Access to free and compulsory education is a fundamental right of children. In Pakistan education is neither free, nor compulsory, nor easily accessible to all children.

In the 50 years since its creation, the country has managed to attain a literacy rate of 45%. In 1947, the first education conference set 1967 as the target date for achieving UPE (Universal Primary Education) for the entire country, including the rural females. This promise went unfilled and target dates were pushed forward. Many experiments were conducted in the education sector in the decades that followed, but none that led to positive results. The two most important steps that could have revolutionized the country’s education profile—increasing resources and making education free and compulsory—were never taken.

Budgetary allocations for education have remained consistently low. UNESCO recommends allocating 5% of the GDP to the education sector. In Pakistan it remains about 2% of the GDP, and even these meager allocations are not utilized efficiently. Actual spending is mismanaged and remains far short of the allocations.

The education sector today is afflicted by innumerable problems and putting it on track requires massive inputs in terms of planning, monitoring, material and human resources. Getting children enrolled in schools and making them stay means making schools attractive and education meaningful.

At present the state of many schools is characterized by shabby structures (in some cases no structures), little or no water and sanitation facilities, no learning material, abusive teachers (a major reason for the high rate of school dropouts), absent teachers, teachers with little or no training (in a study on the quality of teaching staff it was found that only 6 out of 10 teachers could pass a fifth grade math examination).

The level of learning that takes place in such an environment is reflected in a UNICEF report, The Realities of Girl’s Lives in South Asia, according to which 66% of children who completed primary school in Pakistan could not read with comprehension and 80% could not write a letter. These realities are evident to even poor and illiterate parents who find sending children into the workforce a more productive contribution to their households.

Ground Reality

Pakistan has about 184,000 primary schools, including about 121,000 government schools, an estimated 25,000 mosque schools and 38,000 private and non-formal community based schools. Approximately 75% of enrolled children attend government schools. The government intends to introduce core subjects at the primary, middle and secondary levels of the country’s over 10,000 madrassahs.

According to the Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (Round 4: 2001-02), 51% of the population ten years and older has ever attended school. This proportion is much higher in urban areas (69%) than in women (36%). The difference between the sexes is particularly large in rural areas. Punjab (54%) and Sindh (49%) have the highest proportions that have ever attended school; Balochistan (37%) has the lowest.

About 38% of the population 10 years and over has completed primary level or higher. The figure is highest in Punjab (40%) and lowest in Balochistan (27%). In Pakistan as a whole the percentage of males who have completed primary level is nearly double that of females, and the disparity is even more pronounced in rural areas. In Balochistan, only 6% of females over 10 have completed primary school.

Some 57% of 15-19 year olds in Pakistan have completed primary school, compared with only 15% of the 60+ age group. The proportion of 10-14 year-olds that has completed primary (30%) is lower than the 15-19 year-olds because many 10-14 year-olds are still enrolled in primary school.

The primary Gross Enrolment Rate is 72%, far short of the target of 88% by the end of the Eighth Plan (by 1998-99). The difference between enrolment of boys (83%) and girls (61%) appears to be widening. The Net Enrolment Rate in 2001-02 was 42%.

It is estimated that households spend an average of Rs 1,443 per year on each primary school student. Urban households spend more than twice as much as rural households spend on each primary school student. Four times as much is spent on students attending private primary schools as on students attending government primary schools.