Education in Pakistan
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| Educational oversight | Federal Ministry of Education Provincial Education Ministries |
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| National education budget | Rs.9556.442 million[3] (2007) | |
| Primary language(s) | Urdu and English. | |
| Mainly public system |
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| Literacy (2007) • Men • Women |
56[1]% 63[2]% 36[3]% |
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| Enrollment • Primary • Secondary • Post-secondary |
' 87.3%[4] 44%[5] 4.6%[6] |
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| Attainment • Secondary diploma • Post-secondary diploma |
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Education in Pakistan is divided into five levels: primary (grades one through five); middle (grades six through eight); high (grades nine and ten, leading to the Secondary School Certificate); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a Higher Secondary School Certificate); and university programs leading to graduate and advanced degrees.
All academic education institutions are the responsibility of the provincial governments. The federal government mostly assists in curriculum development, accreditation and some financing of research.
Islamabad has the highest literacy rate in the country at 72.38%, where as Musa Khel has the lowest at a meager 10.37%.[7]
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[edit] Pre-school
A child may begin his/her schooling at a pre-school at the age of 3. Over the last few years, many new kindergarten (sometimes called montessori) schools have also sprung up in Pakistan.
[edit] Post-secondary
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Students can then proceed to a College or University for Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Science (BSc) or Commerce/Business Administration (BCom/BBA) degree courses. There are two types of Bachelor courses in Pakistan namely Pass or Honours. Pass constitutes two years of study and students normally read three optional subjects (such as Chemistry, Mathematics, Economics, Statistics) in addition to almost equal number of compulsory subjects (such as English, Pakistan Studies and Islamic Studies) whereas Honours are three or four years and students normally specialize in a chosen field of study such as Biochemistry (BSc Hons. Biochemistry). It is important to note that Pass Bachelors is now slowly being phased out for Honours throughout the country. Students may also after earning their HSSC may study for professional Bachelor degree courses such as engineering (B Engg), medicine (MBBS), vetrinary medicine(DVM) law (LLB), agriculture (B Agri), architecture (B Arch), nursing (B Nurs) etc. which are of four or five years duration depending on the degree.Further after passing the diploma of associate engineer(3-Year study after SSC)can take in admission in B.Tech engineering.B.Tech(Hon's) degree consists of four years.
Some Masters Degrees also consist of 1.5 years. Then there are PhD Education as well in selected areas. One has to choose specific field and the suitable university doing research work in that field. PhD in Pakistan consists of minimum 3-5 years.
Pakistani universities churn out almost 1.2 million skilled graduates annually. The government has announced a $1 billion spending plan over the next decade to build 6 state-of-the-art science and engineering universities. The scheme would be overseen by the Higher Education Commission.
[edit] Criticism
An issue of National Geographic conveys the adversity poor families must face. Some schools are run so badly that few kids attend.
| “ | It's not unusual in Pakistan to hear of public schools that receive no books, no supplies, and no subsidies from the government. Thousands more are 'ghost schools' that exist only on paper, to line the pockets of phantom teachers and administrators." | ” |
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- --National Geographic: Struggle for the Soul of Pakistan, Don Belt[8]
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[edit] Criticisms of Higher Education
Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy who is a well-known Pakistani nuclear physicist, Professor of High Energy Physics and the head of the Physics Department at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad has heavily criticised the state of many Pakistani universities as well as the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, which is the regulatory body as well as the main source of funding of Higher Education in the country.
On 25 June 2005, the HEC chairman announced that the Higher Education Commission has sanctioned $3 million for the establishment of a 5 MeV tandem Van de Graaf accelerator to be housed at the National Center for Physics, Quaid-e-Azam University. The HEC chairman described it as a "national facility" that will "accelerate the generation of competent scientific and technical manpower within the country". This was immediately slammed by Pervez Hoodbhoy and described the purchase as 'absolute nonsense.' Such Van de Graaf machines were the mainstay of research in physics over seventy years ago. Pervez Hoodbhoy went on to say that "They are useless for cutting edge science research today. They are, at best, museum pieces."
Dr. Hoodbhoy also believes that expensive scientific equipment, bought for research, often ends up locked away in campuses. He deeply criticized HEC for spending too much money on the scientific equipments rather than spending money on training of Pakistan's scientists. He also said that "HEC should stop all useless, sometimes fraudulent, research projects and stop encouraging the award of worthless PhD's". He also wrote in his article "Pelletron accelerator was installed last month by a team of Americans from the National Electrostatics Corporation that flew in from Wisconsin. But now that it is there and fully operational, nobody – including the current director – has the slightest idea of what research to do with it."
"Its original proponents are curiously lacking in enthusiasm and are quietly seeking to distance themselves from the project." In his article, Dr. Hoodbhoy claimed that basic academic values are missing, and there is casual acceptance of abysmal ethical behavior - cheating, lying, and plagiarism by faculty and students. Resources are wasted on an epic scale. And, the HEC whirlwind is making all of these problems worse. He also advised the HEC that it should spend more money to motivate students, trained more teachers and establish more high-standard universities rather than heavily funding money on Particle Accelerators.
[edit] Other criticisms
Among other criticisms the Pakistani education system faces is the gender disparity in enrollment levels. However, in recent years some progress has been made in trying to fix this problem. In 1990-91, the female to male ratio (F/M ratio) of enrolment was 0.47 for primary level of education. It reached to 0.74 in 1999-2000, so the F/M ratio has improved by 57.44 percent within the decade. For the middle level of education it was 0.42 in the start of decade and increased to 0.68 by the end of decade, so it has improved almost 62 percent. In both cases the gender disparity is decreased but relatively more rapidly at middle level. But for whole of the decade the gender disparity remained relatively high at middle level, despite the fact that for the duration the F/M ratio for teachers and F/M ratio of educational institutions at the middle level remained better than at the primary level.[9]
The gender disparity in enrolment at secondary level of education was 0.4 in 1990-91 was 0.67 percent in 1999-2000, so the disparity has decreased by 67.5 percent in the decade or at the average rate of 6.75 percent annually. At the college level it was 0.50 in 1990-91 and it reached 0.81 in 1999-2000, so gender disparity decreased by 64 percent with an annual rate of 6.4 percent. The gender disparity has decreased comparatively rapidly at secondary school. The gender disparity in educational institutions at the secondary level of education was changed from 0.36 in 1990-91 to 0.52 in 1999-2000 with a 44 percent change. The same type of disparity at the college level was 0.56 in 1990-91 and reached at 0.64 in 1999-2000 with 14 percent change in the decade. The disparity at the college level has improved much less than that at the secondary level.[9]
However, the gender disparity is affected by the Taliban enforcement of a complete ban on female education in the Swat district, as reported in a January 21, 2009 issue of the Pakistan daily newspaper The News. Some 400 private schools enrolling 40,000 girls have been shut down. At least 10 girls' schools that tried to open after the January 15, 2009 deadline by the Taliban were blown up by the militants in the town of Mingora, the headquarters of the Swat district.[10] "More than 170 schools have been bombed or torched, along with other government-owned buildings."[10]
[edit] Universities in the World Top 1000
During 1947-2003, not a single university in Pakistan could be ranked among the top 600 of the world, but today three Pakistani universities belong to this prestigious group, with the National University of Science and Technology at No 376 (Times, Higher Education, UK rankings)[11]
[edit] Literacy Since 1947
Definition:[12]
a) 1951 Census: One who can read a clear print in any language. 16.4%
b) 1961 Census: One who is able to read with understanding a simple letter in any language. 16.3%
c) 1972 Census: One who is able to read and write in some language with understanding. 21.7%
d) 1981 Census: One who can read newspaper and write a simple letter 26.2%
e) 1998 Census: One who can read a newspaper and write a simple letter, in any language. 43.9%
The present (2004) projected adult literacy rate in Pakistan is 54% (male 66.25% : female 41.75%)
| Province | Year | Literacy Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punjab | 1972 | 20.7% | |
| Sindh | 1972 | 30.2% | |
| NWFP | 1972 | 15.5% | |
| Balochistan | 1972 | 10.1% |
| Province | Year | Literacy Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punjab | 1981 | 27.4% | |
| Sindh | 1981 | 31.5% | |
| NWFP | 1981 | 16.7% | |
| Balochistan | 1981 | 10.3% |
| Province | Year | Literacy Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punjab | 1998 | 46.56% | |
| Sindh | 1998 | 45.29% | |
| NWFP | 1998 | 35.41% | |
| Balochistan | 1998 | 26.6% |
| Province | Year | Literacy Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punjab | 2004 | 56.14% | |
| Sindh | 2004 | 51.48% | |
| NWFP | 2004 | 46.17% | |
| Balochistan | 2004 | 37.18% |
[edit] See also
- Pakistan Studies
- Education in Karachi
- Education in Lower Dir District
- Quaid-e-Azam Law College
- Aitchison College
[edit] References
- ^ Ministry of Education Literacy level
- ^ UNICEFLiteracy level - Men
- ^ UNICEFLiteracy level - Women
- ^ Ministry of Education [1]
- ^ Ministry of Education [2]
- ^ World Bank Enrollment level
- ^ Ranking of districts by literacy rates and illiterates (By 10+ and 15+ Years Age Groups)
- ^ Belt, Don (September 2007), "Struggle for the Soul of Pakistan", National Geographic (September 2007): 59
- ^ a b Khan, Tasnim; Khan, Rana Ejaz Ali (2004). "Gender Disparity in Education - Extents, Trends and Factors" (pdf). Journal of Research (Faculty of Languages & Islamic Studies). http://bzu.edu.pk/jrlanguages/Vol-5%202004/Tasnim%20Khan%20&%20Rana%20Ejaz-3.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-03-08.
- ^ a b The News, Pakistan, January 21, 2009.
- ^ The golden period By Prof Dr Wolfgang Voelter
- ^ http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001459/145959e.pdf
www.uet.edu.pk www.nust.edu.pk
[edit] Further reading
- K.K. Aziz. (2004) The Murder of History : A Critique of History Textbooks used in Pakistan. Vanguard. ISBN 969-402-126-X
- Nayyar, A. H. & Salim, Ahmad. (2003) The Subtle Subversion: The State of Curricula and Text-books in Pakistan - Urdu, English, Social Studies and Civics. Sustainable Development Policy Institute. The Subtle Subversion
- Pervez Hoodbhoy and A. H. Nayyar. Rewriting the history of Pakistan, in Islam, Politics and the state: The Pakistan Experience, Ed. Mohammad Asghar Khan, Zed Books, London, 1985.
- Mubarak Ali. In the Shadow of history, Nigarshat, Lahore; History on Trial, Fiction House, Lahore, 1999; Tareekh Aur Nisabi Kutub, Fiction House, Lahore, 2003.
- Rubina Saigol. Knowledge and Identity - Articulation of Gender in Educational Discourse in Pakistan, ASR, Lahore 1995
- Tariq Rahman, Denizens of Alien Worlds: A Study of Education, Inequality and Polarization in Pakistan Karachi, Oxford University Press, 2004. Reprint. 2006.
- Tariq Rahman, Language, Ideology and Power: Language learning among the Muslims of Pakistan and North India Karachi, Oxford UP, 2002.
- Tariq Rahman, Language and Politics in Pakistan Karachi: Oxford UP, 1996. Rept. several times. see 2006 edition.
- World Bank Case Study on Primary Education in Pakistan
[edit] External links
- Ministry of Education, Pakistan
- Islamic Education in Pakistan by Christine Fair, U.S. Institute of Peace
- Eduvision-All About Study In Pakistan, Pakistan
- Free Educational Resource for Pakistan
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