First Education Performance Index: Islamabad on Top, Balochistan at the Bottom

District Education Performance Index (DEPIx) 2020-23, has been released by the Planning Commission in Islamabad today.

A groundbreaking ceremony of report revealed the performance of the schools in Pakistan. According to report Islamabad on Top, Balochistan at the Bottom in educational report. Minister for Planning was the guest on the occasion while representatives of provinces also took part in the session.

The DEPIx revealing significant disparities in education performance across Pakistan’s provinces and districts.

This index, the first of its kind in Pakistan, evaluates district-level education outcomes by focusing on key areas such as access, learning, equity, governance, and resources like infrastructure and public financing. The report covered 134 districts—including the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). All districts in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab, and Sindh—DEPIx categorizes districts into four performance levels: Very High, High, Medium, and Low.

The report, which primarily covers the period from 2020 to 2023, shows that Pakistan’s national average score on the index is a modest 53 out of 100, placing the country in the “Low” performance category. There are significant differences between provinces, with Punjab emerging as the top performer with a score of 61/100. KP follows with 55/100, while Sindh and Balochistan lag with scores of 51.5/100 and 46/100, respectively. Notably, no province achieved a “High” or “Very High” performance rating, with both Punjab and KP falling into the “Medium” category.

The DEPIx also reveals disparities within different domains of the education system. Nationally, the highest score was in the Infrastructure & Access domain (59/100), indicating progress in expanding educational opportunities. However, the report notes that actual access figures might be higher, especially in urban centers where private schools are prevalent but not fully accounted for due to data limitations.

Equity & Technology

The Inclusion (Equity & Technology) domain also performed relatively well. On the other hand, Public Financing recorded the lowest score among all domains, underscoring the urgent need for increased and better-targeted public spending in education. The Learning domain also showed poor performance, reflecting low student outcomes. Governance & Management was also in the “Low” category, largely due to teacher shortages and high bureaucratic turnover.

The index highlights substantial differences not only between provinces but also within them, showing the strengths and weaknesses in various aspects of their education systems.

Punjab:

For instance, Punjab outperforms other provinces in Infrastructure & Access (73/100) and Inclusion (75/100) but ranks lower in Public Financing and Governance & Management during the period of 2021-23.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa excels in Public Financing and Governance & Management but lags behind in Learning outcomes.

Sindh

Sindh shows relative strength in Public Financing, where it ranks highest, but struggles in Infrastructure & Access and Governance & Management.

Balochistan

Balochistan faces challenges across all domains, ranking lowest overall, with a slightly better performance in Learning.

Alarmingly, none of the 134 districts assessed falls within the “Very High” performance category, and only Islamabad ranks in the “High” category, making it the best-performing district nationwide. Nearly two-fifths of the districts (58) are categorized as “Medium” performers, with Punjab contributing 32 of these districts, followed by KP with 17, and Sindh with 8. However, more than half of Pakistan’s districts (76) are classified as “Low” performers.

These low-performing districts are predominantly in Balochistan and Sindh, with Balochistan having 33 and Sindh 22, further highlighting the significant inter-provincial disparities in education.