The Trump administration has suspended $845 million in funding for developmental projects in Pakistan. This USAID freeze is going to affect various social and economic sectors, most notably the education. The aid freeze involves termination of financial assistance for girls’ education in impoverished areas and suspension of all merit- and need-based scholarships at the university level.
Many individuals coming from low income backgrounds, including some of my class fellows, rely on these projects to pay their university fees. Now with the cessation of this aid, their prospects of completing education have dimmed even as they have progressed to the final year of their degree programme. With the government only providing a few scholarships, this aid freeze will now deepen the higher education crisis in Pakistan. With 2.5 million children in Pakistan already out of school, the education sector seems to be in a dire state.
With a lot of pressure now on the government’s shoulders to resume the halted projects while simultaneously dealing with the severe energy crisis and addressing the country’s circular debt, the provision of free and quality education for all is a pressing challenge.
Tehreem Makhdoom
Islamabad
