Centre faulted for poor state of education in Pakistan

Experts say provinces spent over 15% on education, compared to 2.2% by federal govt

KARACHI: Holding the Centre responsible for the grim state of education in the country, a new report states that the government must invest nearly Rs6.5 trillion to ensure that every out-of-school girl in Pakistan has access to formal education by 2030

The study, titled 'Bringing All the Girls to School - A Case for Investment,' was authored by economist and public financial management expert Asim Bashir Khan and jointly published by a group of civil society organisations working for the right to education for girls in Pakistan

It revealed that at present, 22.8 million - or 44 per cent - children in the country were not enrolled in school, with the majority of them being girls.

According to the study, despite the demand and structural supply issues, the root causes of the grim state of education in the country has been the abysmal investment in the sector.

"The majority of the [national] budget allocated to education is spent as non-development expenditures, which merely contributes to the improvement of facilities or infrastructure," pointed out Thar Education Alliance CEO Partab Shivani, whose organisation is one of publishers of the study.

As a signatory of the 'Education 2030 Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action, 2015,' Pakistan must spend at least four per cent of its GDP on education, as well as allocate at least 15 per cent of its public expenditure towards education.

However, the report highlighted that while the provincial governments have been allocating well above this minimum limit of 15 per cent, the federal government has fallen short of the mark by a large margin, with allocations reaching 2.2 per cent at most.

Therefore, despite education being primarily a provincial subject, the onus of the responsibility to correct the state of education lies largely on the federal government, it added.

"The country cannot overcome its education crisis without ensuring at least 12 years of education for every Pakistani girl," insisted Shivani, claiming that by allocating six per cent of the GDP to education, Pakistan can ensure the expansion of infrastructure and improved facilities.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2020.