The Main Problems of Education in Pakistan
This article examines the issues affecting education in Pakistan. The problems are multifaceted, including a need for more funding, inadequately trained teachers, transparency, and a failure to provide technical and vocational education. But there are also solutions. The challenges are global in scope and intersect with geography and gender. Several existing data sources offer a broad picture of the state of education in Pakistan.
Lack of funding
The lack of funding for education in Pakistan is one of the country’s key challenges. According to the Education For All Global Monitoring Report, Pakistan needs to increase per-student expenditures by ten times by 2030. To meet this target, Pakistan must double its spending on primary education and increase GDP allocations by almost three times. This situation is complicated in rural areas of the country, where the number of schools is low and far apart.
The education sector in Pakistan is experiencing a crisis. More than one-tenth of Pakistani children are out of school. Government-run schools need to be equipped with infrastructure and water supplies. Pakistan relies heavily on the private sector, but only a fraction of these institutions cater to low-income students. Because of this, many children need access to quality education. The lack of government oversight has made private schools viable for many families.
As a result of the lack of funding, many children in Pakistan have difficulty affording higher education. Their parents’ socioeconomic status plays a significant role in preventing their children from completing their education. While Pakistani rupees are valued at more than 105 US cents per Pakistani rupee, the country’s education system is not able to meet these costs. A lack of education is the number one cause of childhood poverty.
While education is an essential sector of the economy, funding in this sector should be addressed in developing countries. Most developing national governments need to recognize that quality education is critical to socioeconomic development. This, in turn, results in poor-quality teaching, low enrollment rates, and unequal access to education. Therefore, improving the quality of education in Pakistan is crucial for the country’s future. But how can we improve this situation? There are several key issues to consider when assessing Pakistan’s educational system.
Lack of trained and competent teachers
Public sector education in Pakistan suffers from outdated methods and a low teacher-student ratio. Consequently, students are illiterate and lack critical thinking skills. Literacy rates in Pakistan are only 53% overall and only 18% among women. The government should increase the education budget to 4% of the GDP to address this problem. In addition, the education sector must be better integrated into the national development strategy and be restructured to match the needs of Pakistan’s changing demographics.
Government schools must have enough teachers and be free from political interference to provide quality education. Studies show that teachers are the key to the education system’s success, so the government must invest in quality education programs and help teachers become more competent. Pakistan’s most significant barrier to quality education is the need for trained and qualified teachers. The lack of education in Pakistan is a national tragedy. But there is a way to solve this problem.
Teachers need the training to meet the challenges of the classroom. They must be able to assess students’ knowledge levels and adapt their teaching to their levels. Teachers must be given sufficient training, support, and supervision to improve their practice. With proper maintenance, development, and feedback, teachers can improve performance, which is reflected in the low levels of students’ interest in learning. Therefore, it is essential to invest in training and professional development for teachers to provide quality education to the students.
The need for qualified teachers is another major problem in education in Pakistan. In many schools, teachers miss more than two hours of teaching per day. This indicates a need for more understanding of the relationship between teachers and students. Moreover, a survey by the National Education Commission shows that only one-tenth of teachers in grade four levels display good teaching practices. These practices include regularly checking student understanding and providing feedback.
Lack of technical and vocational education
The government should take measures to free up schools and institutes of higher learning that feudal lords have occupied. These schools should be provided with proper education and training for the children. The government should pay special attention to technical and vocational education. According to the UNDP, 14 countries spend less money on education than Pakistan. Vocational and technical training centres should be improved to produce skilled youth.
The government cannot do it alone. There is a need for a public-private partnership to pull the majority of the population out of illiteracy. Moreover, the youth of Pakistan must be provided with vocational and technical training to enhance their employment prospects. These are the critical issues highlighted in the Human Development Report 2014, published by the United Nations Development Program. The report recommends a variety of ways to improve education in Pakistan.
Technical and vocational education can improve the lives of many citizens by providing employment opportunities and quality training. In Australia, over 34 per cent of employers deem technical and vocational education essential. Unfortunately, there is no direct link between educational courses and industrial needs in Pakistan. However, methods can be developed in partnership with the industry, which can help employers find qualified employees. The Pakistani government still needs to take coordinated steps to address these needs.
The government still needs to support the technical and vocational education system.
Even though TVET is essential to the economy, the education system still needs to be improved.
At most, five per cent of secondary school graduates enter a vocational program. However, these numbers are still high. The lack of training and technical education is an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed. The education system could be better, but progress must be made to overcome these obstacles.
Lack of transparency
The government needs to take drastic measures to address this issue. It should promote good governance and accountability across Pakistan and ensure that existing data is used to hold service providers accountable. This would provide a pure and robust nation. The need for more transparency in education in Pakistan has caused students to become disenchanted with the educational system and less motivated to learn. The government needs to increase its budget for education by 4 per cent of GDP and align education reforms with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
In 2017 and again in 2018, Human Rights Watch researched Pakistan. They interviewed over 200 people – predominantly young girls and women – about their educational experiences. The majority had stopped schooling altogether or had only started. Many parents also spoke to the organization. The report found that almost half of the interviewed children had undergone an education that did not provide the quality they needed. The number of ghost schools in the federal capital grew from 3 to 77 per cent in just two years.
In developing countries like Pakistan, political will is more important than budgetary constraints. Political will has to come from the top. The government has yet to focus on education indicators historically. Instead, it has focused on maintaining the country and its people. The results could be adequate quality education for all children. This is compounded by uneducated parents who need to recognize the benefits of educating their children. But the government should be held accountable for its mistakes.
While Pakistan’s education system has long been a problem, many ways exist to improve it. It should allocate resources more effectively and use them to address gender disparities. Education spending should be increased to meet the needs of all citizens, including women. It should also enhance the oversight of local education systems. It should demand accurate data on girls’ education. Monitor enrolment of girls and set targets for each province.
Lack of accountability
In a recent policy brief, the International Growth Centre describes the need for more accountability in education in Pakistan. The authors cite a randomized control trial that showed that learning levels in Pakistan are much lower in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa than in Punjab. However, the authors point out that the accountability system is primarily based on the country’s context. In addition, the lack of accountability is a factor in the low level of investment in education and the poor socioeconomic status of the country.
The PERs conducted by the government are generally low-quality and have little potential to improve the quality of education. Moreover, they focus on administrative issues rather than on teaching. As a result, teachers tend to receive the same passing score. This is a severe problem, as the appraisal system needs to promote quality. In addition, Pakistan’s education system needs to provide a plan to encourage teachers according to their performance.
In addition to the poor quality of public education, the country’s poor performance in primary education is exacerbated by gender inequity. The country’s poor governance practices and weak accountability frameworks have compounded the problem. Furthermore, the province’s geography makes it challenging for public education to reach its full potential. It’s time for parents to be more active in promoting quality education. It’s time to demand accountability from policymakers.
In rural Pakistan, there are few PD opportunities for teachers. Therefore, teachers rarely participate in professional development. Furthermore, teachers need to bring significant changes in instructional practices. The absence of accountability systems has made it difficult for teachers to improve their teaching practices. The study findings may lead to enhanced monitoring and improvement of teaching and learning practices in rural Pakistan. With these changes, students in rural areas would benefit. This study will provide a basis for further research into the issue.
