Eighteen percent primary schools in Pakistan not registered

Eighteen percent primary schools in Pakistan not registered

A report jointly produced by the UNESCO and a local organization reveals that eighteen percent primary schools in
Pakistan are not registered with the authorities.

The report suggests a stronger oversight to ensure that quality and equity are not compromised.

It says out of 5,000 total schools in Rawalpindi, two-third private schools are without registration. According to 2016-17 Private School Census, some 54,000 private schools offered pre-primary education in Punjab province under various categorizations, such as pre-nursery, nursery and prep.

The majority of programmes operated as unregulated entities, without government supervision and oversight.  It recalled that less than 3 percent of the annual GDP is being spent on education for the last 12 years.

Due to this backdrop, the report added, public sector schools are insufficient  in both supply and  quality.  “Private education has grown to fill the gaps.  One third of students in  Pakistan attend privately  funded schools with 45  percent of those in private  education and 25  percent in state education  in urban areas paying  for additional private   tutoring,” adding that  overall 8 percent of students  are enrolled in religious  schools.  

The report highlights the exponential growth of private tutoring and educational technology companies in the country, predominantly due to rapid growth in the labour market and the resultant competitiveness in the education system.  

As compared to other countries, it added, a franchise model of tutoring is prevalent in the country, with companies or academies running schools and tuition centres, and developing their own curriculum and textbooks.  

The report further noted the stark disparities in learning outcomes between privately educated and state educated students. Those attending private institutions consistently score significantly higher than those enrolled in state schools where the student-teacher ratio is as high as 92:1.

The COVID-19 has both highlighted and exacerbated the existing issues in the education system of the country.  The privately funded institutions with pupils of more financially stable backgrounds were often better prepared to cope with the implications of school closures and suspension of in-person teaching.  

Additionally, as COVID-19 dealt a blow to global economies, income levels suffered and state schools were overwhelmed with an influx of pupils who could no longer afford private schools. Enrolment in private schools decreased from 23 percent in 2019 to 19 percent in 2021.  

The report urges the government to increase its involvement in education systems, and has devised five policy recommendations to enhance the quality and equity of education across all schools in South Asia.