’
community in Pakistan. This trend has given rise to feelings of alienation among the teachers. This attitude and disposition of
the supervisors has promoted sense of discrimination among the teachers. This leads to demonization of the supervisors and
de-motivation of the teachers. In view of Ahmad (1993) in education system, use of powers, direct of staff, developing
relationship and keeping expectation depends to a large extent on the disposition of the implementers toward the policies.

6.6 Inefficient bureaucratic structure Ghaffar (1992) narrates that unless and until there is an efficient bureaucratic structure
along strong professional knowledge, the problem of implementation will remain unresolved despite of having clear
communication, resources and positive disposition. He further argues that organization where there is fragmentation hinders
effective coordination which is necessary for policy implementation because it may result in wastage of resources, block the
pace of smooth change and in overlooking of some of the important actions necessary for policy implementation. In view of
Shahid (2003) there are some other chronic factors which have hindered smooth policy implementation in Pakistan. These are
not only related to implementation but also related to policy makers and the overall environment where the policies are
formulated and implemented.

6.7 Failure of decentralization measures Zaki (1992) has found that in Pakistan devolution of responsibilities in any system is not
always accompanied by devolution of authority which has created many complications in the discharge of the services.
Education is not exception to this. Naseem (1990) further elaborates that decentralization provides better opportunities for the
beneficiaries at the grass root level. They will reap the fruits of the policy easily without any bureaucratic or other hurdles.
However, in Pakistan there are discrepancies in the assigning of responsibilities to the people as to how to act and use the given
powers. There is no proper direction which leads to role confusion less and effective contributions.

6.8 Lack of political will Political will of the local implementers play a pivotal role in effective implementation process. In
Pakistan, due to none or less participation of local implementer such as school principals, teachers and students, ownership
factor of the policy becomes weak. Jatoi (1995) believes that success of implementation of a policy depends largely on the
political will of the policy makers and policy implementers alike.

6.9 Leadership vacuum For any successful implementation of policies, visionary leadership, strategic planning, strong will,
trained teachers, community support, and availability of resources, students and teachers motivation play the role of
cementing forces (Channo, 2003). For this purpose Zaidi (2005) suggest empowerment of local stakeholders, planning
strategically, resource mobilization, resource utilization, political will, monitoring and evaluation of the education system are
essential steps for successful implementation. 6.10 Deeply entrenched corruption Riaz (1998) writes that for successful
implementation of any policy, it is essential that the stakeholder are ready to sacrifice their personal interest on the interest of
the system and for the general welfare of all irrespective of nay personal whim or vested interests. This type of attitude
develops an environment of trust and transparency. However, education system in Pakistan has been made hostage to evils for
many years after its inception. This trend of corruption has played with the foundations of the overall system. 7. Findings and
Conclusions Policy strategies are essential for successful implementation of a policy. These strategies help in setting forth
mechanisms to achieve the prescribed objectives. This study aimed at exploring the hurdles in the way of successful policy
implementation in Pakistan and suggesting solutions in the light of literature review. The vast analysis of the data showed that
there is lack of direction, consistency, poor institution-community relationship, corruption, lack of visionary leadership at lower
level and commitment on the part of policy formulators and implementers with regard to policy implementation in education.
The analysis also showed that there is no follow up, accountability for authority and supervisors, lack of system of training for
policy formulators and implementers.

Recommendations

On the basis of this study the following recommendations are provided. • All stakeholders such as teachers, principals, and
researchers may be involved or informed on policy formulation and implementation. In this way the gap of understanding
would be resolved. • Strong coordination between the schools and the inspectorate may help in bridging the gulf of mistrust
and alienation • Accountability system may be strengthened to decrease corruption • In order to overcome financial
constraints, practical measures may be taken for effective planning and utilization of available resources both human and
material. • Through strong accountability, the prevalence of corruption, nepotism and favoritism could be controlled. • The
people involved in the process of formulation, implementation and evaluation of policies can be trained to enhance their
theoretical knowledge in skills in better administration, management and coordination. • A string bond or relationship between
the beneficiary community and policy makers can decrease the trust deficit between the system and public. • The step of
decentralization should be strengthened. It will decrease the delays in implementation of measures taken at the central level.
Future research On the basis of this research study accepts its limitations that due to lack of time and resources, this review of
literature could not deeply explored some of the other major causes for poor policy implementation in the education system of
Pakistan. Therefore, it is suggest that a more vast and comprehensive qualitative and quantitative investigations should be
carried out into the problem of poor policy implementation in Pakistan so that the system of education is able to function
properly and achieve the national objectives which due to this choric problem of poor policy implementation have remained
unfulfilled in all fields of national life.

Abstract
Historically, education policies of Pakistan remained under the strong influence of religious ideologies, global challenges,
Socialist agenda and regional trends. After the 9/11 incident and the growing forces of extremism, the government opted for a
New National Education Policy (NEP 2009). The policy was inspired by the idea of globalisation and declares education as a
knowledge economy. Although the government praises the policy, the opposition, the religious groups, the ethnic sentiments
and the general public oppose it in terms of access and equity. This study aims at exploring the effects of globalisation on access
and equity in the education system of Pakistan. These aspects are selected because of their place and importance in the EFA
and MDGs which Pakistan is a signatory and obligatory to take measure to meet the declared goals. This study may contribute
to find out the gaps and help in alleviating the controversial debate. Education policies of Pakistan (1947 to 2009) are the
source of data for this study. These documents were investigated from the perspective of Critical Policy Sociology (CPS) to
establish what came of access and equity. CPS helped to uncover the tension between the enterprise and prescribed policies
and the results which do not enrich people’s lives, enhance inequality and barriers to access to education. That is the incapacity
for social practice. There is sufficient evidence to show that due to globalisation and universalisation in the education policies of
Pakistan, the enrolment rate and female literacy at primary level has increased. Similarly, the dropout rate has increased in all
other stages. The privatisation of education promoted education and contributed in GDP of the country but remained a source
of inequality and widened socio-economic divide. English as medium of instruction opened the door of opportunities for some
while remained a disadvantage for majority. In addition to this the missing facilities, higher student teacher ratio, and poor
infrastructure in public schools and in rural areas caused problem for access and equity.

Introduction

The people and government of Pakistan believe that access and equity in education are essential factors in the promotion of
quality education, literacy rate, contributing to growing economy, producing job opportunities and alleviating poverty. They
also accept that the role of education as cross-cutting on human life and specifically improvement of human development
(Husain, 2003). Basically one year after independence, Pakistan became part of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. Thus Pakistan obliged to the Article 26 which states. “Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be
free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory….”(United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948). Later the Constitution of Pakistan (1973) declared that “the state of Pakistan
shall remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory secondary education within minimum possible period”. Consequently
the state announced free and compulsory education for the primary stage. After Pakistan got independence (1947), the
government established public schools, colleges and universities all over the country where education was provided free of
direct cost. But due to lack of funding and attention, the standard of such schools could not be maintained effectively. The
medium of instruction in these schools has been changing since the independence of Pakistan. At many points, it remained
Urdu even in the recent times. On other occasions, it was changed to pupils’ mother tongues. With some regimes, English was
declared the medium of instruction too, but as a whole, Urdu as medium of instruction has served the longest. To fill this gap
the government introduced a chain of army administered Cadet Colleges all over the country and a series of elite English
medium, and Christian convent schools to serve a special class of the population. The government also supported their
existence as a source of promotion of literacy and quality education. In 1970s, Bhutto came in power with his idea of socialism
and nationalised all institutions of the country. The number of the public sector schools increased to a point which as argued by
Bokhari (1998), became unmanageable. Therefore the nationalisation policy did not achieve the targeted goals and it resulted
in reducing enrolment rate as well as a substantial financial benefits received from this sector. During General Zia-ul-Haq regime
(1977), privatisation was denounced and schools were denationalised and decentralised. This turn of events, largely reinstated
the confidence of private investors leading to their share in education increasing and equally increasing enrolment (Andrabi et
al, 2002). Decentralisation and privatisation policies also expanded schools in to the rural areas. The education authorities
encouraged and permitted NonGovernmentalOrganisations (NGOs) to take over those public school structures that were not in
use due to lack of funding from the government. As a result, the private sector schools became famous and acceptable by the
public leading to an increase in number to 36,000 (Andrabi et al, 2003). Its contribution to the promotion of enrolment rate at
primary stage increased to 42%, 37% at the middle, 30% at secondary and 64% at higher secondary levels. After the
establishment of these two sectors, there still remained visible gaps in accessing education especially in the rural areas; and
thus madrassa (religious school) was declared a promoter of literacy along with the public and private institutions. Hence,
madrassa became an active part of formal education in Pakistan and contributed highly to raising enrollment figures. Its main
focus was Islamic religious education. Blanchard (2008) mentioned in his report that there are 13,000 registered madaris (plural
of madrassa) in Pakistan. Conclusively the education system of Pakistan is divided into public, private and madrassa. The public
sector is free of cost where Urdu is the MoI of instruction and represents people from middle class (Rahman, 2002). The private
sector is English medium and serves the rich and elites (Abbas, 2003). The madrassa sector serves the underclass (Haqqani,
2004) and provides free education, food and lodging. This shows that the education system of Pakistan is divided on the lines of
the socio-economic status of the people. In so doing, it has been the cause of limiting other recipients to access education while
benefitting others.

Globalisation

Globalisation began at the end of the Cold War as a set of economical/political policies based on a strong faith in the beneficent
effects of free market which include open market approaches, free trade, and decrease in the public sector funding (Harvey,
2005). This thought is recommended by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other financial organizations
(Harvey, 2005; Lomnitz and Milnick 1991; Torres 2002; Brown, 2003; Hill, 2004) and emphsise is on decrease of state
intervention in the economy and public services (Mises, 1962; Nozick, 1974). Social analysis of globalisation shows that, it is not
an approach which merely deals with the economic sector policies rather it also involves governmentality of education and
other social policies and practices (Brown, 2003). Globalisation of education brought rapid development in technology and
communication which as a result made the world information-based society. This changed has introduced a new form of
cultural imperialism which is beileueved as a threat for the promotion of regional cultures. Therefore such a global society aims
at producing ‘global citizens’, competition and information based society. The role of the state is replaced by the individual,
making him/ herself responsible for their education, job, security, health, etc. this means that the destiny of the state lies within
their ability to compete in a global market. In recent, this approach was taken by neo-liberalism, (discussed in detail in Ashraf
and Kopweh, (2012)). Looking into the impact of access and equity in education in Pakistan several factors of globalisation came
into mind. The factors include privatisation, monopoly, equity and decentralization. The place and impact of these factors in the
education policy and education system will be discussed with a special reference to Pakistan.

Pakistani context:

Pakistan occupies a strategic location geographically and that is of interest to the major powers. It attracted the colonial
interest because of its British colonial experience and provided the US with manpower against the former Soviet Union. This is
probably one of the reasons why the Pakistani education system has a history of borrowing educational ideas from these
countries. Therefore the introduction of globalistion in the education policy making emerged with a debate. Some believe
globalsiation as an opportunity for raising skills and standard of education. Others blame it as a contemporary adaptation of
cultural imperialism which escorts to a universal, eventually a Western society. One aspect of the globalistion of education is
the ‘exchange programmes’ between countries. This helps in transferring knowledge with an intention of improvement of skills
and capabilities of the people. For example, some Pakistani students have the opportunity to secure scholarship to these
countries, study teams are sent for tours, teachers are sent for training in the teaching of English as a foreign language, and
policy makers are trained to produce better policies. With globalisation as argued by David Orr (1999), Western education has
covered the entire world which eventually distanced people from their culture and values. In Pakistan however, the education
policies saw an increased influence of privatization, the making of English as media of instruction, interference of international
agencies, anti Islamic economic growth and the idea of public , private and madrassa education system (Khalique, 2007;
Rahman, 1995; Haque, 1991). The ground was already paved to value privatisation and English as a source of economic
prosperity, quality education, access to international job market and global identity (Abbas, 1993; and Jahani, 2004; Rahman,
2005). The opposition considered these of education policies as a political decision (Abbas, 1993) made to limit access to
education for few, maintain the British status quo, sustain language imperialism.

Privatisation of education

Privatization of state enterprises is one among the major programs of globalisation and considered an effective strategy for the
reduction of the public spending which often lead to higher costs. Also, privatization is thought to be an important instrument
for depoliticizing the regulatory practices (Zadja, 2006; Torres, 2002; Rasool, 2007). Although, state and market are two social
services for globalists, it is seen that the focus is always given to the market over the state (Hill, 2004; Harvey, 2005; Brown,
2003) because the market is thought to be more adaptable and flexible. Another possible reason of prioritizing the market is its
quick response to the changes and seemingly its accountability to the public sector than the bureaucratic policies. One of the
main aspects of privatizations is its autonomous nature of mechanism control and regulations. In terms of educational policies,
“the World Bank has promoted polices of democratization of schooling” (Torres, 2002, p 375). In Pakistani context privatisation
is aa tool of international organisation (Haqqani, 2004) to “allow the secular politics of competing economic and regional
interests to prevail over religious sentiment” (p 86). The major economic powers believe that militancy and religious extremism
is due to the education system of the country and thus privatization may be the ideal way for the international agencies to use
education as a mean of productivity and individual efficiency for a leading and sustainable economy (Memon, 2007). The
National Education Policy 2009, has encouraged privatization in the education sector by announcing that, “The private sector’s
role has been expanding in recent years. While there are several causes for this relative growth, it is partly a reflection of the
shortcomings of public sector to provide quality education” and that “Provincial Governments shall encourage private
education at the school level as an additional option available to those who can afford such education (MoE, 2009, p26). Due to
this policy, the private sector schools and universities are up-and-coming as a major competitor in providing access to
education at all levels. According to the Federal Bureau of Statistic Survey (2001) “there are more than 36,096 private schools in
the country catering for 6.3 million children. This shows that education is used as a source for economic reasons and the
educational institutions became the hub of profit and engage a strategic place in the economy (Stronach, 2010). This approach
of marketisation of education has issued licenses to the elites and the international investors of running and controlling schools,
colleges and universities for the sake of earnings which resulted in mushrooming of educational institutions across the country.
Currently, the private sector has a 36% contribution in the total enrollment (NEP, 2009) which is expanding rapidly.
Consequently a chain of elite educational institutions founded all over the country. Examples are the chain of St. Joseph
Grammar schools, Beacon House School S ystem, The Cit y Schools, Cadet Colleges, AitchisonCollege , Lahore Universit y of
Management Sciences (LUMS), Agha Khan University and so on . These institutions are believed to be offering high-quality
instruction. These have excellent facilities and well-qualified faculty, however these are very expensive institutions and most
Pakistani families cannot afford to send their children to these institutions but on the other hand there are several private
institutions that offer sub-standard programmes and exploit students (Memon, 2007). The operators of such schools are just
interested in making profit rather than providing quality services. Regrettably, successes in the education sector can not only be
gauged on quantitative statistical dimensions. The qualitative dimension is also very important.

Monopoly

In globalisation, monopoly defines a situation whereby equality of all people is denied. It focuses on a few and gives ownership
to the powerful lobbyists (Baxter, et al, 1977). There are always found some elites who are made responsible for making
important social decisions. Monopoly is central to the doctrine of globalisation because it appreciates a dominant monopoly
and the control of the state by few (Brown, 2003) because an efficient response towards any change can be possible by few
market actors (Torres, 2002). The World Bank and IMF are a source of monopoly in Pakistan and other developing countries in
keeping their economic status under their policies and their power (Rasool, 2007). The establishment of the elite schools,
colleges, universities during different political regimes, was spearheaded by individuals who were also influential in making
public decisions and policies. As noted by Khalique (2007 ), these schools enrolled the children of the ruling elites with the
purpose of studying ‘competitive’ knowledge to meet international demands. Thus a minority of top professionals like doctors,
chartered accountants, lawyers, pilots and engineers were produced by these institutions. On the other hand, the public sector
schools which serve the middle and lower income groups were neglected by the government. They were denied justice to
acquire a meaningful education for social and economic mobility up the ladder of success. If we see the history in post-partition
era the public schools had Urdu as medium of instruction comparing with the chain of highly paid English medium school where
English was implemented as medium of instruction. Due to their high fee structure, medium of instruction and foreign
examination centre these limited number of elitist schools managed to sustain a level of quality (Khan, 1997). It was propagated
that only the private sector English medium schools meant a qualitative or better education. To maintain the monopoly of the
elitists schools the standard and quality of education in public schools was fallen which was once producing successful
candidates in all careers (Rasool, 2007) Government encouraged new schools to just opt for a selected English-medium and a
high fees requiring education which was out of the reach of the less privileged classes who now demand this as a right to a
successful future (Mujahid, 1999). With the passage of time this difference in the field of education has divided the masses on
the basis of language and region which experimented several language riots, ethnic controversies and militancy in the country
(Khalique, 2007; Mahboob, 2003; Rahman, 1996; Haqqani, 2004). In today’s Pakistan, the divide between the rich and the poor
(private and public) is so great that it negates the concept of the welfare state promised by the first Governor General of
Pakistan for this newly independent country. The new education policy (NEP 2009) has once again neglected the uniformity of
the education system for a pluralistic country likewise Pakistan. Consequently, it can be easily observed that this policy will be
unable to fill the gaps rather the ideological difference will widen to an extreme. Pakistan in present is facing serious problems
of low and classified education system, stuttering economic growth, extremism and militancy. In such a situation a policy is
needed which brings with it a high quality education for many rather than excellence for few (Zajda, 2006).

Equity

Private education is beyond the means of the poorest people of Pakistan because the cost is too high. There is also unequal
distribution of wealth in the country which gives less chance to the people from poor families to get an access to the higher
education. In a neo-liberal economy, the government cannot put the things right and they are only concerned with staying in
the power. Indeed, the state has invested heavily in creating a parallel system of education for the elite who would presumably
run elitist state institutions in future. One can therefore conclude that the state does not trust its own system of education and
spends public funds to create and maintain the parallel, elitist system of schooling spread all over the country.

Decentralisation

One of the strong effects of Neo-liberalism on education policy making is its approach of “decentralization”. ‘Decentralization’
of education has been promoted by UNESCO, World Bank and IMF in 1950. This proposal was introduced with the global
development model which was implemented by some countries and many others have given serious considerations to do so
(McGinn, 1999). The purpose of decentralizing is localization of education. To achieve this goal the localization of the decision
making is essential with a high participation of the workers. It is worth saying here that this procedure is an invitation to
creativity and the usage of new knowledge (Trier, et al, 2008). It is therefore expected that the decentralization is likely to bring
several changes in the education systems of Pakistan and especially in teaching learning processes as well as assessment.
Pakistan in this regard has reviewed the NEP in 2005. The main reason behind this review according to the NEP document 2009
is, “New international challenges like Millennium Development and Dakar Education for All (EFA) goals, have gained greater
momentum in the intervening years and demanded fresh consideration. These challenges are triggered by globalization and
nation’s quest for becoming a “knowledge society” (p1). Thus the policy has taken the above ‘international challenges’
(globalisation) as a target which is stated in NEP as, “The foregoing articulations of the economic and social goals are taken by
the Policy as an appropriate basis for defining the priorities for national education policy. They lead to two over-arching policy
priorities. Given the important role of education as a key driver of economic growth and social advancement, the first policy
priority is to widen access to education for all. Improving the quality of education, particularly in its dimension of being relevant
to the needs of the economy, becomes the second strategic priority” (p20) It is clear that the education system of Pakistan is
multifaceted, and divided on the lines of quality and status. In such a system is it possible to attain Education for All? And
further what kind of education is intended for all- the madrassa, public, low cost private or elite private? And which institutions
are going to produce talent oriented generation- the rural or the urban, the Urdu medium or the English, the Uniform ones or
the paint shirt ones? Is it possible for a country with such a diverse system to implement a policy equally influential for all?
Reforms in any field needs consultation with the stakeholders for successful implementation. However in Pakistan reforms in
the field of education are directly imported from IMF, World Bank and other international organizations (Khalique, 2007;
Haqani, 2004). These reforms as mentioned above have least involvement from the stakeholders. Such reforms are mostly in
contrast with the ideology of the state, political will and local cultures which are not likely leading it for sustainable change.
Thus it seems like the elites and the ruling politicians claim these educational reforms for self projection and status quo.

Conclusion

Overall, we found out that, the educational policies did not take the demands and desires of the majority of the people. As we
pointed out earlier, globalisation can neither be denied nor resisted in Pakistan as it seems to be the modern and fashionable
wind of change. For example, English as medium of instruction is acknowledged by all the people of Pakistan but when the
quality of teaching is so different between public and private sector schools then concerns are raised. When the people note
that they are the citizens of the same country and they are suppose to enjoy the same rights and yet their offspring are
afforded education in schools that are quite different in quality then they are liable to ask why. It is acceptable that the private
sector has contributed positively towards the economy of the country; on the other hand it has tremendously favoured a
certain class of people and thus threatening the social cohesion of the country. This trend contradicts with the ideology of the
country which is Islam and the cultural norms which are based on the equality of all the people. In disregards of gender, social
status, religious background, age etc. thus the policies are there to represent and perhaps to reproduce the political regimes. It
is a l s o important to note that there are close links between equity in educational opportunities and equitable income
distribution and income growth. If the education system is constructed on a divisive basis, the divisions it creates can endanger
in the long run economic growth because an unjust society creates an unstable society and an unstable society cannot sustain
stable long term growth. Also it is not important that the successful policy in another country can be similarly successful in
Pakistan because climate of different countries is different for the achievements of demands in education sector. Thus perhaps
time is now ripe enough for the policy makers of Pakistan to turn around and revisit their policy making procedures. It is
understandably difficult to be autonomous in policy making if a nation is poor. But we believe that it is possible for a nation to
stand firm and hold against global institutions that impose policies that are inappropriate culturally, economically expensive
and have hidden agendas.

PPP

In fact, in order to locate the current position of the public private partnerships in the Pakistani education system, it would be
useful to provide an historical analysis of past education policies concerning the issue of privatisation. This is to emphasise the
importance of ‘periodization’ when analysing policy borrowing: according to Spreen (2004: 102) this helps us to understand the
historical context within which the policy lands along with an outline of its various phases. For this purpose the following policy
documents are considered:

Pakistan Education Conference 1947 Proceedings of Education Conference 1951 including Six-Year National Plan of
Education Development 1951-57 Commission on National Education, 1959 Commission on Student Problems and Welfare,
1966 The Education policy 1970 The education policy 1972-1980 National education policy and implementation plan 1979
National Education policy 1992 National Education policy 1998-2010 Education Sector Reforms 2000-2005 White Paper on
Education in Pakistan, 2007 National Education Policy 2009

There appear to be at least four phases of governmental policies towards the role of the private sector in education in Pakistan.
The initial phase from 1947 until 1959 shows a relatively positive attitude on behalf of the government towards private
education. It generally encouraged the role of the private sector and showed willingness to improve the situation to support
growth in the private sector. However, the overall responsibility of provision of education was seen to be within the remit of
the state. In the subsequent phase from 1966 until 1970 the role of private sector was seen as a problem rather than a source
of enhancing quality or efficiency: hence the 1966 Commission Report outlined difficult issues with the private sector and the
ways of handling them. Although the government refrained from stopping the work of private providers, it continued to
highlight problems with them. In 1972, the government brought an end to earlier criticisms and nationalised all private schools,
except religious education institutions. In this way the state took a very negative stance towards privatisation of education. Not
only the creation and management of schools but also textbook production were invested in the functions of the state. The
fourth phase emerged from a 1979 policy, which reversed the nationalisation and also encouraged private sector inclusion in
education. The 1992 and 1998 education policies went even further and offered various incentives and tax exemptions for
private entrepreneurs to establish private schools. A few examples from the 1992 Education Policy are presented below: The
Government is looking forward to a richer participation of the private sector in education development. The incentives built
into the Policy, and the Provincial and National Education Foundations, now in the making, should facilitate the growth of
education in the private sector and, in particular, the rural areas 9 Grants-in-aid and tax rebates shall be provided to private
institutions. Companies with a paid-up capital of Rs. 100 million or more shall be required under the law to establish and run
educational institutions up to secondary level with funds provided by them. The education sector reforms under the Musharraf
government between 2000-2006 favoured public private partnerships as a strategic choice for attaining educational goals
committed under EFA and MDGs. The Education Sector Reform Plan (2001-2004) provided many incentives for the private
sector to ‘flourish’ in the education sector (Pakistan. Ministry of Education, 2002, p.63). The incentives included tax exemption,
exemption of custom duties for educational equipment import, provision of land or subsidized land, along with subsidised
utilities. The ESR either initiated or strengthened the partnership programmes which included: Afternoon School System Up-
Gradation of Schools through Community Participation Project (CPP); Adopt-a-School programme; IT programmes in
government schools; Capacity building of School Management Committees (SMC); and Education Foundation Programmes. The
growth of private sector due to these policy initiatives has increased substantially. At present there are more than 30%
education institutions in the private sector (Pakistan. Ministry of Education, 2006). The table below shows the overall strength
of public and private institutions across the country at various levels. It is interesting to note that apart from primary and
university education most other levels of education are dominated by the private sector.

National Education Policy 2009 - a critique

The announcement of the National Education Policy, 2009, was supposed to be the starting point for a nationwide
debate on much needed systemic educational reforms. Yet apart from the odd cursory analysis or two, it seems as if
educationalists, academics, politicians and the media are largely uninterested in the contents of the document. The
silence of this group is puzzling and criminal in itself, but the larger and more important question is how good the
proposed NEP really is. And what better way to judge the national educators and policymakers that authored the
document than by marking them out of ten. 

Marks are assigned to the following critical areas as follows: correctly identifying the problems (two marks), proposing
meaningful solutions (two marks), proper implementation strategies and assigning responsibilities (two marks) and
independent feedback mechanisms for reporting on progress and quality of reforms (two marks). One mark is for
general neatness, grammar and organisation of the report and one mark I reserve for myself — to give as I please —
as the privilege of being the examiner.

The NEP puts the right foot forward by recognising the two major weaknesses in the current system 1) low access
and quality of education and 2) dearth and misappropriation of funds. It then clearly identifies the class barriers that a
tripartite (public, A/O level, madrasa) system creates and expresses the desire to move away from the status quo by
reviving confidence in public-sector education. It accepts that it is the failure of the state to provide quality public
education for all that has resulted in the mushrooming of private institutions and madrasas, which by-and-large are
free from any sorts of checks and balances. It accepts that the national curriculum is in dire need of reform and
understands the need for greater provincial autonomy when it comes to administration. It also understands that lack
of proper training and pay-scales correlates directly to a reduction in the quality of education. One point where the
report is notably silent is on the inclusion of minorities with respect to curriculum subjects. However, all in all, a
comprehensive analysis and an excellent start, two marks out of two.

The most visible and perhaps the only solution worth celebrating provided in the report is decision to increase
educational spending to 7 percent of the GDP by the year 2015. However, the fact that the same government
reduced the educational funding allocation from 2.4 percent to 2.1 percent (actual amount spent was 1.7 percent) last
year creates serious doubts over it’s commitment to prioritise educational spending. The noncommittal attitude of the
current government with regards to its statements and policies also lend weight to the argument that the projected
figures are merely for political posturing and are unrealistic at the very least. 

While the previous section clearly identified the pitfalls of a tripartite educational system, the policies put forward do
very little to rectify the situation. Partnerships between private and public institutions are proposed while madrasa
reforms are hinted at. Details of any sort regarding how and when these objectives will be achieved are absent. 

Additionally, the policy sets itself a few notable milestones—i.e., provision of free primary education by 2015,
provision of free education up to metric by 2025, increase in adult literacy rates to 86 percent by 2015, increase in
higher education enrolment from 4.7 percent to 10 percent in 2015 and 15 percent in 2020. What is most worrying
about all these milestones is that they seemed to have been plucked out of thin air, with no data provided to show
any projections that might have been carried out. In the absence of any such projections, these numbers seem to be
more of a wish-list than the result of any careful planning and deliberation.

This wish-list attitude has been notably present in all previous educational policy documents that successive military
and civilian governments have come up with. It’s also notable that all such policies spread themselves too thin over
what they hope to achieve rather than certain key areas to focus on. The NEP is no different in this regard, and for
that reason, the recommendations and milestones it proposes seem highly unrealistic and just for political gain.
Hence, for the reasons of not providing any visionary leadership, failing to ground projections on reality and strong
allegations of doublespeak, I am compelled to give the solutions section a poor 0.5 out of 2.

After the particularly disappointing solutions section, the implementation plan needs to be clear, concise and to the
point. It does exactly that when it proudly states “The NEP thus outlines what is to be done. The NEP does not deal
with who will do what, how will something be done and when is something done.” 0 marks out of 2.

To report on the nonexistent implementation framework, the NEP proposes the setting up of a national forum—i.e.,
the inter-provincial education ministers (IPEM). Under this framework, the IPEM will serve as both the judge and the
executioner in that it is both responsible for creating an implementation roadmap as well as gathering data to see how
well the implementation is being carried out. Those familiar with public policy and development work will know that
policymaking and research bodies are kept separate and independent from each other so that their conclusions can
be considered to be unbiased. On a brighter note this section talks of implementing both 1) greater provincial
autonomy and 2) greater interaction between policy monitoring bodies such as the Higher Education Commission
(HEC) and the National Vocation and Technical Education Commission (NAVTEC), though again details regarding
how these goals will be achieved are notably absent. Therefore for getting the very basics of policy monitoring wrong,
this section gets graded 0.5 out of 2. 

On the general neatness, grammar and organisation front, this report gets a 0.5 out of 1. Half-a-mark has been
docked for it being very repetitive between sections and in places referring to itself as NEP 2008.

It’s clearly apparent that NEP 2009 is not the solution to the myriad of problems plaguing our educational system. The
situation is extremely grim, given that work on the NEP was started as way back as 2005 and that it serves as an
educational policy document for the next 10 years of our nation. Furthermore there is the highly contentious fourth
chapter of Islamic education. Including such a section into the national policy document is clearly a political move. In
doing so it risks further alienating the religious minorities which are already under significant pressures following
recent attacks and events. The chairman of the Pakistan Minorities Teachers Association (PMTA) has already
condemned the policy, calling it discriminatory towards non-Muslims. Educationalists also hold the opinion that this
education policy, like all others before it, violates the article guaranteeing religious freedom in the Constitution when it
makes Islamiyat a compulsory subject from grade 1 to 12.

It is clear from the scorecard that the NEP is merely an elaborate exercise in political posturing and offers very little in
terms of meaningful reform. And while the responsibility for this lack of vision and determination falls largely on the
shoulders of the current government, the silent members must also be taken to task; educators and policymakers for
their inability to create a national debate on the subject, political parties for being uninterested in taking ownership in
the educational arena, the media for showing more interest in the conspiracies of ex-generals than in education, so-
called secular parties for not protesting over the Islamic education chapter and all of us for our general disinterest in
the genuine problems that face our nation and the possible solutions that might help put us on the long road back.

As those that are keeping count will notice, I haven’t allocated my final mark yet. That’s because it hardly matters. At
the current score of 3/9, even my deciding editorial vote is not enough to help NEP 2009 reach the minimum 50-
percent massing mark.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF PAKISTAN'S EDUCATION POLICY 2009

The present government of Pakistan is aiming at increasing the literacy rate of the country, and
develops the education sector of the country; therefore, the government has announced the new
education policy. As is the previous education policy, the government has used incremental approach
in making the new education policy.
INCREMENTAL POLICY
The government has used incremental approach in designing the current education policy, this policy
has not been made through proper research and surveys and is mere revised version of previous
policy. The incremental approach may not be appropriate for the current scenario which Pakistan is
facing now days.
UNIFORMITY IN EDUCATION SYSTEM
This is the very good and effective measure taken by the government, aiming at establishing uniform
education system all over the country. There has been a great difference between the education
system in big cities and small cities and villages; this also causes discrimination among the people
residing in different regions, some having good quality education and other low quality education. The
uniformity in education system is effective in providing opportunities of higher studies to the people
residing in small cities. This will also help in achieving mutual cooperation among the four provinces.
GLOBALIZATION
The policy is aiming at make the education system which is common in many developed countries of
the world. This is the positive step by the government in making competitive policy for the people of
Pakistan. To make the comparison with different developing and developed countries is effective in
making the sustainable education policy for the people of Pakistan.
SOCIAL COHESION
The government is aiming at making the public sector education institutions as the good quality
education providers that will provide quality of education to the students as equivalent to that
provided in private sector education institutions. The public sector institutions are accused of being in
effective and in efficient which curtail the individuals in climbing up the ladder in society. To remove
the ambiguity between the roles of federal and provincial governments, the consultancy board has
been establishing which decides the roles of both the governments not only for school level but at
higher education level as well.
BRIDGING PUBLIC PRIVATE GAP
The government in the education policy is aiming at bridging the gap between public sector
institutions and private sector institutions; the government has encouraged the provincial government
in facilitating private schools and encourages those people who can afford the private schools to take
admission in these schools. The government is aiming at creating public private partnership in
education sector including schools, colleges and universities this is a good step taken by the
government and this will help the development of education sector of Pakistan. The public private
partnership will also help in attracting more investment in education sector which is required in
abundance to promote this sector. This policy or government is very effective and will help in
sustainable development of education sector of Pakistan.
OVERCOMING STRUCTURAL DIVIDES
This has been very good step of the government, giving importance to the people residing in less
developed regions of the countries especially villages and small cities. The government has announced
that the equal opportunities would be granted to the people living in the less developed regions or the
people having low social status. The government has, in its policy, has given a due importance to the
English language study especially in the schools located in villages and small cities. This has been a
very good effort of the government and will be useful in raising the living standards of the people of
Pakistan. Giving importance to the people living in small cities and villages will reduce the social
imbalance and increase the living standards.
MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING CAPACITY
To make the professional environment in the education sector, the government in its policy has
announced that the education policies and plans would be made and implemented solely by the
education experts and managers, the planning and implementation process of education polices would
be transparent and the public representatives and civil servants will not intervene in the process and
no policy would be made for any political gain. The politics will be excluded from education sector for
making it more effective and efficient.
Establishing a National Standards and Certification Agency for Education Management and Information
System EMIS for monitoring and evaluation will make the process more transparent and efficient.
INVOLVEMENT OF COMMUNITIES
Firs time, in the education policy, the government is taking inputs from the communities i.e.,
teachers, students and parents, this is very positive step towards the sustainable improvement in the
quality of education, and development of this sector. The training of teachers and principals for
mobilizing the inputs of communities is effective in obtaining the feedback which will help in improving
the policy.
ISLAMIC EDUCATION
Just like previous policy, in this policy as well, the government has given due importance to the
Islamic education in Pakistan. The policy regarding Islamic education is similar to that of previous
education policy.
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
The government in its policy has given a due importance to the quality of education provided to the
children at early stage of their education. Previous policy has to some extent ignored this. This step
will be useful in improving the quality of education from grass root level this step will also help in
improving the living standard and will help in raising living standard.
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
The government has set a target in its education policy to bring all children from 6 to 10 years in
elementary schools by 2015. The government has set the target but no plan has been made to
encourage the children to take admission in the schools. This target of government to bring all
children to schools by 2015 is unrealistic. Because due to rising inflation the cost of living is increasing
day by day and most of the population is living by hand to mouth. The poverty is increasing at a rapid
rate therefore, the number of children going to school is decreasing, and the government cannot
achieve this target unless the poverty is reduced to minimum. In the policy the government has not
been able to justify that how it is going to achieve this target. To set this target is unrealistic and is
not achievable with only five years time frame.
SECONDARY AND HIGHER EDUCATION
The government has aimed at providing the higher education for girls and the development of high
schools and colleges in the localities where there are no or very low amount of higher education
schools or colleges. This policy of government aims at development of underdeveloped regions of the
country and promotes the higher education in these regions. The promotion of higher education is
very critical for raising the living standard of the country.
This policy has included grade XI and XII in school system which is common in advanced countries as
USA and UK. The policy is also aiming at developing skills of the students to train them to perform
different task and earn their living through self employment and other vocational and technical
education.
LITERACY AND FORMAL EDUCATION
The government in its policy has set the target to increase the literacy rate to 85% by 2015, this
target set by the government is very ambitious and difficult to achieve. The government has set the
target but has not been able to provide the implementation procedures to achieve this target. To
achieve this target of 85% literacy rate within five years is unrealistic. To improve the literacy rate,
the education of children as well as adult is required. And to make people go to school is very difficult
in current scenario where inflation is at its peak and cost of living is very difficult to meet. Therefore,
the target set is not properly planed and it seems that government has set the target without proper
survey, research and planning. More over the steps described by the government are vague and
unclear they do not provide a guide line how the government policy will work and how it will be
implemented.
EMERGENCY EDUCATION
In the present situation which Pakistan is facing, the government has made a very effective step in
providing education to the students regarding emergency situation. This education would be provided
to the students of colleges and schools to train them so they will be able to cope with the emergency
or crisis situation. This is a positive point in the education policy, and these types of measures are not
present in the previous policy.
IMPROVING QUALITY OF EDUCATION
The government in its policy is determined in improving the quality of education in the country, for
this purpose the government has described various steps in the policy including training of teachers so
they would be able to provide quality education to the students. The government has announced that
the curriculum would be revised and new and improved course would be taught to students so that
they would be able to get the latest education and would be able to compete with the international
students. The training of teachers would be helpful in providing latest education to the students in
accordance with the latest trends.
Quality of Text Books and learning education will be improved to raise the living standards, in the
policy the government has announced that new and improved text books would be provided to the
students in elementary and higher schools. Improving the quality of education is an important step
and will help in improving the living standard. The policy is also aiming at improving the assessment
procedure of the exams to achieve fair and transparent system of assessment.
CONCLUSION
IMPLEMENTATION
The government has made a good education policy, and the aims and objectives of the government
are at increasing the literacy rate of the country and development of education sector within five
years. The government has made targets and defined the policy to be implemented. The major
problem which the government faces is the implementation process. The government has made the
good policy, the implementation of policies is not up to the mark and the main reason for poor
implementation is the lack of institutions, the implementation process of the government is ineffective
which makes the policies of the government ineffective and the desired results are not achieved.
The policy designed is good and will only be successful if there are implemented as is desired.

Pakistan Health Care Policies and Developments 

National public health is a recent innovation in Pakistan. In prepartition India, the British provided health care
for government employees but rarely attended to the health needs of the population at large, except for
establishing a few major hospitals, such as Mayo Hospital in Lahore, which has King Edward Medical
College nearby. Improvements in health care have been hampered by scarce resources and are difficult to
coordinate nationally because health care remains a provincial responsibility rather than a central
government one. Until the early 1970s, local governing bodies were in charge of health services.

National health planning began with the Second Five-Year Plan (1960-65) and continued through the Eighth
Five-Year Plan (1993- 98). Provision of health care for the rural populace has long been a stated priority, but
efforts to provide such care continue to be hampered by administrative problems and difficulties in staffing
rural clinics. In the early 1970s, a decentralized system was developed in which basic health units provided
primary care for a surrounding population of 6,000 to 10,000 people, rural health centers offered support and
more comprehensive services to local units, and both the basic units and the health centers could refer
patients to larger urban hospitals.

In the early 1990s, the orientation of the country's medical system, including medical education, favored the
elite. There has been a marked boom in private clinics and hospitals since the late 1980s and a
corresponding, unfortunate deterioration in services provided by nationalized hospitals. In 1992 there was
only one physician for every 2,127 persons, one nurse for every 6,626 persons, and only one hospital for
every 131,274 persons. There was only one dentist for every 67,757 persons.

Medical schools have come under a great deal of criticism from women's groups for discriminating against
females. In some cities, females seeking admission to medical school have even held demonstrations
against separate gender quotas. Males can often gain admission to medical schools with lower test scores
than females because the absolute number for males in the separate quotas is much greater than that for
females. The quota exists despite the pressing need for more physicians available to treat women.
 The government has embarked on a major health initiative with substantial donor assistance. The initial
phase of an estimated US$140 million family health project, which would eventually aid all four provinces,
was approved in July 1991 by the government of Pakistan and the World Bank, the latter's first such project
in Pakistan. The program is aimed at improving maternal health care and controlling epidemic diseases in
Sindh and the NorthWest Frontier Province. It will provide help for staff development, particularly in training
female paramedics, and will also strengthen the management and organization of provincial health
departments. The estimated completion date is 1999. The second stage of the project will include Punjab
and Balochistan.

In addition to public- and private-sector biomedicine, there are indigenous forms of treatment. Unani
Tibb(Arabic for Greek medicine), also called Islami-Tibb, is Galenic medicine resystematized and
augmented by Muslim scholars. Herbal treatments are used to balance bodily humors. Practitioners, hakims,
are trained in medical colleges or learn the skill from family members who pass it down the generations.
Some manufactured remedies are also available in certain pharmacies. Homeopathy, thought by some to be
"poor man's Western medicine," is also taught and practiced in Pakistan. Several forms of religious healing
are common too. Prophetic healing is based largely on the hadith of the Prophet pertaining to hygiene and
moral and physical health, and simple treatments are used, such as honey, a few herbs, and prayer. Some
religious conservatives argue that reliance on anything but prayer suggests lack of faith, while others point
out that the Prophet remarked that Allah had created medicines in order that humans should avail
themselves of their benefits. Popular forms of religious healing, at least protection from malign influences,
are common in most of the country. The use of tawiz, amulets containing Quranic verses, or the intervention
of a pir, living or dead, is generally relied upon to direct the healing force of Allah's blessing to anyone
confronted with uncertainty or distress.

It is a matter of privilege for me to present the new National Health Policy 2001 of the Ministry of Health, which was endorsed
by the Federal Cabinet on June 11, 2001. The new Health Policy takes forward the agenda for the health sector, espoused by
the Government of Pakistan. However, the new Health Policy has adopted a focused approach by identifying ten key strategies
for the health sector, which have the potential to bring about a major improvement in the delivery of health care and the
overall health status of the population of Pakistan. The new Health Policy provides an overall national vision for the Health
Sector based on “Health for All” approach. Under the new Health Policy, health sector investments are being viewed a part of
the Government’s Poverty Alleviation Plan; priority attention has been accorded to the primary and secondary tiers of the
health sector; and good governance is seen as the basis for health sector reforms to achieve quality health care. The key to the
success of the new Health Policy lies in its implementation. This is not an easy task but is by no means impossible. The new
Health Policy has outlined implementation modalities and has set targets and a time frame for each of the key areas identified
that would be implemented over a 10-year period. These have to be implemented in partnership between the federal Ministry
of Health and the provincial Departments of Health, and in close collaboration with the district health set-up under the Local
Government structure. The private health sector would also be taken on board while implementing the key policy initiatives.
The support provided by the provincial Department of Health in the formulation of the policy has been praiseworthy. The Multi-
donor Support Unit, Social Action Program, provided valuable technical assistance in the preparation of the new Health Policy. I
am happy to present this document to the public at large.

Key areas

Key Area No. 1: To Reduce the Widespread Prevalence of Communicable Diseases (i.e. EPI cluster of childhood diseases, TB,
Malaria, Hepatitis -B and HIV -AIDS 3 Key Area No. 2: To Address Inadequacies in Primary/Secondary Health Care Services 4 Key
Area No. 3: To Remote Professional and Managerial Deficiencies in District Health System 6 Key Area No. 4: To Promote Greater
Gender Gender Equity in the Health Sector 8 Key Area No. 5: To Bridge the Basic Nutrition Gaps in the Targetpopulation i.e.
children, women and vulnerable population groups 9 Key Area No. 6: To Correct Urbal Bias in the Health Sector Implementation
Modalities. 9 Key Area No. 7: To introduce required Regulation in the Private Medical Sector 10 Key Area No. 8: To Create Mass
Awareness in Public Health Matters 10 Key Area No. 9: To Effect Improvements in the Drug Sector with a View to Ensuring the
Availability, Affordability and Quality of Drugs in the Country 11 Key Area No. 10: Capacity Building for Health Policy Monitoring
in the Ministry of Health

NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY, 2001 Ministry of Health Government of Pakistan

1. KEY FEATURES OF THE POLICY

The new policy has the following key features

1.1 Health sector investments are viewed as part of Government's Poverty Alleviation Plan; 1.2 Priority attention is
accorded to primary and secondary sectors of health to replace the earlier concentration on Tertiary Care; 1.3 Good
governance is seen as the basis of health sector reform to achieve quality health care.

2. Overall Vision.

2.1 The overall national vision for the health sector is based on "Health-For-All" approach. The new health policy aims to
implement the strategy of protecting people against hazardous diseases; of promoting public health; and of upgrading
curative care facilities. 2.2 A series of measures, programmes and projects have been identified as the means for
enhancing equity, efficiency and effectiveness in the health sector through focused interventions. 2.3 The present policy
document is a blueprint of planned improvements in the overall national health scenario. It will require commensurate
investments and interventions by the Provincial Governments for improving health infrastructure and healthcare services.
The Federal Government will continue to play a supportive and coor dinative role in key areas like communicable disease
control programmes.

3. Concretizing the vision: 10 Specific Areas of Reforms

3.1 In order to concretize the above vision, 10 specific areas have been identified. These are: 3.1.1 Reducing widespread
prevalence of communicable diseases; 3.1.2 Addressing inadequacies in primary/secondary health care services; 3.1.3
Removing professional/managerial deficiencies in the District Health System; 3.1.4 Promoting greater gender equity; 3.1.5
Bridging basic nutrition gaps in the target-population; 3.1.6 Correcting urban bias in health sector; 3.1.7 Introducing
required regulation in private medical sector; 3.1.8 Creating Mass Awareness in Public Health matters; 3.1.9 Effecting
Improvements in the Drug Sector; 3.1.10 Capacity-building for Health Policy Monitoring. 3.2 In each of these areas,
strategic objectives have been identified and implementation modalities determined. The new health policy has developed
a clear view of what is required to be done in key areas, and the measures to be taken to achieve the envisioned goals. The
succeeding paragraphs will spell out both the strategy and the implementation modalities in tandem. The policy also
incorporates essential aspects like an appropriate time frame for implementation and indication of targets wherever
possible. 3.3 The National Health Policy, 2001 will act as a collective frame work and provide guidelines to the Provinces
while implementing plans in the health sector in accordance with their requirements and priorities.