Reforming Education in Pakistan: Unlocking Potential through Smart Investments

The World Bank report highlights Pakistan's education challenges, including low funding, inefficiency, and inequity, with 20.3 million out-of-school children. It recommends increasing education spending to 4.3% of GDP, improving teacher effectiveness, and promoting equity and inclusion to enhance learning outcomes.

Research by the World Bank's South Asia Region Education Global Practice, led by a team including Juan D. Baron, Mary Bend, Fahad Mirza, Nimra Afzal, Hirut Wolde, and Nadeem Hussain, offers an in-depth analysis of Pakistan's education system, focusing on education financing, efficiency, and equity. The report discusses the current challenges the country faces in its education sector and presents a set of reforms aimed at improving learning outcomes for children.

A System with Achievements and Shortcomings

Despite some achievements, such as increasing female attendance and doubling the number of children in schools in Punjab from 13 million in 1998 to 26 million by 2020, the system still has significant flaws. Pakistan's public education spending remains well below the regional average, with only 2.1% of GDP allocated to education in 2020, which further dropped to 1.5% by 2023. This low investment in education, compared to the global average of 4.3%, has contributed to the country having the second-highest number of out-of-school children (OOSC) in the world, with 20.3 million children not attending school.

Inefficient Spending and Learning Poverty

The report emphasizes that addressing the education crisis in Pakistan requires both increasing the amount of money spent on education and improving the efficiency of how these funds are utilized. The issue is not merely about underfunding but also about the inefficient allocation of existing resources. Approximately 70% of the education budget is spent on salaries, leaving little for development activities such as building new schools or providing better teacher training. Most alarming is that only two out of every five children in Pakistan can read a basic text by age 10, reflecting the country's high rate of learning poverty. This is compounded by inadequate infrastructure and a failure to invest in early childhood education, resulting in low learning outcomes and contributing to a persistent cycle of poverty.

Raising Education Spending to 4.3% of GDP

One of the main recommendations of the report is to raise education spending to at least 4.3% of GDP by 2030, up from its current level. This increase in expenditure is essential to meet Pakistan’s constitutional commitment to provide free and compulsory education to all children aged 5 to 16. The report highlights that without a significant financial boost, Pakistan will struggle to address its growing population of school-age children, which is expected to increase from 63 million to 76.5 million by 2030. Furthermore, increasing spending alone will not be enough. The government must focus on improving the efficiency of spending by ensuring that resources are directed toward areas that have the most impact on learning outcomes. This includes recruiting and training more effective teachers, improving school management, and ensuring that all development funds are fully utilized.

Promoting Equity and Inclusion

Another significant focus of the report is equity in education. The current education system in Pakistan is highly inequitable, with children from poorer families, those living in rural areas, and girls being disproportionately affected. The report calls for targeted interventions to address these disparities, such as creating more opportunities for children in marginalized communities and improving access to early childhood education for girls. The report also emphasizes the need to make the education system more inclusive by ensuring that children with disabilities and those from minority groups are not left behind. By using data to inform budgetary decisions and targeting funds to the areas that need them most, Pakistan can make its education system more equitable and efficient.

The Role of Parents and Civil Society

The report underscores the importance of involving parents and civil society in the education system. Currently, parental and community engagement in education decisions is limited, despite the fact that families bear a significant portion of the costs associated with sending their children to school. By creating formal platforms for parents and community stakeholders to participate in education budgeting and decision-making, the government can ensure that the education system better reflects the needs of the population. This could also improve accountability and transparency in how education funds are spent, further increasing the efficiency of public expenditure.

While Pakistan has made progress in expanding access to education, significant challenges remain in terms of funding, equity, and learning outcomes. The World Bank report presents a comprehensive reform agenda aimed at addressing these issues, with a strong emphasis on increasing both the amount of money spent on education and the efficiency of that spending. It highlights the importance of improving teacher effectiveness, expanding early childhood education, and making the education system more inclusive. Furthermore, the report stresses the importance of better coordination between national, provincial, and district governments, as well as increased engagement from parents and civil society, in ensuring that the education system delivers for all children. Without these reforms, Pakistan risks falling further behind in its efforts to build the human capital necessary for long-term economic growth and prosperity.