The Asian Development Bank has advised Pakistan to adopt Prime Minister Narendra Modi's education scheme -- Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society (ULLAS) -- to fix the country's dysfunctional system and impart quality training.
The Manila-based lender gave the recommendation in response to Pakistan's request for the financial support to improve the dysfunctional education system and impart education to all out-of-the school children.
The ADB recommends that the government adopt a strategic and multi-stakeholder consultative approach, drawing on international best practices, such as the government of India's new centrally sponsored Scheme "ULLAS" (Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society), according to the lender.
Federal Education Secretary Mohyundin Wani, who is also credited to bring drastic changes in Gilgit-Baltistan education system as chief secretary, had sought the ADB's assistance to develop a mechanism for a central education scheme.
The ADB emphasised that the ULLAS scheme emphasises the need for both federal and provincial governments to collaborate urgently to enhance access to quality education and can offer insightful lessons of success and challenges when considering a similar vertical scheme in Pakistan.
Under the Constitution, education is a provincial subject. However, there have been voices after the 18th constitutional amendments to standardise the syllabuses across the country.
Prime Minister Modi had approved the new centrally-sponsored scheme ULLAS for the five-year period to cover all the aspects of "Education for All".
The objective of the Indian scheme is to impart not only foundational literacy and numeracy but also to cover other components which are necessary for a citizen of the 21st century such as critical life skills including financial literacy, digital literacy, commercial skills, health care and awareness, child care and education, and family welfare.
The ADB's recommendation came just days before a scheduled visit of ADB President, Masatsugu Asakawa to Pakistan. The ADB president would meet with Pakistani stakeholders on Monday.
A Planning Commission's report revealed that Pakistan's education delivery system had become dysfunctional and all the 134 districts barring Islamabad were lagging behind on indicators ranging from learning outcomes to public financing.
The findings of the Planning Commission's District Education Performance Index Report 2023 underscored the human resource crisis in Pakistan where people are entering into job markets either with no or low education.
None of Pakistan's 134 districts could get the rating of high performing in the education sector. Out of 134 districts, 133 fell in the category of medium to low, according to the District Education Performance Index Report.
The ADB has offered to provide small-scale technical assistance to engage experts for developing and proposing a technical strategy in consultation with stakeholders involved in the National Education Taskforce. It said that the Prime Minister's Task Force was the most appropriate forum to discuss and reach consensus on this strategic approach.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has declared an education emergency but still there is a need for more coordinated efforts to improve the country's broken education system that is not producing quality graduates meeting the digital age's requirement.
The ADB has also backed the Prime Minister's Education Emergency Directives and desire to formulate the National Education Emergency Framework. There is growing consensus in Pakistan to work on the National Education Emergency Framework with one national framework and accountability with provincial leading on implementation.
Pakistan is urgently required to reduce the number of nearly 26 million out of school children by focusing on girls. It is planning to incentivize provinces to respond to Prime Minister's national emergency measures to work on addressing access and learning poverty in low performing districts with very low human development index and contribute in federal funds for out of school children
The Secretary Education had also requested the ADB's assistance to support the school meal programmes in the provinces and also insure the school buildings against any destruction caused by the natural disasters.
The ADB has informed that it intends to leverage grant support from the ADB's Japan Funds in Trust to enhance educational access for children in disadvantaged provinces through school meal programmes in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
It added that the ADB was in the process of sending a mission to Pakistan in the third week of October. During this mission, the team will also assess the potential for a new implementation arrangement, involving the Federal Ministry as the executing agency and the respective provincial departments of education as implementing agencies.
Likewise, the ADB has also assured that it will provide support to develop a comprehensive registry for school buildings in high-risk disaster areas through the upcoming technical assistance linked to the Climate and Disaster Resilience Programme. The financing plan may be sent to the ADB's board in the last quarter of this year.
The ADB said that another relevant programme of insurance transformation, slated for approval in 2025, may incorporate insurance for the identified school buildings as one of its components.
The lender has already provided $175 million worth of loans for two ongoing projects in Pakistan, Improving Workforce Readiness in Punjab Project ($100 million) and the Sindh Education Sector Improvement Project ($75 million).
The ADB informed Pakistan this week that it would also fund the Punjab Secondary Education Improvement Programme and will give additional financing for the Pakistan Social Protection Development Project.
The government is also considering seeking an extension in the Inclusive and Responsive Education (ASPIRE) project, funded by the World Bank in the aftermath of the health pandemic.
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