Only 5% of kids obtain high-quality education, according to the research.
Only 5% of students in Pakistan receive high-quality education, which is a major problem for the country’s educational system in addition to the issue of almost 26 million out-of-school children.
Moreover, just 12pc of the eligible age group has currently access to higher education, according to the education ministry’s “National Education Policy Development Framework 2024” issued on Monday.
Approximately 5% of youngsters receive high-quality education overall. It is impossible for any jurisdiction to pretend to be exempt from these issues in education.
It might be argued that these deficiencies are a contributing factor to the overall poor ranking in the human development index (HDI), considering the importance of an educated workforce in economic and social growth.
According to the framework unveiled at a ceremony by Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Minister of Education and Professional Training, Pakistan is ranked 164th out of 193 nations.
The Pakistan Institute of Education (PIE), a division of the education government, organised the event. The nation’s 2009 national education policy is the only one that has been modified. The education ministry claims that the education framework, which was introduced in 2018, would serve as a foundation for the creation of provincial education plans.
In addition to drawing attention to underprivileged and out-of-school children, the framework also highlighted the problem of stunting, noting that 40% of children were irreversibly stunned by the time they were five years old, and that the practice of corporal punishment persisted in spite of limitations.
“Child abuse and bullying are neglected areas,” it stated.
According to the framework, Pakistan’s higher education system has grown quickly in recent years, but a more thorough assessment of its requirements was necessary due to the country’s needs and the shifting global environment.
According to the report, the higher education sector still faces a number of obstacles that make it difficult for it to provide top-notch instruction, conduct innovative research, and successfully support the nation’s socioeconomic development.
“Improving the standard of education is the main necessity. Providing instruction that is in line with contemporary industry and international norms is a challenge for many colleges. Improving learning outcomes, raising the standard of instruction, and making ensuring that research outputs satisfy international standards are all urgently needed. Expanded access to higher education is another essential demand. Only 12% of the eligible age group presently has access to higher education, despite the growth of educational institutions, resulting in a sizable participation gap, the report stated.
The Quality Assurance Framework must be successfully applied and simplified in light of local conditions in order to address quality concerns in higher education.
“Pakistan’s research output is still below international standards, especially in crucial fields like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).”
Investments in research facilities, industry-academia cooperation, and innovation promotion are all desperately needed. Another essential requirement is economic relevance. Institutions of higher learning must adapt their curricula to the demands of the market in order to produce graduates with the competencies that contemporary industry want.
Dr. Siddiqui, who spoke at the event, highlighted the National Education Development Framework 2024’s urgency and called it an absolute requirement. As part of the educational emergency, he emphasised the need to expedite its implementation, cautioning that artificial intelligence might make a billion people obsolete if the younger generation is unprepared.
He pointed to Pakistan’s ambivalence on the medium of instruction — whether in the mother tongue, national language or global languages. The minister urged that young education in IT, engineering, mathematics, and artificial intelligence be given top priority.
“There will be no real progress if reality is ignored or the truth is avoided,” he said.
Dr. Siddiqui bemoaned the lack of implementation in spite of the many frameworks, policies, and plans that have been in place since 1951. According to him, the provinces are in charge of carrying out the 18th Amendment’s policies, while the Ministry of Education concentrates on developing them.
He pointed out that over the course of two decades, China and India had lifted 500 million and 150 million people out of poverty, respectively. According to him, one major barrier is still Pakistan’s long-standing feudal system, which is maintained by poverty. He criticised earlier rulings, arguing that in 1972, education was feudalised rather than nationalised.
He also asked why it was so difficult to build new schools yet “ghost schools” kept popping up.
According to Education Secretary Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani, experts and provincial representatives were consulted during the development of the framework.
“It highlights important problems in Pakistan’s education system, including non-formal education, adult literacy, higher education, technical and vocational training, and school education (from early childhood to upper secondary).”
The framework highlights market-aligned technical education and diverse job trajectories while outlining issues with fairness, quality, and access. He emphasised Pakistan’s low rating of 164th out of 193 nations, pointing out that 26 million children are not in school and that the country’s literacy rate is barely 62%. He emphasised stark deficiencies in alignment with market demands, access to higher education (limited to 12 percent), and foundational skills. Policy execution is hampered by Pakistan’s diversity and a lack of resources.
Dr. Muhammad Shahid Soroya, director general of the Pakistan Institute of Education, emphasised the framework.
“Today is a big day for the country’s education sector,” he stated. All parties involved, including the provinces, contributed to the creation of this agreement. Provinces will now create their own education policies based on the guiding principles in this paper. Regarding federal capital, we shall establish our new education policy within three months,”.
Through a video message, Balochistan’s education minister Rahila Durrani asked federal and provincial counterparts to work together to address the country’s educational issues, such as a lack of teachers and inadequate facilities.
Special Secretary for Schools Punjab Muhammad Iqbal, Special Secretary for Education Sindh Syed Junaid, Parliamentary Secretary for Education Farah Naz, Secretary of Education KP Masood Ahmad, Secretary of Education AJK Razzaq Ahmed Khan, and others also addressed at the event.
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