She has a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Politics from the LUMS. She has previously worked at the Research and Development Foundation (RDF) as a research associate.
The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023 was recently added to the corpus of work highlighting the worrying condition of Pakistan’s education system. Collectively, such reports and numerous academics have long raised a clarion call for an education emergency. However, these concerns have often fallen on deaf ears.
Findings of ASER 2023
Pakistan faces a major problem of out-of-school children. Recent estimates put this figure to an alarming 26 million out of 63 million children in the age bracket of 5 to 16. These children are simply out of the education system. However, the quality of education given to students within the education stream is also worrisome.
ASER provides the civil society and policymakers with an in-depth view of learning gaps for children inside schools. The report for the year 2023 assessed 1,53,354 students aged 5 to 16 years across Pakistan. They were tested on subjects of Urdu, English, and Math. They were asked to read a story in Urdu and a sentence in English. They were also tested on Math sums suitable for Grade 3.
National Average
Test results showed that 50% of students were able to read a story in Urdu. 54% of students were able to read a sentence in English. Only 46% of the respondents were able to solve the Math sums. This revealed that Grade 5 students lack the literacy and numeracy skills that a Grade 3 student should have. These statistics represent a clear learning poverty for students within the education stream.
Inter-Provincial Results
The report also reveals the alarming inter-provincial disparities. Education is an issue of the provinces because they are responsible for raising living standards for their people. Therefore, all provinces should prioritize education in their jurisdictions.
According to the report, the condition of education in rural Sindh is the weakest. Students clearing Urdu, English, and Math skill tests were only 39%, 22%, and 27% respectively. These are lower than the national averages mentioned above.
Public vs Private School
Another learning disparity raised by this report is between private and public schools. Students in private schools fare better than those in public schools. 49%, 51%, and 41% of students assessed in private schools passed the Urdu, English, and Math tests, respectively. These percentages dropped to 45%, 42%, and 35% for public school students.
Countries with minimal governments maintain public education systems because education is primarily the state’s responsibility. In Pakistan, private school proliferation was adopted to improve education. However, the current education system is fragmented with private schools, public schools, and madrassahs, leading to divisive outlooks and uneven learning outcomes. There is a pressing need to improve the quality and quantity of government schools to provide every child with learning opportunities.
Infrastructure
ASER 2023 also reveals the gap in the infrastructure and facilities of public and private schools. It surveyed 4,364 government schools and 1,654 private schools, madrassahs, and non-formal schools. According to the findings, clean drinking water is provided in 65% of the public and 82% of the private schools. The absence of basic infrastructure and facilities such as boundary walls, usable furniture, functional toilets, and others add to the reasons for high dropout rates, especially for the security of girls.
Gender Gap
A wide gender gap in enrollment was reported. For enrollment in public schools, 42% were girls, and 58% were boys. In private schools, 43% were girls and 57% of the enrolled were boys.
This aptly reflects the constraints around the education of girls. Household chores, care of younger siblings, unsafe and long distances to schools, and early marriages are some common reasons that hinder girls’ education. Worse even, they are deliberately kept uneducated. Unaware of their rights and the world outside their homes, girls are easier to control by parents and later by in-laws and husbands.
Apart from the difference in enrollment, the learning outcomes are reported to be weaker among girls. 50%, 54%, and 49% of the boys passed Urdu, English and Math tests respectively. These numbers dropped to 45%, 49%, and 45% for girls. Chores assigned to girls in homes lead to a time shortage for studying.
Tuition Culture
Moreover, the tuition culture in Pakistan runs unchecked. Teachers with a conflict of interests deliberately reduce the quality of education or do not teach in schools to ensure clients’ attendance in the evening in tuition centers. Not only does this take away students’ time for extra-curricular activities, something of equal importance for personal and career development, but it also hinders their ability to self-study.
According to the report, 22% of private school and 6% of public school children opt for tuition. This is again based on the income scale of their parents, sustaining inequalities between the rich and the poor.
ASER 2023 also added a section on climate change. The floods of 2022 damaged 34,000 schools and left the displaced in search of basic survival. In this, the education of children, especially girls, took a backseat, increasing dropouts, early marriages, and child labor. It is estimated that the floods of 2022 negatively affected the education of 30% of children nationwide, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan. In this context, a nationwide education emergency is long overdue. In times to come, the recurring threat of climate change disasters has to be added to the education policy.
Dangers of the Public vs Private Divide
Pakistan must work on these issues and many more. In a country where 63 million people are children between the ages of 5 and 16, the emerging youth bulge can easily become a disaster if not educated.
The children left with learning poverty and illiteracy will not be able to contribute productively to Pakistan’s economy. Nor will they be able to break free from the cycle of poverty and achieve economic and social mobility. With harsh disparities between public and private schools, inequalities between the poor and the rich will not be alleviated. Ultimately, the rich in private schools will have access to the literacy and numeracy skills required in the market. While the poor will remain in the endless cycle of poverty.
A fragmented education system of private schools, government schools, and madrassahs also translates into a fragmented and divided youth stifling national integration. Children, unequipped with any technical skill, will not be able to compete in the emerging global technological boom. Alarmingly, uneducated youth with no jobs and a polarizing worldview gained from different streams of education are easy targets for extremist ideas.
Way Forward
To solve the learning crisis, the previous government launched the policy of a “Single National Curriculum.” Emphasis on a single unified curriculum threw the baby out with the bathwater. The focus should have instead been on the need for minimum standards of learning outcomes for all schools and provinces.
The findings of ASER 2023 on inter-provincial and public/private disparities necessitate a priority on education standards. Therefore, a national consensus is needed to prioritize education. Minimum standards along the lines of literacy and numeracy questions of ASER 2023 must be maintained for every child in school.
Funding
An increase in the expenditure on education is urgently needed. 26 million children are out of school due to multiple reasons. 34 thousand schools were destroyed because of the 2022 floods. Despite these gaps, Pakistan’s expenditure on education is 1.7% of its gross domestic product (GDP). In comparison, the South Asian average is 2.7% of the GDP. The global average is 3.7% of the GDP. Furthermore, UNESCO recommends spending 4% of the GDP on education. Raising the expenditure on education along these lines should be a policy of both the federal and provincial governments.
The education of children aged 5 to 16 should be in liaison with the “Adult Literacy Program.” According to ASER 2023, 53% of fathers and 39% of mothers in surveyed households have received an education. Student, teacher, and parent are the three nodes of the feedback system in education to ensure learning outcomes.
Teaching Methodology
Teaching methodology, largely based on the transmission of knowledge, should instead shift to applying knowledge. Cramming is rampant in schools at the expense of stifling a child’s cognitive development. Education in rural areas is often equated with memorizing the content (locally known as sabaq yaad). Training of teachers coupled with competent induction can facilitate improving teaching methodology to reduce learning poverty.
Transportation
Safe and free transport to and from schools is another important way to improve students’ education prospects. Unsafe and long distances from schools are major hindrances for students. Children are vulnerable to harassment or abduction. A visible plan of action in other countries is the system of yellow buses, which provides safe and free transport for students.
Population Planning
Lastly, population planning is another holistic approach to improving Pakistan’s education system. Article 25A of Pakistan’s Constitution promises children ages 5 to 16—free and compulsory education. With a 2.4% increase in population annually, the state cannot provide children with their right to education as citizens and the future of Pakistan.
Conclusion
Education in Pakistan cannot be left to be provided solely by the private sector. Providing education to children is the prime responsibility of the state. The quality and quantity of government schools must be improved to ensure that every child, irrespective of gender, geographical location, or income bracket, is educated. Children’s constitutional rights and future can only be secured through a holistic and prioritized approach toward education.
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