Education plays a vital role in strengthening a country, and it helps to open new horizons of success and prosperity for a nation. Pakistan, being a developing country, has been in the midst of an education crisis since its independence. A weak education system results in a myriad of problems for a country, and the low literacy rate and lack of interest of the Pakistani population in education are massive obstacles in this 78-year-old country’s progress. The education system in Pakistan has various flaws, and it has always failed to deliver the desired results.
Further, miscellaneous factors are the reason for Pakistani education’s current miserable condition, and the limited education budget that is alarmingly low, with 2.5% of GDP currently spent on education. Gender discrimination, increasing poverty, and societal norms come after. Did you know Pakistan is among the countries with the lowest education budget in the world? Pakistan needs to make a seismic shift in the way its education system functions to thrive in this competitive world but change always starts from grassroots levels. In this post, we will have a look at essential points that can help improve the Pakistani education system.
How Can the Pakistani Education System Be Improved?
We have jotted down ten essential points on how to improve the education system in Pakistan. Please read those points.
1) Identify and Address Issues Causing Low Enrollment
One of the fundamental factors that our children are not in school is the alarmingly high percentage of Pakistani residents living below the poverty line. Approximately 43% of the population is under the national poverty line, so the children often have to work forcibly. The families see their children as a source of income and rely on their children’s daily wages, which is why enrolling in school isn’t possible.
To address this issue and ensure that children get a primary education, the laws prohibiting child labor require implementation legally. Child labor requires condemnation at every level, domestic or commercial, and mass awareness campaigns in underdeveloped and rural areas about the significance of education in future earnings require planning and execution. This is one of the principal ways to improve school enrollment at the primary and secondary levels.
2) Minimize the Difference of Standards in Schools
The importance of state-funded and private schools in educating the youth require no disregard. The notion that the private education system must abolish will further aggravate the education system in Pakistan, with more problems. Did you know that one-third of all Pakistani students attend private schools? This is a massive percentage, but people from more prosperous backgrounds can only afford good private education in Pakistan. Due to sufficient resources, the facilities provided in private schools are far better than those in public schools in the country.
On the other hand, state schools have no sense of equality in terms of facilities. In some well-developed areas, the state schools have an ample number of school teachers with a developed infrastructure, while in most places, a primary school has a setup, under a tree. Similarly, the curriculum also has massive differences, creating issues when children progress to higher education levels. This issue requires discussions, with the development of universal standards for government and private schools to ensure that every kid gets adequate facilities and education.
3) Decrease Focus on Education in English
Unfortunately, South Asia’s colonial history is one of the fundamental reasons for the obsession with English, impacting the education system in Pakistan. Conversing in fluent English is often considered a measure of intelligence, which is why teachers and parents are focusing too much on teaching a foreign language. English is undoubtedly a global language. Learning English is imperative to survive in the world, but at the primary and secondary levels, instilling basic concepts in children is more valuable than getting better at a language.
Language is a medium of communication, and ideas and thoughts are shared suitably if the communication is carried out in a language that everyone has a good command of. Students and teachers are not entirely comfortable with the English language, which gives a push to the rote system in education. Teachers develop a course in English and dictate it to the students, who memorize it to write in the examination. This is how the whole education system has been working for the past few decades. Teaching in the national language with the inclusion of regional languages and leveraging expert writing services to produce high-quality, accessible books will help students learn and grasp everything efficiently.
4) Educate Parents About Female Education
Female education plays a crucial role in society’s progress and development, and awareness about this is relatively low in Pakistani society. Only 29% of females in rural areas of Pakistan get basic education, and the overall female literacy rate of Pakistan is 42%, which is significantly less than the male literacy rate. These statistics clearly indicate that Pakistani parents are still reluctant to enroll their female children in schools, even in this contemporary world.
The potential in Pakistani girls is infinite, and if given adequate opportunities, they are no less than anyone. Parents need to recognize this, as they are a major obstacle in girls’ education. Most girls who cannot attend school have unsupportive parents, or their parents cannot afford education expenses, so they are more focused on educating their male children.
Many religious and social factors are a factor, but building girls’ schools can overcome this problem, while parents from low economic backgrounds should stick to community schools. Scholarships and education loans for female students require offering in sufficient numbers; partnering with the private sector to build schools for girls in rural areas is another feasible option. There is a lot that women’s education in Pakistan requires, and stakeholders must take the essential steps towards betterment, as women constitute 49.38% of the total Pakistani population.
5) Transportation for School Children & Teachers
In rural areas, transportation is a crucial issue and is the main reason why children do not enroll in schools, as the institutions are far away from their residential areas. Tertiary-level state institutions provide limited transport facilities for their students, but this concept is absent at the primary and secondary levels. Children have to handle the daily commute by themselves, which is an extra burden on the parents, so they are unwilling to send them to school, particularly girls.
Safe and affordable, or ideally free, transportation is what teachers and students require because both of them frequently do not attend due to the unavailability. Schools in distant areas must have a state-funded transport system to ensure regular attendance and productivity of teachers and students. Challenging modes of transportation exhaust children and reduce their capacity to learn, eventually affecting their annual performance. Transportation directly impacts the student’s capabilities to study, and its effect is not neglectable.
6) Incentives for the Private Education Sector
The current miserable conditions and productivity of public schools are out in the open, and they will not improve overnight. Extensive efforts and policies need implementation along with a sufficient budget for education to make the entire public school system more useful. One thing that is easily possible is to provide incentives and packages to private schools and institutions to give scholarships and charge fewer fees to deserving students from humble backgrounds.
This would be a significant step for students in districts where state schools are not functional at all, and this way, underprivileged kids from such areas can also become a part of the education system. Private schools are profitable ventures, and offering free education to a few students will not be a massive concern for most of them. The government and the education ministry should formulate policies that will direct private institutions to provide free education and dedicate 10% of their annual enrollment to needy students.
7) Regularly Revise the Curriculum
The world is progressing towards 6G technology and dazzling in the technological fields. However, here in Pakistan, we are still teaching the syllabus that our parents used to study decades ago. The computer education taught in our classes is very elementary and outmoded and doesn’t prepare our students well for the world’s competitive, practical environment. This is also one of the principal reasons why unemployment is prevalent in Pakistan.
The students of higher education institutions are studying outdated books and learning fundamental concepts. They are not aware and taught about recent developments, so when they arrive in the practical world, the requirements are high, which they cannot meet, leading to late employment or unemployment. This has some severe impacts and increases depression and the suicide rate in younger generations. The frequent syllabus updates and regular new additions will ensure that the things and topics, including topics that are trending, taught are up to the mark and relevant, and useful in the current world.
However, Pakistan has started to address this issue with the implementation of the National Curriculum of Pakistan (NCP) in 2023, previously called the Single National Curriculum (SNC), to improve its education standards, which is a good sign. Unfortunately, it has mixed progress currently for standardized education because of poor teaching standards and inadequate assessments.
8) Involve Teachers and Invest in Training
An educational system cannot grow unless the teachers are included in policy-making, with their feedback taken into consideration. They are working practically. Their valuable feedback about what changes need to be made to become more productive and what modifications are essential will improve the education system in Pakistan to a much greater extent. Include them in the talks and take their advice to provide better education for the upcoming generations.
Another critical aspect is the teacher’s qualification. Encouraging educators is essential to continue their learning alongside working as teachers. They must complete their bachelor’s education, and for that, salary incentives and scholarship programs specially designed for teachers can be started. Professionalism is vital for a teaching career. To learn new techniques, educational institutions must invest in annual training sessions or programs that empower them to improve their teaching skills, soft skills, and teachers with higher competency levels should have a raise in salary to promote healthy competition among the teacher community.
9) Equal Opportunities for Differently-abled People
Did you know that according to the census held in 1998, 2.38% of the entire Pakistani population is differently-abled? Differently-abled is a sensitized word for people with disabilities, but these linguistic changes are essential for awareness, but not enough to make them productive citizens of Pakistan. They hold equal rights in education as well, which is often dismissed. There must be special schools for differently-abled children at all levels.
An increase in quota in higher education institutions is a requirement to ensure equal access to opportunities, like any other Pakistani. Former provincial education minister Zubaida Jalal came up with a national action plan to provide inclusive education for people with disabilities; however, the implementation did not complete accurately, with the observation of less effective results.
In fact, the richest people in the world have learned from the disabled in the past and are still learning. What’s more? NGOs and the private sector are working diligently for differently-abled people. Still, a lack of interest is observed from government organizations, so a change needs to be made to promote education for people with special needs.
10) Focus on Vocational Education
A one-size-fits-all approach is not suitable anymore when providing education in the 20th century. Every student is unique and has their own strengths. A sound education system helps students identify where their potential lies and gives them suitable, relevant opportunities to succeed in that field. Unfortunately, the Pakistani education system is more focused on academic education, and a meager percentage of students opt for vocational education. Pakistanis always focus on getting an education that will open gateways towards white-collar jobs. There is also a social stigma attached to vocational education and the associated employment opportunities.
The state of vocational education is also deplorable in Pakistan, and very few institutes are providing quality education for such aspirants. This needs to be worked on, and awareness should be raised about the significance of vocational education to decrease unemployment after graduation. Vocational training can help students earn a handsome amount, and the cost of such education is also much lower. It takes less time to finish the studies, and the chances of getting a job are way higher because of less competition.
Final Words
The Government alone cannot fix the education system in Pakistan, and every individual and private organization must strive and play their part in the progress of the Pakistani education system. Collective efforts are the key to increasing Pakistan’s literacy rate, and equal education opportunities for everyone are the only way to build a strong, prosperous Pakistan.