ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s education system continues to grapple with critical issues, including a significant quality gap and the alarming number of 26 million out-of-school children. According to the National Education Policy Development Framework 2024, launched on Monday by Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, only 5% of children in Pakistan are receiving good quality education.
The framework highlights that only 12% of the eligible age group currently has access to higher education, which is far below the necessary benchmarks for a developing country. This underlines the ongoing challenges in the country’s education sector, which contributes to Pakistan’s low ranking (164th) on the Human Development Index (HDI) among 193 countries.
The National Policy Development Framework 2024 addresses several critical areas:
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Quality Issues: The framework emphasizes the poor quality of education, noting that no province can claim to be free from these challenges. Pakistan’s system suffers from inadequate teaching quality, outdated curricula, and limited resources.
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Stunting and Child Abuse: About 40% of children in the country are reported to be irreversibly stunned by the age of five, a significant impediment to their development. The framework also draws attention to bullying and child abuse, areas that remain neglected despite efforts to curb such practices.
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Higher Education: While the higher sector has expanded rapidly in recent years, only 12% of the eligible age group has access to it. The quality of education in universities remains subpar, especially in key areas such as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Pakistan’s universities continue to struggle to align their programs with modern industries and global standards.
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Research and Industry Collaboration: Pakistan’s research output remains well below international standards, and there is a critical need to invest in research facilities and foster collaborations between academia and industry.
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Economic Relevance: The framework stresses the importance of aligning educational curricula with the needs of the economy, focusing on producing graduates who possess skills required by modern industries.
Urgency for Policy Implementation
Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui emphasized the urgency of the National Policy Development Framework 2024 as a guiding tool for the development of provincial education policies. He warned that artificial intelligence (AI) could render millions of people irrelevant unless the younger generation is adequately prepared.
He also pointed out the ongoing indecision about the medium of instruction, questioning whether it should be in the mother tongue, national language, or global languages. Dr. Siddiqui stressed the need for the education system to prioritize fields like AI, engineering, mathematics, and IT, which are essential for future job markets.
The Provincial Challenges of Education
The framework also recognizes the diverse challenges each province faces in implementing effective education policies. For instance, Balochistan faces significant issues such as teacher shortages and inadequate facilities. Dr. Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani, noted that while the framework had been developed through consultation with experts and provincial representatives, real change would only happen when provinces begin their own policy development.
Looking Ahead
With the National Policy of 2009 remaining outdated, Pakistan is now hoping the new framework will serve as a comprehensive roadmap for addressing the education sector’s fundamental challenges. The framework is also set to guide the development of new policies at the provincial level.
Dr. Mohammad Shahid Soroya, Director General of the Pakistan Institute of Education, highlighted that the policy was created with input from all stakeholders and would guide the provinces in crafting their own education policies. The federal capital is expected to form its new education policy within the next three months.
