Significant Educational Policies and

Initiatives Current education

status

Submitted To:
M`am Sara Tariq
Submitted To:
Shahnoor
Iqra afzal

GOVT. TRAININHG COLLEGE FOR TEACHERS

OF BLIND, LAHORE
 CURRENT STATUS OF EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN
An estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16 are out-of-school.
Currently, Pakistan has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children (OOSC) with
an estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16 not attending school, representing 44 per cent of the total
population in this age group.

In the 5-9 age group, 5 million children are not enrolled in schools and after primary-school age, the
number of OOSC doubles, with 11.4 million adolescents between the ages of 10-14 not receiving formal
education.

Disparities based on gender, socio-economic status, and geography are significant; in Sindh, 52 percent
of the poorest children (58 percent girls) are out of school, and in Balochistan, 78 percent of girls are out
of school.

Nearly 10.7 million boys and 8.6 million girls are enrolled at the primary level and this drops to 3.6
million boys and 2.8 million girls at the lower secondary level.

Pakistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in South Asia at 49.9 percent. The male literacy rate is 61.7
percent and the female literacy rate is 35.2 percent. The female literacy rate drops to twenty-five
percent in rural areas of Pakistan. Girls’ school enrollment also significantly drops in the rural areas of
Pakistan. The enrollment rate for girls in rural areas is only twenty percent in grade school. Sixty-five
percent of Pakistan’s population is made up of rural citizens. Citizens in Pakistan face issues that affect
their quality of life. Issues such as illiteracy are linked to poverty and lack of basic needs. Feudalism and
patriarchy leadership has kept females especially from receiving adequate education.

Given the poor state of Pakistan’s education system and its already rising youth unemployment rate,
such fears are anything but unfounded. According to the Global Youth Development Index published by
the Commonwealth, a measure which uses the domains of civic participation, education, employment
and opportunity, health and well-being, and political participation to gauge the progress of young
people, Pakistan ranked only 154th of 183 countries, trailing sub-Saharan African nations like Sierra
Leone or Ethiopia.

Perhaps most strikingly, Pakistan has the highest number of out-of-school children worldwide after
Nigeria: Approximately 22.7 million Pakistani children age five to 16—44 percent of this age group—did
not participate in education in 2017. As shown in the table below, attrition rates increase substantially as
children progress up the educational ladder.
 Education in Pakistan

Federal Ministry of Education

Literacy (2018[1])

Total 70%

Male 75.5%

Female 59.8%

Enrollment

Total 55,616,000

Primary 40,650,010

Secondary 10,884,400

Post secondary 3,949,000

Sector Wise Distribution of Education Institutions

There are 31% private and 69% public academic institution in Pakistan.

Private
31%

Public
69%

Sector Wise Distribution of Students

37% student study in private sector and 63% students study in
government sector.
Private
37%

Public
63%

Sector Wise Distribution of enrolment in pre-primary education

Pre-school education is designed for 3–5 years old and usually

consists of three stages: Play
Group, Nursery and Kindergarten (also called 'KG' or 'Prep').
Private
47%
Public
53%

Sector Wise Distribution of Primary Education

Only 68% of Pakistani children finish primary school education.

Private
After pre-school education, students go through junior 13%
school from grades 1 to 5.

Public
87%
Sector Wise Distribution of Middle Schools

Middle school is comprised of grades six through eight and

high school.
After pre-school education, students go through junior
school from grades 1 to 5. This is followed by middle school from
Public
grades 6 to 8. At middle school, single-sex education is usually 39%
preferred by the community, but co-education is also common in
urban cities.
Private
61%

Sector Wise Distribution of Middle Stage Enrolment

The ratio of middle stage enrolment is 64% public and 36%

private schools.

Private
36%

Public
64%

Sector Wise Distribution of High Schools

Publi
c3 %
9

Privat
e6 %
1

Gender Wise Distribution of High Stage Enrolment

 Femal
e4 %
3
Mal
e5 %
7

Sector Wise Distribution of Higher Secondary Level

Public
34%

Private
66%

Gender Wise Distribution of Higher Secondary Stage Enrolment

Female
40%

Male
60%
ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL EDUCATION
Education in Pakistan is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of five and 16, or
up through grade 10, or what’s referred to as “matriculation” in Pakistan. It is a fundamental
right accorded by Article 25 A of the constitution. However, as noted, participation in
compulsory education is far from universal, particularly in socioeconomically disadvantaged
regions. According to UNESCO, the overall elementary NER in Pakistan stood at only 68
percent in 2018. While enrollment ratios in some major cities are close to universal, Pakistan has
22.7 million out-of-school children (OOSC), as mentioned earlier. Five million of these are at the
elementary level, and the numbers only increase at the middle and secondary school levels.

Sector Wise Distribution of Degree Colleges

Privat
e1 %
1

Publi
c8 %
9
 Gender Wise Distribution of Degree Colleges

Female
41%

Male
59%

Sector Wise Distribution of Universities

Private
44%

Public
56%

Sector Wise Distribution of Universities Enrolment

Private
14%

Public
86%

Among the most pressing shortcomings of Pakistani universities is a shortage of senior teaching staff.
While assistant, associate, and full professors must formally have a PhD, entry-level lecturers in most
academic disciplines except engineering, information technology, computer science, medical sciences,
law, and studio arts and design can teach with just a master’s degree (18 years of total education). Since
HEIs rely heavily on non-tenured lecturers, the percentage of teaching staff with PhDs is consequently
low. According to HEC statistics, only 21 percent of full-time faculty at Pakistani universities held a PhD
in 2015. Some universities did not have any professors who held doctoral qualifications.
Counclusion:

References:
https://www.unicef.org/pakistan/education

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Pakistan#Literacy_rate_by_Province

https://www2.slideshare.net/mubeenshah9/significant-educational-policies-and-initiatives

https://wenr.wes.org/2020/02/education-in-pakistan

https://wenr.wes.org/2020/02/education-in-pakistan

https://www.futureschool.com/pakistan-curriculum/