14 routes to better education in Pakistan

[Dubious]

With one of the lowest education budgets in the world, where should Pakistan begin to reform its school system? Our panel has these suggestions

Sponsored by Adam Smith International

Identify why children are not in school: The biggest factor is economic constraints, and the fact that kids often need to choose between work and school. In an ideal world, we would be able to demonstrate the link between schools and future earnings. We need to get better at promoting the value of education to parents and children. Madeeha Ansari, writer and independent consultant, London, UK @madeeha_ansari

Set universal minimum standards for schools: What makes a primary or a secondary school? Currently, you see a school under a tree with two teachers in one place but a primary school with a huge building and many teachers in another place - the same is the case for curriculum, teachers’ qualifications and examinations. Government, community and private schools should have to adhere to the same basic principles. Dr Mir Afzal Tajik, director, Aga Khan University’s Institute for Educational Development, Karachi, Pakistan


Provide transport for children and teachers: Lack of safe transportation is a major factor in teacher absenteeism and fatigue. It also affects children’s attendance. School van transport is a valuable perk for our teachers. Amjad Noorani, education activist (Pakistan), The Citizens Foundation, San Francisco, USA @amjadtcfusa @TCFPak

Mobilise parents: For girls, parents are the biggest impediment to their education. More than half of girls who are out of school lack either parental consent or ability to pay schools fees. We need to advocate more for parents to get involved with community schools – whether they are on the management committee, or helping with the building, financing or security at their child’s school. Roohi Abdullah, lead and initiator, Girl Rising Pakistan, Washington DC, USA @GirlRisingPak

Hold politicians to account: Central government and provincial governments have good intentions but no one’s political stakes are invested in delivering that “better” set of outcomes, so they leave it to donors and NGOs. Until we can get Pakistani leaders to view a dysfunctional education regime as a political liability, we will keep grasping at non-solutions. Mosharraf Zaidi, campaign director, Alif Ailaan, Islamabad, Pakistan @mosharrafzaidi

Get the private sector to offer more scholarships: The government could provide private schools with attractive packages such as cheaper utility bills in return for them making at least 10% of their places available for free to poor students. This could be especially effective in areas government schools have failed to reach.Zobaida Jalal, former minister of education, Balochistan, Pakistan @ZobaidaJalal

Scrap teaching in English: We focus on English too much which is why we’ve ended up with so much rote learning. Many teachers are trying to teach in a language they’re not even fully competent in. Meanwhile, children who are confident in their own language are condemned as dumb if they can’t pick up English. Zubeida Mustafa, columnist for Dawn, Karachi, Pakistan @zubeidamustafa @dawn_com

Listen to teachers: What do they need to be more effective? What needs to change for them to increase motivation and spend more time in the classroom? This feedback is not adequately collected or used at the moment. Adam Hall, project manager (education), Adam Smith International, London, UK

Offer stipends to girls: It’s a slightly controversial method but in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa we found that providing stipends to girls at risk increased girls’ attendance. Of course setting the amount for a stipend is very tricky to make sure it is not too expensive to do at scale, but we’ve delivered 400,000 so far. Adam Hall

Make provisions for children with special needs: I think we always neglect the children with special needs and their education in our society. As minister for special education, I came out with a national plan of action for people with disabilities and the most vital element was inclusive education. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen it widely implemented yet. Zobaida Jalal

Collect a wider variety of data: Most government data is focused on school building contracts and teachers’ salaries, rather than on what the children are learning. How about running community focus groups routinely and having more nimble programmes that allow for mid-course correction? Noorulain Masood, CEO, Teach For Pakistan, Karachi, Pakistan @Noor_Masood

Incentivise teachers to learn as they earn: Teachers should be encouraged with salary incentives to take college qualifications and get a bachelors degree. Additionally, annual professional development workshops and in-service training should be provided. Higher competency should be rewarded. Amjad Noorani

Take sanitation seriously: At our schools we have cleaning staff to maintain toilets during school hours. They also help with hygiene of young kids before they go to class as many children are from homes that do not have running water. Toilets, sanitation and privacy are not a trivial requirement. Amjad Noorani

Adapt teaching techniques for volatile situations: Where schools are frequently closed due to violence, one possibility is home schooling. For example, in Ebola-affected Sierra Leone we moved to delivering educational radio programmes. Tricia Young, director, Child to Child, London, UK @ChildtoChild

Read the full Q&A here.

Is there anything that we’ve left out? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow@GuardianGDP on Twitter.

14 routes to better education in Pakistan | Global Development Professionals Network | The Guardian

 

[vsdave2302]

Skill development should also integrated in Education. There are people who shall find more interest in Skill work compared to Formal education. Skill workers now a days earn more than moderately educated person.

 

[Dubious]

Skill development should also integrated in Education. There are people who shall find more interest in Skill work compared to Formal education. Skill workers now a days earn more than moderately educated person.

agreed

State of education financing in Pakistan

This year, in 2014-15, the federal and provincial governments allocated Rs641 billion for education which is an increase of 11 per cent compared with the previous year’s allocation. STOCK IMAGE

Merely increasing the education budgets will not solve all the problems that our education system is facing. Budget increase needs to be supplemented with its proper utilization, earmarking significant amount of funds for development and non-salary components and spending more on in-service and pre-service teacher training. These are some of the steps which, if undertaken, can ensure a better educational system in the country in the days to come.

There is no denying the fact that the focus on education has enhanced in the recent years with the federal and provincial governments now focusing more on enrolling out-of-school children, providing basic facilities, teachers rationalization, achieving targets like higher literacy rates, reducing gender disparity and spending higher proportion of budgets on education. However, a lot still needs to be done in this regard as there still exist huge infrastructural backlogs; many schools function with more teachers than needed and on the contrary many schools work with lesser teachers than required; and the learning outcomes are much lower than the desired ones.

Why is it not Working?

Currently Pakistan is spending around 2 per cent of its GDP on education, which in fact is quite low, even when compared with our neighboring countries. This year, in 2014-15, the federal and provincial governments allocated Rs641 billion for education which is an increase of 11 per cent compared with the previous year’s allocation. Considering this huge public spending on education, a question that pinches a common citizen is why the educational situation is not improving in public sector institutions. Although, many factors contribute to it, underspending is one of the issues which needs to be addressed by all the provincial governments especially Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) who could not expense 23 per cent and 16 per cent of their allocated education budgets in 2013-14.

Along with underspending, the proportion of education budgets allocated for current and development purposes shows disparity. Although some of the provinces earmark significant budgets for development purposes, the actual spending remains well short of the allocated budgets. Except for Punjab which spent 89 per cent of its development budget during the last fiscal year, the other three provinces registered a utilization rate of around 50 per cent or less in 2013-14.

Salaries constitute roughly 80 per cent of the total education budget for all the provinces, implying that there is not much left for non-salary and development schemes. Although the provincial governments are spending huge budgets on salaries, but has the quality of education improved in the last few years remains a question that needs an answer in order to justify these huge expenditures.

Teachers Training

Notwithstanding the importance of other factors, teachers have a huge role to play in order to improve the quality of education in the country. For this, not only the teachers have to be academically qualified but they also need to be imparted professional training, pre-service and in-service both. To have an idea of the budget allocated for pre-service and in-service teacher training in public sector, let’s have a look at the budget allocated for the purpose in Punjab. The government of Punjab has earmarked Rs2,914 million for in-service and Rs1,200 million for pre-service teacher training in 2014-15, registering an increase of 10 per cent and 5 per cent compared with the allocation in 2013-14. The in-service teacher training budget for Sindh has increased from Rs218 million to Rs389 million which also includes a development budget of Rs149 million. For pre-service, the Sindh government has allocated Rs733 million this year showing an increase of 9 per cent compared with the allocated budget in 2013-14. The government of K-P has not allocated any budget for pre-service teacher training in the last two years. Also the in-service teacher training budget has now been merged with the employee-related expenses and therefore cannot be separately calculated. In 2013-14, the government of K-P allocated Rs420 million for teacher training. An increase in the budgets for teacher training is a healthy sign as trained teachers are expected to impart quality education to the students. But it would be worth analyzing as to what proportion of these allocations are actually spent.

Recommendations

It is encouraging to see all the provinces allocating significant amount of funds for education; highlighting the policy shift towards provision of quality education. However, merely increasing the budgets will not solve all the problems our education system is facing. Proper utilization of allocated budgets, earmarking significant amount of funds for development and non-salary components and higher spending on in-service and pre-service teachers training are some of the steps which can ensure a better educational system in the country.

(Abdullah Alam is a Research Fellow at Institute of Social and Policy Sciences (I-SAPS), Islamabad. He tweets @abdullah_alam)

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2015.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/859695/state-of-education-financing-in-pakistan/

Free education for all? No!

Research on public schools money in Punjab indicates infringement of right to education
“Following the School Paisa”, a research study launched by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI), has revealed that around 97 percent students are still paying monthly fee in public schools despite the slogan of free education for all by the Punjab government.
The study has been completed by using Public Expenditure Tracking Survey (PETS) in districts of Jhang and Toba Tek Singh. It further reveals that due to the insufficient educational funds by the government, the schools generate more than 50 per cent of the resources on their own.
The public schools charge Rs 20 per student per month to the Education Promotion Fund, commonly known as Farogh-e-Taleem Fund (FTF), by which 99 per cent of the schools in Jhang generate 60.7 per cent of their total income.
District Jhang is one of the low performing districts of Punjab in terms of education and has a primary net enrolment rate of 52 per cent for girls and 58 per cent for the boys while in Toba Tek Singh, the secondary schools are equipped with most of the basic educational facilities and infrastructure, but many of the primary and elementary schools are deprived of such basic facilities including furniture for teachers and students, drinking water, washrooms, sports equipment, computer labs etc.
Parents in both districts had to bear out-of-pocket expenditures on account of admission fee, examination fee, maintenance fund, stationery cost, student-fund, school leaving fee and many more which is the clear infringement of Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan.
The analysis of the budgetary data shows leakage of 38 per cent and 2 per cent in the non-salary budget for the FY 2009-10 and 2011-12 respectively. Similarly, 2.86 per cent leakage was observed in the resources of primary schools in FY 2012-13 in Toba Tek Singh.
Both studies covered various dimensions, which include tracking budgetary allocation and leakages, looking for the available facilities and the level of satisfaction of parents, the income and expenditure of the schools, information about the school councils, monitoring and evaluation mechanism, and income and expenditure patterns of schools among others in Jhang and Toba Tek Singh.
CPDI Program Manager Raja Shoaib Akbar emphasised that government should make efforts to provide missing facilities, especially in primary schools and increase the allocation for operation expenditure of schools up to 12 per cent of the current budget.
Akbar said that the district government should issue orders to the school management authorities to ensure the implementation of “Punjab Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2014” and make sure that the students are not charged for education by any means, hence avoiding the violation of the act as well as Article 25-A of the Constitution.
Free education for all? No! | Pakistan Today

Looks like the fake roti kapra makan now includes the education ...what other lies would a politician party sell for its seats?

 

[Diggy]

I think the best means of increasing school enrollment is mid-day meals scheme , which is a huge hit in india , it also addresses the issue of malnutrition . You can actually go through some recent surveys on how mid day meal
schemes have increased school enrollments in india.



Akshay patra has done some really good work and more philanthropists should come forward and support these
schemes. Parents would be happy that atleast their kids can have good meal for a day.

I don't really agree with scrap teaching in english part , you know weather we like it or not but english today has become a global language and those students who are poor at english communication suffer in the later stages of their career. I see that day in & day out in india where so many talented students from rural areas with marks more than ninety percentile can't make it to good companies just because he is not good at english communication while someone with much less technical knowledge would easily make it because he can talk well with the HR.

the first point is quiet important , i always feel there should be a minimum infrastructure requirements set for school , to get a CBSE board affiliation in india you need to comply with some minimum infra requirements.

from what info i gathered a good school should have the foll min infra

>A building structure
> The area of the school should be around an acre or more
>class rooms should be big enough to provide atleast one sq mtr for each student
>Should be enough space for children to play
>availability of furniture like cupboards , benches , boards etc
>staff rooms for faculty
>atleast one computer lab
>rooms for extra curricular activities
>Toilet facilities for girls & boys separate
>security measures
>internet connectivity



we must now see how much would it cost to have these minimum infra in a school and how can funds be raised to cover various needs. The burden can be shared , the government can bear the cost of building while funds for benches , computers , security , sports facilities can be raised from public. I am not an expert on these matters but its my dream to quit my job & work one day in this field.

 

[Sinnerman108]

I believe any debate regarding education or the lack thereof is not complete with the reason for it's demise, i.e Zulfiqar Bhutto.

Mr Bhutto's policy of nationalizing education led to widespread corruption, both in administration and execution of the department.

Ergo today's totally skewed system.

 

[Mutakalim]

Set universal minimum standards for schools: What makes a primary or a secondary school? Currently, you see a school under a tree with two teachers in one place but a primary school with a huge building and many teachers in another place - the same is the case for curriculum, teachers’ qualifications and examinations. Government, community and private schools should have to adhere to the same basic principles. Dr Mir Afzal Tajik, director, Aga Khan University’s Institute for Educational Development, Karachi, Pakistan

Most important thing to do with education system in Pakistan is:
Across the board standardization of education


Currently education system in Pakistan can be categorized into two major branches. Modern education system that we descended directly from British. It can be further classified into three systems like English medium, Urdu medium and A O levels which are provided by likes of beacon house school system.


Then there are Madaris. Large population of Pakistan especially in rural areas goes to Madaris.

So what you have in this society is three to four different standards of education. The problem is the expanding rift between those segments of society that have altogether different educational background. That results in polarization of society. How can you expect from a child who spent his 14 to 15 years in madrasah have not exposed to modern education to understand the modern norms of society. Same is true for other extreme that is the folk who has completed his education from A O levels. He has no in depth knowledge of Islam and related shariah subjects. So how could you expect from him to not to pass judgments like Jahil backward mullah etc.

Then there is the tragedy of A'O levels and Urdu English medium schools. I have studied from a so called English medium school. After studying English for 16 years I am still not well versed in English language. Same is true for 90% of my colleagues. There are few exceptions but all-round trend is same. So what is the point behind those English medium schools that can’t provide a solid base for English language? In my opinion these Urdu and English medium schools provide Clerks to society.

@TankMan
@syedali73
@MastanKhan

 

[TankMan]

Most important thing to do with education system in Pakistan is:
Across the board standardization of education


Currently education system in Pakistan can be categorized into two major branches. Modern education system that we descended directly from British. It can be further classified into three systems like English medium, Urdu medium and A O levels which are provided by likes of beacon house school system.


Then there are Madaris. Large population of Pakistan especially in rural areas goes to Madaris.

So what you have in this society is three to four different standards of education. The problem is the expanding rift between those segments of society that have altogether different educational background. That results in polarization of society. How can you expect from a child who spent his 14 to 15 years in madrasah have not exposed to modern education to understand the modern norms of society. Same is true for other extreme that is the folk who has completed his education from A O levels. He has no in depth knowledge of Islam and related shariah subjects. So how could you expect from him to not to pass judgments like Jahil backward mullah etc.

Then there is the tragedy of A'O levels and Urdu English medium schools. I have studied from a so called English medium school. After studying English for 16 years I am still not well versed in English language. Same is true for 90% of my colleagues. There are few exceptions but all-round trend is same. So what is the point behind those English medium schools that can’t provide a solid base for English language? In my opinion these Urdu and English medium schools provide Clerks to society.

@TankMan
@syedali73
@MastanKhan

I completely agree that some level of standardization is required, my only reservation with that idea is the method of implementation.

The problem with trying to completely standardize education is that the 'rifts' between the different types of education are so deep that it is impractical to try and change that suddenly, or even gradually without taking some steps first. We cant just 'standardize' them all - a madrassa will never be able to conform to the exact same standards an English Medium O/A level school does.

It's not just madaris, even the 'Modern education system' is divided into two parts and as you rightly stated there are actually three to four categories, which I will quote below:

It can be further classified into three systems like English medium, Urdu medium and A O levels which are provided by likes of beacon house school system.

Essentially,

1- ''English Medium'', lower class. Basically the traditional Matric route with English included, but generally inadequate. Some also provide O/A Levels.
2- ''Urdu Medium'', traditional Urdu-based education
3- Madaris, mostly religious education with almost no 'worldly' education. However, some madaris do teach subjects such as mathematics and Urdu
4- Elite English Medium schools, O/A Levels. e.g Beaconhouse, Aitchison etc

For example, your average lower-class school or academy takes the Matric route while using local textbooks. This is the majority of Pakistani students. Nowadays it is mostly 'English medium' - In my observation 'urdu medium' is on the decline as most people still try to opt for 'English madium' schools/academies if they can't afford anything better. However, this observation is purely anecdotal.

On the other hand, the upper-middle to elite schools go for O Levels using foreign material and Cambridge or Oxford books, providing a completely different education in general. Many of the big, established schools even print their own books and teaching material.

Now, how would you go about standardizing all that? Would you conform to the less sophisticated but generally inadequate way or the extra-sophisticated but difficult to implement way? It's either that or a middle ground approach that, thanks to our 'esteemed leaders', will end up taking the worst bits of the two systems and combining them into a complete failure.

The best option, for now, would be to settle on a number of points that all institutions must follow. This would include a certain standard in basic mathematics, sciences, Urdu, history, geography and Islamiat. There should be a universal exam or set of exams to test these points. These would have the exact same difficulty and questions, and this exam must be made compulsory for every single institution. A government organisation or board can be made and dedicated for this purpose, or an existing one can be modified. They can decide at which grades these exams will be taken, around fifth class/grade or equivalents.

Here's the main point: Instead of trying to make every institution the same, or standardized, make it so that it must pass a certain criteria to be recognized as legitimate. Any institution without this criteria is a problem and must be dealt with. The rest of the above is just a system to test that criteria.

This allows for flexibility, i.e they can opt for either Matric or O/A Levels, or they can focus on religious education; they can use Local material or books from Cambridge BUT everyone will have the basic education to become productive members of society

The whole proposition may sound impractical but it really is not - the exam would be really basic, and schools would deal with it in the usual 'board ke paper' style. Sure, students from Beaconhouse may find the exam too easy. Students from madaris may find it too difficult - as long as they are educated to a reasonable standard, it doesn't matter.

This system can be phased in slowly, by firstly registering institutions and then notifying them. The exams can be made compulsory in one city or administrative division first, then gradually expanded to the whole nation.

Notice how I didn't mention English in the above proposition - that is because I agree, English is not our language and it is wrong to force people to learn it. Most Pakistanis have a provincial dialect as their mother tongue; they then learn Urdu, and then English is shoved down their throats. Knowing three languages is not easy for most people and it is better to be proficient in one language than know just the basics of three.

Then comes the pertinent issue of Religious Education: Islamiat in most Modern O/A Level schools is taught in English and has more to do with Islamic History than Islam itself. Some basic principles are taught, but not enough.
Now obviously we can't expect them to do hifz-e-Quran , but basic Islam and Sharia should be taught to the point where students can understand and discuss issues among Muslims from an Islamic perspective. Now, all this should be done in a non-sectarian manner, but I suppose that is too much to expect.

So what you have in this society is three to four different standards of education. The problem is the expanding rift between those segments of society that have altogether different educational background. That results in polarization of society. How can you expect from a child who spent his 14 to 15 years in madrasah have not exposed to modern education to understand the modern norms of society. Same is true for other extreme that is the folk who has completed his education from A O levels. He has no in depth knowledge of Islam and related shariah subjects. So how could you expect from him to not to pass judgments like Jahil backward mullah etc.

Agree completely.

Everything I have said here is, obviously, debatable and just some ideas I am throwing out for the sake of discussion. Hopefully, some day we can have a proper system of standards through which every Pakistani will have the opportunity to become a capable, educated and moral citizen. Insha'allah.

Edit: highlighted some parts to emphasize, I realized that my post looks like a wall of text.

 

[Mutakalim]

Everything I have said here is, obviously, debatable and just some ideas I am throwing out for the sake of discussion. Hopefully, some day we can have a proper system of standards through which every Pakistani will have the opportunity to become a capable, educated and moral citizen. Insha'allah.

I have a probable solution for merging madaris with modern education. Right now i am feeling sleepy. will reply in detail tomorrow. Thanks for your in depth reply
@Akheilos your comments??

 

[Dubious]

I have a probable solution for merging madaris with modern education. Right now i am feeling sleepy. will reply in detail tomorrow. Thanks for your in depth reply
@Akheilos your comments??

Yaar right now I cant think much you guys contribute I will be silent reader and contribute if something rattles my empty brain

 

[prashantazazel]

regarding English, I feel that the easiest way to master it is to distribute English language audio visual media- for eg educational videos/ Hollywood movies( age appropriate, of course).
otherwise you can keep the medium of instruction as urdu, but encourage the use of technical terms in English.
regarding expenditure, primary education can also be imparted by volunteers - who may refer to national level or british curricula...
just my two bits. I teach English and science to 3 of my guard's kids, and my cousin sponsors education for about 30kids in private schools in Ranchi, India. He has had good success, with some of the older kids in jobs they couldn't have dreamed of prior to such intervention.

 

[Dubious]

I have a probable solution for merging madaris with modern education.

Yaar I sincerely thought it was being done sadly the Islamic uni seemed to have fallen for politics...I know when they opened they were good but now it is as shitty as politics...

I know their Malaysian campus is still ok...

 

[Diggy]

regarding English, I feel that the easiest way to master it is to distribute English language audio visual media- for eg educational videos/ Hollywood movies( age appropriate, of course).
otherwise you can keep the medium of instruction as urdu, but encourage the use of technical terms in English.
regarding expenditure, primary education can also be imparted by volunteers - who may refer to national level or british curricula...
just my two bits. I teach English and science to 3 of my guard's kids, and my cousin sponsors education for about 30kids in private schools in Ranchi, India. He has had good success, with some of the older kids in jobs they couldn't have dreamed of prior to such intervention.

great work brother !

 

[Mutakalim]

Yaar right now I cant think much you guys contribute I will be silent reader and contribute if something rattles my empty brain

hmm.... Its true sometimes i don't want to think

 

[Salik]

I have a probable solution for merging madaris with modern education.

Madaris are providing three basic necessities to a child: free food, clothing and accommodation, that too at substandard or 'guzara' level. In return they mould him the way they want, that the kid moves upon their finger tips. To counter and outrun this, govt will've to bring similar system with better attractions. Govt will've to invest in it and invite donors the way madaris do. Make a base mostly in rural and less developed areas, give a standard that anyone willing to send their children. Most parents want their child to make a Hafiz so govt should make hifz a subject obviously.

 

[Dubious]

govt will've to bring similar system with better attractions.

I know a few NGO are doing...I gave up hope on govt to ever come to the topic regarding education!