1. Executive Summary

Pakistan’s Education Sector

An In-Depth Market Analysis

Market Overview: Scale and Critical Juncture

Pakistan’s education sector represents a vast market, catering to tens of millions. However, it currently faces an “Education Emergency,” signaling significant challenges and opportunities for transformation. Understanding its scale is the first step in analyzing its dynamics.

54.87 M

Total Enrolled Students (2021-22)

This figure highlights the immense scale of the education ‘market’ in Pakistan, encompassing all levels from pre-primary to tertiary education.

EDUCATION EMERGENCY

Declared May 2023

This declaration by the Prime Minister underscores the critical challenges facing the sector, including access, quality, and equity, demanding urgent and comprehensive interventions.

Market Segmentation: Enrollment Across Educational Tiers

The education market is segmented into distinct tiers, each with a significant student population. Analyzing enrollment at each level reveals the current distribution and potential areas for growth or intervention.

Student Enrollment by Educational Level (2021-22)

Primary education constitutes the largest segment, followed by pre-primary. Higher education and TVET represent smaller but crucial segments for advanced skill development and economic contribution. The data shows millions of students at each stage of their educational journey.

Institutional Landscape: Public, Private, and Religious Providers

The “supply side” of the education market consists of public, private, and religious institutions (Madrasas). Their respective shares and characteristics influence accessibility, quality, and the overall educational experience.

Distribution of Educational Institutions

Public sector institutions form the majority, but the private sector holds a substantial share, indicating a mixed economy in educational provision.

Private Sector & Madrasa Enrollment Share

The private sector accounts for a significant portion of primary enrollment, particularly in provinces like Punjab and Sindh. Madrasas also serve a notable percentage of rural children.

Key Market Challenges: Access, Quality, and Infrastructure Gaps

Despite its size, the education market is fraught with challenges. Millions are excluded, learning outcomes are poor, and basic infrastructure is often lacking, representing significant “market failures” or unmet needs.

26.2 M

Out-of-School Children

A staggering number of children are not enrolled, representing a massive untapped “market” and a critical social challenge. This issue disproportionately affects girls and rural children.

77%

Learning Poverty (10-year-olds unable to read age-appropriate text)

This alarming statistic (May 2024) indicates a severe quality deficit in the education provided, impacting future human capital.

57%

Public Institutions Lack Electricity

Basic amenities are missing in a majority of public schools, highlighting critical infrastructure gaps. Other deficits include 41% lacking drinking water and 28% without boundary walls.

Consumer Profile: Literacy Landscape & Disparities

Literacy is a key indicator of educational attainment and “consumer readiness” for further development or economic participation. Significant disparities exist across demographics and regions.

National Literacy Rates by Gender (2023 Census)

A persistent gender gap in literacy is evident, with males having a higher literacy rate than females nationally. Overall national literacy stands at 62.85%.

Literacy Disparities: Urban vs. Rural & Regional Extremes

Urban areas show significantly higher literacy rates compared to rural areas. Extreme regional disparities also exist, for example, between Islamabad and Torghar district.

Market Investment: Public Spending on Education

The level of public investment is a critical factor influencing the education sector’s capacity for growth and quality improvement. Historically, this has been an area of concern.

~2%

Of National Public Sector Development Program (FY 2023-24) Allocated to Education

This figure reflects ongoing low levels of public investment in the education sector relative to national development spending.

1.87%

Education Spending as % of GDP (2023)

Pakistan’s education expenditure as a percentage of its Gross Domestic Product remains low, impacting resource availability for schools, teachers, and infrastructure.

Strategic Outlook: Reform Initiatives & National Goals

Various national strategies and reform initiatives aim to address the sector’s challenges and steer it towards improvement. Key among these are Vision 2025 and the “Skills for All” strategy.

Pakistan Vision 2025: Education Targets vs. Current Status

Goal Area	Target by 2025	Current Status (Approx.)
Primary Enrollment	100%	Challenged (26.2M OOSC)
Literacy Rate	90%	~62.85% (2023)
Higher Education Enrollment	12%	11.22% (2023) – Nearing Target

Vision 2025 set ambitious targets. While progress in higher education enrollment is notable, primary enrollment and literacy rate goals remain significantly distant, highlighting persistent systemic challenges.

Single National Curriculum (SNC)

Aimed to standardize education and reduce disparities across public, private, and religious schools. Challenges include socio-cultural diversity, infrastructure gaps, and teacher preparedness. Emphasis on rote learning remains a criticism.

“Skills for All” Strategy (2021)

Focuses on equipping youth, especially girls, with green and digital skills for evolving job markets. Aims to align with SDGs for quality education, gender equality, and decent work. TVET enrollment, however, remains relatively low.

Pakistan’s education system is a complex and multifaceted landscape, characterized by a structured progression from pre-primary to higher education, alongside a diverse institutional mix of public, private, and religious seminaries. Despite being a declared national priority, the sector faces profound and persistent challenges in access, quality, and equitable funding. Millions of children remain out of school, learning outcomes are alarmingly low, and significant disparities persist across gender, income levels, and urban-rural divides. Governance issues, exacerbated by the devolution of education responsibilities and fragmented coordination, further impede progress. While ambitious reform initiatives like Vision 2025 and the Single National Curriculum aim to standardize and improve educational standards, their implementation is often hampered by deep-seated structural realities, including underinvestment, inadequate infrastructure, and a pervasive emphasis on rote learning over critical thinking. Addressing these systemic issues requires a holistic, sustained, and evidence-based approach that transcends policy declarations to foster genuine transformation and ensure inclusive, quality education for all Pakistani children.

2. Introduction: Overview and Context of Education in Pakistan

Contextualizing Pakistan’s Education Landscape

Education in Pakistan is recognized as a cornerstone of national development, a sentiment profoundly articulated by the nation’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who declared, “Education is a matter of life and death to our nations”.¹ This foundational belief has consistently positioned education as a “top government priority” within national strategic plans, including the Pakistan 2025 Vision launched in 2014, which dedicates two of its 25 key goals to the education sector.² The country’s rich linguistic, cultural, and ethnic diversity significantly shapes its educational environment, presenting both opportunities and complexities.³ Historically, the curriculum and textbooks have been utilized as instruments for instilling Islamic ideology and fostering a unified national identity.¹ However, despite this consistent emphasis and numerous policy interventions—including eight educational policies, eight five-year plans, and various commissions over 75 years—the sector has experienced continuous, yet often fragmented, reform efforts.¹

Current State and Urgency

Despite the stated national commitment, Pakistan’s education system is currently grappling with what Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has termed an “Education Emergency”.⁴ This urgent situation is underscored by critical challenges, including an estimated 26.2 million children who are out of school, a figure exacerbated by the widespread destruction of thousands of classrooms due to the catastrophic floods of 2022.⁴ The crisis is fundamentally characterized by pervasive systemic barriers related to access, quality, and equity.⁵ A particularly severe issue is “learning poverty,” where a staggering 80% of children at late primary age lack proficiency in reading, a rate significantly worse than the averages for both South Asia and lower-middle-income countries.⁷ This concerning figure further deteriorated to 77% by May 2024, indicating that a vast majority of 10-year-olds are unable to comprehend a short, age-appropriate text.⁸

The persistent gap between declared policy priority and actual outcomes is a critical observation. The research consistently highlights education as a “top priority” ² and a “matter of life and death” ¹, yet simultaneously presents alarming statistics: 26.2 million children out of school ⁵, 80% learning poverty ⁷, and stagnant literacy rates.⁹ This stark contrast suggests a fundamental disconnect. The frequent policy changes—eight in 75 years ¹—without substantial improvement ¹¹ indicate that the challenge is not a lack of policy intent but rather a failure in consistent, impactful implementation, adequate resource allocation, or sustained political commitment. This implies that policy formulation alone is insufficient to drive change; effective reform necessitates robust implementation mechanisms, transparent accountability frameworks, and unwavering political will that transcends short-term declarations and addresses deep-seated structural impediments.

Furthermore, education in Pakistan stands out as a sector highly vulnerable to external shocks. The explicit mention of “nationwide and severe disruptions” to schooling due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 floods ⁸, including thousands of destroyed classrooms ⁴ and the use of schools for flood displacement ⁸, reveals the inherent fragility of Pakistan’s education infrastructure. The subsequent increase in out-of-school children ⁸ and the disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups ⁸ underscore how external crises directly undermine educational continuity and exacerbate existing inequalities. This highlights a critical need for building resilience within the education system. Future policy must integrate comprehensive disaster preparedness, climate-resilient infrastructure, and robust, equitable distance learning capabilities to ensure educational continuity during crises. It also emphasizes that education is not an isolated sector but deeply intertwined with broader socio-economic and environmental vulnerabilities.

3. Structure of the Education System: Levels and Institutional Diversity

Educational Tiers

Pakistan’s national education system is fundamentally structured into twelve years of formal schooling, progressing through distinct levels. These include primary education (grades 1-5), middle school (grades 6-8), matriculation (grades 9 and 10), and intermediate (grades 11 and 12).² Prior to formal schooling, pre-primary education, designed for children aged 3 to 5, serves as a foundational stage, typically comprising Play Group, Nursery, and Kindergarten.¹⁰

Crucial academic milestones punctuate this progression. Students undertake the Secondary School Certificate (SSC), commonly known as Matriculation, examination at the conclusion of Grade 10, which is a pivotal determinant for eligibility to pursue higher education.¹⁰ Following this, the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) is awarded upon successful completion of years 11 and 12.¹⁰ Beyond the intermediate level, post-secondary education encompasses undergraduate studies, leading to bachelor’s degrees, and various technical and vocational training programs.¹⁵ The higher education landscape in Pakistan is substantial, with over 200 universities and 3,000 degree colleges operating across the country.² The Higher Education Commission (HEC) plays a central regulatory role, responsible for accrediting 202 universities in both the public and private sectors.²

Types of Institutions

The schooling system in Pakistan is broadly segmented into modern education and religious education, known as Madrasas.¹⁶

Modern Education: This category comprises two primary types of institutions:

• Public Sector Schools: These schools are established and funded by the government, providing free education, including textbooks and essential school equipment.¹⁶ The primary medium of instruction in these institutions is Urdu, the national language, with English typically taught as a basic subject.¹⁶
• Private Sector Schools: Operating on a fee-based model, students enrolled in private schools are required to pay monthly or annual tuition, with additional costs for books and other materials.¹⁶ English serves as the predominant language of instruction in these schools.¹⁶ A notable feature of some private schools, particularly in major cities, is the option for students to pursue international qualifications such as O’ levels (University of Cambridge), which allows for subject selection based on individual interests.¹⁶ The private sector plays a significant role in primary enrollment, accounting for 30-36% nationally ¹¹, with higher penetration observed in wealthier households and in provinces like Punjab (35%) and Sindh (30%).¹²

Religious Seminaries (Madrasas): Known in Urdu as Madaris-e-Deeniya, these Islamic seminaries primarily focus on religious subjects. The curriculum typically includes Quranic interpretation (tafseer), Hadith (sayings of Muhammad), Islamic law (fiqh), and Arabic, though some institutions integrate non-Islamic subjects such as logic, philosophy, and mathematics to broaden students’ understanding.¹⁶ The majority of madrasas in Pakistan adhere to the Deobandi doctrine of Sunni Islam, while a smaller proportion (4-10%) cater to the minority Shia population.¹⁷ Madrasas often provide free room and board, offering a crucial educational pathway and fostering social mobility for impoverished students, who often develop intense devotion to their teachers due to the immersive and intimate living conditions.¹⁷ However, these institutions have also drawn concerns regarding their potential to foster “religious radicalism” and, in some instances, serve as “breeding grounds for radical Islamic terrorists,” with reports of graduates being recruited for “jihadi training”.¹⁷ Approximately 13% of rural children attend madrasas at some level, with higher concentrations (over 20%) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and FATA.¹²

The co-existence of distinct public, private, and madrassa education systems, with their varying mediums of instruction, diverse curricula, and disparate funding models, inherently creates significant educational inequality.¹ This segmentation means students from different socio-economic backgrounds receive vastly different qualities and types of education, thereby impeding social mobility and potentially undermining national cohesion. The increasing reliance on private schools, even for lower-income families ¹¹, further entrenches this divide. Moreover, the concerns surrounding madrasas fostering “religious radicalism” ¹⁷ introduce a layer of societal risk, suggesting that while institutional diversity provides access, it also poses significant challenges to fostering a unified national identity and promoting social harmony. Addressing educational inequality in Pakistan therefore requires not merely improving public schools but also a comprehensive strategy to bridge the quality, ideological, and socio-economic gaps between these diverse institutional types. The Single National Curriculum (SNC) attempts to address this ¹, but its implementation challenges ³ highlight the complexity of harmonizing such a fragmented system.

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Landscape

Recognizing the importance of skill development, the government has established various Skill Development Technical Councils under the National Training Board, which operate through public-private partnerships.² In a concerted effort to address the needs of unskilled and economically challenged segments of the population, the Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training introduced the national “Skills for All” strategy in 2021.² This initiative specifically aims to equip youth, particularly girls, with green and digital skills, aligning Pakistan’s aspirations with global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to quality education, gender equality, and decent work opportunities.¹⁹ The program is designed to prepare the younger generation for rapidly evolving job markets and enable their meaningful contribution to sustainable industries, fostering both economic resilience and positioning Pakistan as a proactive participant in the global sustainability agenda.¹⁹

While the “Skills for All” strategy ² and the focus on green and digital skills ¹⁹ represent forward-looking initiatives to prepare youth for the evolving job market and sustainable industries, the relatively low enrollment in TVET (455,000 students in 2021-22) compared to general education (e.g., 25 million in primary) ² suggests that this sector is not yet fully leveraged. The emphasis on empowering girls and economically disadvantaged youth through TVET ¹⁹ highlights its significant potential for fostering social mobility and gender equality. However, the current scale of TVET enrollment indicates a missed opportunity for broader economic resilience, poverty alleviation, and addressing the skills gap in the workforce. For Pakistan to effectively harness its demographic dividend and address persistent unemployment, there is a critical need for substantial expansion and mainstreaming of TVET. This must be coupled with stronger linkages to industry demands and a concerted effort to improve societal perception of vocational training. Current low enrollment figures suggest that significant accessibility barriers, funding limitations, or cultural biases might still exist, preventing this crucial sector from reaching its full potential in driving inclusive economic growth.

Enrollment and Institutional Statistics (2021-2023)

The education system in Pakistan serves a vast student population across its various tiers. In the 2021-22 academic year, pre-primary education enrolled 11.35 million students, primary education (grades 1-5) accounted for 25 million, middle education (grades 6-8) had approximately 8.75 million, secondary education (grades 9-10) 4.5 million, and higher education 2.5 million.² During the same period, technical and vocational education enrolled approximately 455,000 students, degree-awarding colleges 820,000, and universities 1.96 million.² The total number of enrolled students across all levels in Pakistan was 54,870,964, supported by 2,139,631 teachers in 2021-22.⁶

The institutional landscape reflects this scale, with approximately 182,600 functional primary schools, 46,800 middle schools, 34,800 secondary schools, 7,648 higher/secondary/intermediate colleges, and 3,729 technical and vocational institutes nationwide.² The public sector accounts for 56.2% of all educational institutions, while the private sector comprises the remaining 43.8%.⁶ Tertiary school enrollment reached 11.22% in 2023, showing an increase from 10.62% in 2022, though this figure remains significantly below the global average of 40.35%.²⁰

The following table provides a comprehensive quantitative snapshot of Pakistan’s education system, illustrating its scale and distribution across various levels and institutional types.

Table 1: Pakistan’s Education System: Enrollment and Institutional Landscape (2021-2023)

Educational Level	Number of Institutions (2021-22)	Student Enrollment (2021-22)	Projected Student Enrollment (2022-23)	Number of Teachers (2021-22)	Projected Number of Teachers (2022-23)
Pre-Primary	–	11.35 million	12.09 million	–	–
Primary (Grades 1-5)	182,600	25.0 million	24.04 million	463,200	–
Middle (Grades 6-8)	46,800	8.75 million	9.10 million	434,300	–
Secondary (Grades 9-10)	34,800	4.5 million	4.64 million	587,100	–
Higher Secondary (Grades 11-12)	7,648	2.15 million	2.26 million	170,200	–
Degree Colleges (Grades 13-14)	3,000	0.82 million	0.63 million	57,700	62,300
Universities	200	1.96 million	2.41 million	69,600	–
TVET Institutes	3,729	0.455 million	0.44 million	18,300	–
Total Enrolled Students	–	54.87 million	55.60 million	2.14 million	–
Public Sector Institutions	56.2%	–	–	–	–
Private Sector Institutions	43.8%	–	–	–	–
Tertiary Enrollment Rate (2023)	–	11.22%	–	–	–

Note: Enrollment figures for pre-primary, primary, middle, secondary, and higher education are from Pakistan Economic Survey 2021-23.² More detailed enrollment and teacher data for 2021-22 and 2022-23 projections are from Pakistan Institute of Education.²¹ The total enrolled students and public/private institutional split are from Pakistan Education Statistics 2021-22.⁶ Tertiary enrollment rate is from UNESCO 2023 data.²⁰ Some figures may slightly vary across sources due to different reporting methodologies or aggregation periods.

4. Governance and Regulatory Framework

Devolution of Education: Impact of the 18th Constitutional Amendment (2010)

A pivotal transformation in Pakistan’s governance structure, with significant implications for education, was the passage of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution in 2010. This amendment fundamentally reshaped the distribution of legislative powers by abolishing the Concurrent List, which had previously allowed both federal and provincial governments to legislate on shared subjects.²² As a direct consequence, the subject of education, including higher education, was largely devolved to the provincial legislatures, making them primarily responsible for its administration and policy formulation.²²

A landmark outcome of this amendment was the insertion of Article 25-A into the Constitution. This article established the “Right to Education” as a fundamental and justiciable right, obligating the state to provide free and compulsory education to all children aged 5 to 16 years.¹¹ While provinces gained exclusive jurisdiction over most educational matters, the federal legislature retained a specific authority over “standards in institutions for higher education and research, scientific and technical institutions”.²³ This constitutional shift also led to the dissolution of 17 federal ministries, including the Ministry of Education, with their functions reassigned to the provinces, thereby extending provincial control to local government functions.²⁴ Despite this extensive devolution, the federal government retains residual duties related to education, including providing “special financial support, monitoring and harmonization” to ensure the effective enforcement of Article 25-A.²³

Key Regulatory Bodies and Examination Boards

The education system is overseen by several key regulatory bodies and a network of examination boards:

• Higher Education Commission (HEC): The HEC functions as a constitutionally established, autonomous regulatory body with the mandate to fund, oversee, and accredit universities across Pakistan.² It currently accredits 202 universities, encompassing both public and private institutions.² Following the 18th Amendment, the HEC’s role was intended to be guided by the Council of Common Interests (CCI), reflecting the shift towards provincial autonomy.²⁴
• Skill Development Councils: To promote technical and vocational education and training (TVET), bodies such as the Skill Development Technical Council and provincial Skill Development Councils (e.g., Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar) have been established. These councils operate under the National Training Board through public-private partnerships.²
• Educational Boards (BISEs): These boards are integral to the secondary and higher secondary education system, playing a vital role in setting academic standards and conducting examinations.²⁵

• The Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) is responsible for federal territories, including Islamabad, Cantonment, and Garrison areas, as well as Pakistani schools abroad. It is recognized for its rigorous examination standards, fair evaluation methods, and detailed curricula.²⁵
• Each of Pakistan’s four provinces—Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—has its own Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) operating at the district level.²⁶ Prominent examples include BISE Punjab, which is the largest and most widespread; BISE Karachi, the primary authority for high school and college-level education in Pakistan’s largest city; BISE KP; and various BISE Sindh boards.²⁵ These provincial boards are tasked with setting educational policies, designing curricula, and conducting examinations for secondary and higher secondary education within their respective jurisdictions.²⁵ In total, Pakistan has 32 educational boards, including public institutions, private entities like Aga Khan University Karachi’s Examination Board, and three technical education boards.²⁶

Federal and Provincial Responsibilities

Following the 18th Amendment, the primary responsibility for delivering free and compulsory primary and secondary education now rests squarely with the provincial governments.²³ However, the federal government maintains a crucial, albeit redefined, role in ensuring the enforcement of Article 25-A through financial support, monitoring, and harmonization efforts.²³ Despite the constitutional devolution, a significant challenge remains the persistent lack of effective coordination among the six different federal ministries involved in education policies, as well as between federal and provincial governments.¹¹ This has led to suggestions that the federal government should minimize its direct implementation role and instead focus more on needs identification, planning, and coordination among relevant authorities.¹¹

The unfulfilled promise of devolution and persistent coordination gaps represent a significant impediment. The 18th Amendment’s devolution of education to the provinces ²² and the establishment of education as a justiciable right ²³ were intended to empower sub-national governance and improve service delivery. However, the evidence indicates that this constitutional shift has not fully translated into effective governance. The “significant lack of coordination” among federal ministries and between federal and provincial levels ¹¹ suggests that the legal framework for devolution is not matched by robust inter-governmental coordination mechanisms. The recommendation for the federal government to focus on “need identification, planning, and coordination” rather than direct implementation ¹¹ implies that this ideal state of collaborative devolution has not been achieved, leading to fragmented and uncoordinated efforts.¹¹ While the 18th Amendment was a crucial step towards provincial autonomy, its full potential for educational improvement is hindered by persistent governance and coordination challenges. Effective devolution requires not only legal transfer of power but also significant capacity building at provincial and district levels, clear delineation of roles, and strong, formalized inter-governmental coordination mechanisms to ensure coherence and avoid duplication or gaps in service delivery.

Moreover, the centralized examination system functions as a significant bottleneck for quality and the cultivation of critical thinking. The extensive network of examination boards plays a central role in setting curricula and conducting exams.²⁵ However, the research critically points to a “flawed examination and assessment system” that has received “the least attention in reforms”.¹¹ This system is accused of reinforcing “rote learning” and being susceptible to “widespread cheating”.¹¹ The lack of international recognition for Pakistani qualifications ¹¹ and the preference for foreign-based O’ levels in private schools ¹⁶ further underscore the systemic failure of the national examination system to foster quality and higher-order thinking. This situation is directly linked to findings that textbooks are “not conducive to developing critical thinking skills” ²⁷ and that teaching practices are driven by “rote learning and passing exams” due to external pressure.²⁸ The examination system, rather than serving as a reliable measure of learning and a driver of quality, appears to be a significant impediment to educational progress. Its inherent design, which prioritizes memorization, actively discourages the development of critical thinking and deeper analytical skills. Any meaningful education reform in Pakistan must therefore include a fundamental overhaul of the examination system, shifting its focus from mere recall to the assessment of higher-order cognitive abilities, thereby incentivizing more effective teaching and learning practices.

5. Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Language of Instruction

Mediums of Instruction

In Pakistan’s education system, Urdu and English serve as the primary languages of instruction.² Public sector schools predominantly utilize Urdu as the medium, with English typically taught as a basic subject to introduce foundational concepts.¹⁶ Conversely, private sector schools widely adopt English as their primary language of instruction, reflecting a growing demand for English Medium Instruction (EMI) across the country.³ This demand sometimes comes at the expense of local languages, although English is a compulsory subject within the national curriculum.³ In addition to Urdu and English, provincial and regional languages such as Punjabi, Sindhi, and Pashto may also be taught in their respective provinces, particularly in regional language-medium schools.¹⁰

Curriculum Content and Structure

The curriculum for secondary education in Pakistan is structured around a combination of compulsory and elective subjects. Compulsory subjects typically include English, Urdu, Mathematics, Islamic Studies, and Pakistan Studies, while students can choose from elective streams such as science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology), commerce, or arts.¹⁰ In the early grades, from Nursery to Grade 1, the curriculum focuses on three core subjects: Science, Mathematics, and English. After Grade 1, the curriculum expands to include Islamic Studies and Social Studies.¹⁶

Public schools adhere to textbooks provided by the government, which are taught in Urdu.¹⁶ In contrast, private schools frequently use Oxford edition textbooks up to Grade 8, after which they are expected to transition to textbooks developed within their respective provinces.¹⁶ The existing curriculum has faced criticism for its perceived irrelevance to local contexts, outdated content, and a strong tendency towards ideological indoctrination, with history and social studies textbooks often omitting controversial facts.¹¹ There is a recognized and growing need to integrate contemporary social issues, human rights, constitutional principles, and climate change into the curriculum, starting from elementary levels, to foster a more inclusive and informed citizenry.²⁹

The Single National Curriculum (SNC): Objectives, Implementation, and Challenges

The Single National Curriculum (SNC), introduced in 2020 under former Prime Minister Imran Khan, represents a significant policy initiative aimed at standardizing educational content and reducing disparities across public, private, and religious schools.¹ Rooted in the “One Nation, One Curriculum” concept, the SNC mandates a unified curriculum structure, medium of instruction, and assessment system for grades 1-12, with the overarching goal of ensuring equitable educational opportunities nationwide.¹ A notable feature of the SNC is its provision for religious minorities to study their own faiths—including Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, Baha’i, and Kalasha faiths—for grades 1-5, aiming for greater inclusivity.²

Despite its ambitious goals, the implementation of the SNC has encountered substantial hurdles. These challenges include navigating Pakistan’s complex socio-cultural diversity, addressing existing infrastructure disparities, and adequately preparing educators to deliver competency-based education effectively.³ Initial outcomes have fallen short of expectations, largely due to discrepancies within the school system, insufficient teacher training, and persistent socioeconomic inequalities.³ Quantitative assessments further indicate a disparity in SNC success, with urban schools reporting greater success (mean=4.1) compared to rural schools (mean=3.5), highlighting the critical need for improved teacher training and resource allocation, particularly in underserved areas.³ A key criticism leveled against the SNC is its continued emphasis on rote learning and its limited adaptability to diverse contexts, which hinders its alignment with global educational priorities such as critical thinking, creativity, and sustainability.¹⁸

The Single National Curriculum (SNC) as a policy ideal faces deep-seated structural realities. The SNC’s ambitious goal of unifying education and reducing disparities ¹ is a direct policy response to the profound inequalities inherent in Pakistan’s multi-tiered education system.¹ However, its implementation is severely hampered by existing structural realities: deep-seated socio-cultural diversity, pervasive infrastructure disparities, and inadequate teacher preparedness.³ The observed disparity in SNC success between urban and rural schools ³ directly reflects these pre-existing resource and infrastructure gaps. Furthermore, the SNC’s continued reliance on rote learning ¹⁸ contradicts its stated aim of equitable and quality education, suggesting that curriculum reform alone is insufficient to overcome entrenched pedagogical practices and assessment systems. The SNC, while conceptually sound in its pursuit of equity, highlights that systemic educational transformation requires more than just a new curriculum. It necessitates substantial and sustained investment in comprehensive teacher training, significant infrastructure development, and a fundamental shift in pedagogical approaches and assessment methods to genuinely move beyond rote learning. Without these complementary, integrated reforms, the SNC risks remaining an unfulfilled promise, potentially exacerbating existing inequalities rather than resolving them.

Curriculum and the Cultivation of Critical Thinking Skills

National curriculum documents and education policies in Pakistan formally acknowledge the importance of fostering critical thinking (CT) and problem-solving abilities among students.²⁷ However, empirical studies reveal a significant gap between policy intent and classroom reality. For instance, text-based questions in subjects like Pakistan Studies are found to be “not conducive to developing critical thinking skills,” predominantly focusing on lower-order thinking levels such as remembering and understanding, rather than analysis, evaluation, or creation.²⁷

Current teaching practices and the prevailing examination system are heavily criticized for their over-reliance on lecture methods, teacher-centered pedagogy, and a singular focus on passing exams, thereby actively hindering the development of CT skills.²⁸ Teachers themselves recognize the importance of CT but face significant barriers, including large class sizes, inadequate training in student-centered approaches, and immense pressure to achieve high exam results, which often prioritize rote memorization.²⁸ These challenges extend to higher education, where universities are urged to promote critical thinking and prepare students for contemporary issues, yet the current curriculum often fails to meet modern education and research standards, contributing to a lack of quality education.³¹

This situation points to a systemic impediment to critical thinking development. Despite explicit policy recognition of the importance of critical thinking ²⁷, the reality on the ground—as evidenced by textbook content ²⁷, prevailing teaching practices ²⁸, and the dominant examination system ¹¹—overwhelmingly favors rote learning. This creates a self-reinforcing negative feedback loop: exams primarily test recall, teachers consequently teach for memorization, and textbooks are designed to facilitate rote learning, effectively stifling the development of higher-order thinking skills. The “pressure to produce good exam results” ²⁸ further entrenches this rote-based approach. This is not merely a pedagogical flaw but a systemic issue that impacts the competitiveness of graduates ³² and the nation’s capacity to address complex challenges effectively. Pakistan’s education system is structurally disincentivized from fostering critical thinking. Genuine reform requires a holistic and simultaneous approach that revises curricula to emphasize analytical skills, re-trains teachers in student-centered and inquiry-based pedagogies, and fundamentally overhauls the examination system to assess higher-order cognitive abilities. Without this integrated shift, Pakistani graduates will continue to lack the essential skills required for success in a rapidly evolving 21st-century knowledge economy.

6. Major Challenges and Disparities in the Education Sector

Access and Enrollment: The Out-of-School Children Crisis and Disparities

A significant crisis plaguing Pakistan’s education system is the alarming number of out-of-school children, estimated at approximately 26.2 million. This issue disproportionately affects girls and children in rural areas.⁵ The percentage of out-of-school children notably increased following the COVID-19 pandemic, rising from 17% to 19% in rural areas and from 5.6% to 7.8% in urban areas.⁸ In rural Pakistan, 18% of children aged 5-16, totaling 4.8 million, are currently out of school, with the highest rates observed in Balochistan (36%) and Sindh (20%).¹² While enrollment rates for children aged 5-16 in rural Pakistan have shown some improvement, reaching 82% ¹², the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) across all levels experienced a notable decrease from 2016-17 to 2021-22, with primary GER dropping by 21 percentage points to 76%.⁶

Profound disparities persist across provinces, income levels, gender, and urban/rural divides.⁸ Gender disparities are particularly stark, with boys consistently having higher enrollment rates than girls at all levels.¹² More girls (37.9%) are out-of-school compared to boys (26.1%) ⁷, and female literacy in tribal areas is as low as 9.5%.¹⁰ Girls in rural areas and children from the lowest-income households are consistently identified as the most vulnerable to educational exclusion.⁸ Income-based disparities are also significant, as the enrollment gap between the poorest and wealthiest children widened considerably during the pandemic.⁸ Overall literacy among the poor stands at 28% compared to 49% for the non-poor.¹¹ Regionally, literacy rates vary drastically, from 96% in Islamabad to a mere 23% in Torghar District.¹⁰ Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) exhibits wide variation, from 111% in urban Punjab to 41% in rural Balochistan.¹¹ Balochistan consistently records the lowest enrollment and highest out-of-school rates.⁶ The government has struggled to expand state education facilities sufficiently to meet the existing demand and bridge these disparities, with the annual increase in public primary schools falling short of requirements.¹¹

Quality of Education: Learning Outcomes, Infrastructure, and Teacher Effectiveness

The quality of education remains a critical concern. Learning poverty is a pervasive issue, with 80% of children at late primary age lacking reading proficiency.⁷ Assessments indicate that only 55% of fifth-grade students can read a simple Urdu story, and fewer than half can solve basic division problems.⁴ In rural areas, the situation is particularly dire, with only 49% of Grade 5 children able to read a Grade 2 level story, 34% capable of basic subtraction, and 29% able to read English sentences.¹²

Inadequate physical infrastructure further compromises learning environments. A significant portion of public educational institutions lack basic amenities: 28% have no boundary walls, 41% no drinking water, 57% no electricity, and 7% no building.¹¹ Specifically for primary schools, 61% lack electricity, 97% no gas, 34% no drinking water, 95% no telephone, and 23% no textbooks.¹¹ These conditions lead to uncomfortable and often unhygienic learning environments, especially in areas with extreme weather.¹¹

The education system also faces challenges related to insufficient and poorly trained teaching staff. There is a notable shortage of teachers, with an average teacher-to-school ratio of 2 in Sindh and Balochistan, often resulting in multi-grade, one-teacher schools in rural areas where a single teacher is responsible for multiple grades without specialized training.¹¹ Teacher recruitment is heavily politicized, with appointments and transfers frequently based on political affiliations rather than merit.¹¹ Teacher training institutes are often inefficient, and many teachers report learning little from their courses.¹¹ Moreover, contractual teacher policies lack adequate incentives for performance-based promotion or for attracting qualified teachers to remote areas.¹¹

Weak monitoring and management compound these issues. Post-2001, monitoring functions were devolved to district governments, and School Management Committees (SMCs) were emphasized. However, the capacity of district monitoring staff has shown little improvement. District Education Officers (DEOs) are often overburdened, lack transport, and face political interference, hindering effective accountability.¹¹ Monitoring staff frequently limit their roles to attendance checks rather than providing instructional support or pedagogical guidance.¹¹

Funding and Resource Allocation: Investment Gaps and Utilization Issues

Historically, education in Pakistan has suffered from chronic underinvestment. In 2004, only 2% of GDP was allocated to education, significantly less than the 4% allocated for military spending.¹¹ While an increase to 2.4% of GDP was announced for 2006-2007, its actual realization remained uncertain.¹¹ In FY 2023-24, approximately 2% of the total National Public Sector Development Program was allocated to education ², consistent with this historical pattern of underinvestment.¹¹

A disproportionately high percentage of the education budget is allocated to recurrent activities, predominantly salaries, leaving minimal funds for crucial development projects and infrastructure improvements.¹¹ Furthermore, less than 50% of funds allocated for development expenditure at the federal Ministry of Education are actually utilized, with similar low utilization rates observed at provincial and district levels, indicating a weak absorption capacity for funds.¹¹ The financial allocation and release system is complex: authority rests at federal and provincial levels, but actual utilization is highest at the district level. Provinces heavily rely on federal revenues, contributing only 10% of their own educational funding requirements.¹¹

The consistently low investment in education ¹¹ directly translates into inadequate physical infrastructure ¹¹, insufficient numbers of qualified teachers, and poor teacher training.¹¹ These deficiencies, in turn, are primary drivers of poor student achievement and alarmingly low learning outcomes.⁴ Furthermore, the high proportion of the education budget consumed by recurrent activities, predominantly salaries ¹¹, leaves minimal funds for crucial development projects, further hindering improvements in quality and access. The weak absorption capacity of allocated funds ¹¹ means that even the limited available funds are not fully utilized, creating a vicious cycle where poor quality justifies continued low investment, and low investment perpetuates poor quality. Breaking this entrenched cycle requires not just a significant increase in overall funding but also a fundamental reform of financial management, allocation, and utilization mechanisms. Prioritizing development expenditure over recurrent costs, coupled with robust capacity building for effective fund absorption at all levels, is crucial. Without addressing these systemic financial and management inefficiencies, simply increasing the budget may not translate into tangible improvements in educational quality or access.

Impact of External Factors: Climate Change and Pandemics

Pakistan’s high vulnerability to climate change implies that educational disruptions are likely to increase in frequency and intensity.⁸ The devastating 2022 floods, for instance, damaged nearly 7,000 schools across the country ⁸ and affected 22% of households in rural areas.¹² The COVID-19 pandemic also caused severe disruptions to schooling, leading to increased student drop-out rates, a rise in gender-based violence, child labor, and mental health issues among students.⁸ Although the federal ministry and provincial education departments launched several distance learning programs, including through broadcast media and online portals, the number of out-of-school children still increased during this period.⁸ Access to digital learning was highly unequal, with significant rural-urban disparities in cable connection access for broadcasted lessons, further exacerbating existing inequalities.⁸

The research consistently demonstrates that educational disparities in Pakistan are not isolated but rather intersect and compound each other. Girls, rural children, and children from low-income households are disproportionately affected by lack of access and poor quality education.⁵ External shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change-induced floods ⁴, amplify these pre-existing inequalities, hitting “the poorest the hardest”.⁸ This pattern suggests that the education system’s vulnerabilities are deeply embedded within broader socio-economic structures and environmental risks, making it particularly susceptible to external pressures. A truly inclusive and effective education reform cannot operate in isolation. It must adopt a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach that simultaneously addresses poverty, gender inequality, and climate vulnerability in conjunction with targeted educational interventions. Policies need to be specifically designed to reach the most marginalized populations, and resilience-building measures should explicitly consider the disproportionate impact of crises on already vulnerable groups to ensure equitable educational continuity.

The following table provides a quantitative overview of key education indicators and highlights the significant disparities within Pakistan’s education system.

Table 2: Key Education Indicators and Disparities in Pakistan

Indicator	Value	Source
Literacy Rate (Total)	62.85% (2023 Census)	10
Literacy Rate (Total)	58.00% (2019)	9
Male Literacy Rate (2023 Census)	68%	10
Female Literacy Rate (2023 Census)	52.84%	10
Rural Literacy Rate	54%	2
Urban Literacy Rate	74%	2
Out-of-School Children (Total)	26.2 million	5
Out-of-School Children (Rural, 5-16 years)	18% (4.8 million)	12
Learning Poverty (May 2024)	77% (children cannot read age-appropriate text by age 10)	8
Learning Poverty (Pre-COVID-19)	80% (children at late primary age not proficient in reading)	7
Primary School Completion Rate	67.5% (general)	10
Primary School Completion Rate (2022)	68.1%	20
Primary Education Expenditure per child (PPP)	USD 397	7
Education Spending as % of GDP (2004)	2%	11
Education Spending as % of GDP (FY 2023-24)	~2% of National Public Sector Development Program	2
Education Spending as % of GDP (2023)	1.87%	20

7. Government Initiatives and Reform Efforts

Pakistan Vision 2025: Educational Goals and Progress Assessment

Launched in 2014, Pakistan Vision 2025 is a national strategic plan that designates education as a top priority for national development.² The plan set ambitious educational goals to be achieved by 2025, including increasing primary school enrollment and graduation rates to 100%, alongside achieving a 90% literacy rate.² Additionally, it aimed to boost higher education enrollment from 7% to 12% and significantly increase the number of Ph.D. scholars from 7,000 to 15,000.²

However, a review of progress indicates a significant discrepancy between these ambitious goals and implementation realities. As the 2025 deadline approaches, the literacy rate has largely stagnated at approximately 60% since 2014-15 ², with the 2023 Census reporting 62.85% ¹⁰, falling considerably short of the 90% target. While higher education enrollment reached 11.22% in 2023 ²⁰, nearing the 12% target, the presence of 26.2 million out-of-school children ⁵ indicates that the 100% primary enrollment target remains highly challenging. Government allocation to education continues to be low, at approximately 2% of the National Public Sector Development Program in FY 2023-24 ², consistent with historical underinvestment.¹¹ The “U.S.-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor Ph.D. Scholarship Program,” established in 2015, is a key initiative supporting these higher education goals, aiming to leverage international partnerships to achieve the Ph.D. scholar targets.²

The ambitious goals of Pakistan Vision 2025, such as 100% primary enrollment and 90% literacy by 2025 ², are commendable. However, current data, including 26.2 million out-of-school children ⁵ and a literacy rate stagnating around 60% ², indicates a substantial and widening gap between these aspirations and actual achievements as the deadline approaches. This suggests that while the strategic plan is well-intentioned, it may lack the necessary political commitment, sustained financial investment, or effective implementation mechanisms required to achieve such transformative goals. The repeated declaration of an “education emergency” ⁴ further underscores the systemic challenges that prevent the realization of these targets. This situation highlights that comprehensive national strategic plans, while crucial for setting direction, require robust, long-term, and adequately resourced implementation frameworks to translate vision into tangible progress.

“Skills for All” Strategy and TVET Development

In a targeted effort to enhance human capital, the Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training introduced the national “Skills for All” strategy in 2021. This initiative specifically aims to address the needs of unskilled and economically challenged segments of the population.² A core focus of the strategy is equipping youth, particularly girls, with green and digital skills, thereby preparing them for evolving job markets and enabling their contribution to sustainable industries.¹⁹ This initiative aligns strategically with global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to quality education, gender equality, and decent work opportunities.¹⁹ The involvement of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) as a key enabler underscores the government’s commitment to ensuring effective implementation and maximizing outreach, reflecting a broader strategic vision of reducing inequalities and advancing gender empowerment through education and skill development.¹⁹

Public-Private Partnerships and Donor Interventions

Pakistan has seen a significant push towards public-private partnerships (PPPs) in education, leading to innovative models aimed at improving access, equity, and bridging gender gaps.¹¹ The ‘Adopt a School Programme’ is cited as one popular model for such collaborations.¹¹ Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are increasingly contracted for services such as teacher training, which has brought about positive changes within the system. However, a concern exists regarding their potential loss of independence as monitors of the state education system when they become service providers for the government.¹¹

Donor agencies contribute a substantial portion, almost 30%, of the development budget for education. These funds are often channeled through individual projects, a major portion of which are implemented via NGOs.¹¹ This approach frequently results in fragmented and uncoordinated interventions, potentially leading to resource wastage and exacerbating regional disparities, as some districts may receive many donor-funded projects while others receive none.¹¹

Recent Assessments and Evidence-Based Policy Reforms

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s declaration of an ‘Education Emergency’ in May 2023 underscored the urgent need for comprehensive reform to address the critical state of education.⁴ Recent assessments, such as the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023, provide critical insights into the educational landscape. This large-scale survey, covering 151 rural and 123 urban districts and assessing 272,370 children ¹², revealed that 18% of children aged 5-16 in rural areas are out of school. It also highlighted persistently low learning outcomes, with only 49% of Grade 5 children able to read a Grade 2 level story in Urdu/Siraiki, and a significant proportion (27%) of rural children attending private schools.¹²

In response to these challenges, initiatives like the DARE-RC (Development and Research in Education – Research Center) project, supported by the British High Commission, aim to generate high-quality, accessible research to improve education in Pakistan and strengthen domestic research capacity for evidence-based policymaking.⁴ Its focus areas include teacher quality, inclusion (addressing girls’ enrollment, religious minorities, and disability), climate resilience, and system-level reforms such as teacher e-transfer policies and public-private partnerships.⁴ Ongoing reform discussions also address curriculum flaws, advocating for the integration of lessons on critical social issues, human rights, constitutional principles, and climate change to create a more relevant and inclusive educational experience.²⁹

8. Conclusion

The education system in Pakistan is characterized by a structured framework from early childhood to tertiary levels, encompassing a diverse array of public, private, and religious institutions. While foundational to national progress and consistently declared a top government priority, the system is simultaneously plagued by deep-seated and systemic challenges.

A significant challenge lies in the persistent gap between policy aspirations and on-the-ground realities. Despite ambitious goals outlined in initiatives like Pakistan Vision 2025, progress in areas such as literacy rates and universal primary enrollment remains significantly behind targets. This disparity suggests that policy formulation alone is insufficient; effective reform necessitates robust implementation, sustained political will, and transparent accountability.

Furthermore, the education sector’s inherent fragility is evident in its vulnerability to external shocks, such as pandemics and climate-induced disasters. These crises disproportionately affect already marginalized groups, exacerbating existing inequalities in access and learning outcomes. Building resilience through disaster preparedness, climate-resilient infrastructure, and equitable distance learning capabilities is therefore paramount.

The institutional segmentation into public, private, and madrassa schools, each with distinct curricula and mediums of instruction, contributes to profound educational inequality and poses challenges to social cohesion. While the Single National Curriculum attempts to unify standards, its implementation faces hurdles due to existing infrastructure disparities, inadequate teacher training, and a continued reliance on rote learning.

Governance issues, particularly the unfulfilled promise of devolution following the 18th Amendment and persistent coordination gaps between federal and provincial authorities, further complicate reform efforts. The centralized examination system, which prioritizes memorization over critical thinking, actively hinders the development of higher-order cognitive skills, impacting the competitiveness of graduates.

Underinvestment in education, coupled with inefficient resource allocation and weak absorption capacity, creates a self-perpetuating cycle of poor quality. A significant portion of the budget is consumed by recurrent expenditures, leaving insufficient funds for crucial development and quality enhancements.

Addressing these multifaceted challenges requires a comprehensive and integrated approach. This involves not only increased and more efficient funding but also a fundamental overhaul of pedagogical practices and assessment systems to foster critical thinking. Moreover, policies must explicitly target intersecting vulnerabilities related to gender, income, and geography, ensuring that reforms reach the most disadvantaged populations. Ultimately, the transformation of Pakistan’s education system demands a sustained, evidence-based commitment that moves beyond declarations to implement deep structural reforms, fostering an inclusive, equitable, and quality learning environment for all.

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