Zeeshan Rasool Education in Pakistan System and Problems

Education in Pakistan System and Problems The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan says, The state of Pakistan shall remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory secondary education within minimum possible period. Education is considered as the backbone of the socioeconomic and economic condition of a nation. In case of Pakistan, 23 policies and action plans have been introduced since its independence, yet the educational sector is still struggling to make an impact. Ministry of Education of Government of Pakistan is responsible for educational system of Pakistan. The academic institutions are the responsibility of the provincial governments whereas the federal government mostly assists in curriculum development, accreditation and some financing of research. There are two systems of education in Pakistan: the traditional religion-based education system and the modern formal education system. The modern formal education system in Pakistan is generally divided into six levels: preparatory (kachi); primary (grades one to five); middle (grades six through eight); high (matric: grades nine and ten, leading to the Secondary School Certificate or SSC); intermediate (FSc/FA: grades eleven and twelve, leading to a Higher Secondary (School) Certificate or HSC); and university (lead to graduate and advance degrees). The major issues faced by the educational system of Pakistan include: disparity amongst students (public vs. private institutes); regional disparity (standard of education in different provinces); gender discrimination (education of boys prioritized over girls); standard of education (lack of technical education); funds allocation (only 2 percent of GDP is spent on education); standard of teaching (incompatible and untrained teachers); and poverty (restricts parents to send their children to public or private schools). In this paper, I will talk about general education system of Pakistan and problems it faces.

Zeeshan Rasool Education in Pakistan System and Problems

The root of education system in Pakistan starts from preparatory education (kachi: playgroup, nursery and kindergarten). It is a school for children between the ages of three and five years; it provides help create the base of education for a child rather than just childcare. It is a pre-school education institution, part of early childhood education. After pre-school education, students go through primary school from grades 1 to 5, which is proceeded by middle school (grades 6 to 8). Secondary education in Pakistan begins from grade 9 and lasts for four years. Secondary education is further divided in two parts, high level and intermediate level education. After end of each of the four school years (grade 9,10,11 and 12), students are required to pass a national examination, which is administered by a regional Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE). High level (matric) comprises of grade 9 and 10. Students are awarded a Secondary School Certificate (SSC) or Matriculation Certificate upon successful completion of grade 9 and 10 standardized examination. After completing matric level, students enter intermediate level (FSc/FA) for grade 11 and 12. Upon completion of each of the two grades, students again take standardized tests in their academic subjects; successful completion of these examinations, students are awarded Higher Secondary (School) Certificate (HSC).

Apart from the general education system of Pakistan (BISE), alternative qualifications are also available under different boards. After BISE, the most common education system is the General Certificate of Education (GCE), where matric (SSC: grade 9 and 10) and FSc/FA (HSC: grade 11 and 12) are replaced by Ordinary Level (O Level) and Advanced Level (A Level) respectively. GCE O Level, IGCSE and GCE AS/A Level are managed by British

Zeeshan Rasool Education in Pakistan System and Problems

examination boards of CIE of the Cambridge Assessment and/or Edexcel of the Pearson PLC. A student must attain HSC or A level certificate (or any equivalent certificate) to be eligible to enter a university in Pakistan. There are two types of Bachelor courses in Pakistan: Pass and Honours. Pass degree requires two years of study and students normally read three optional subjects in addition to almost equal number of compulsory subjects. Honours degree requires three or four years of study, and students normally specialize in a chosen field of study. Majority of students who enters university opt for Honours degree.

Even after 64 years of independence, Pakistan is still struggling for a better education system for all. The major problems that Pakistan is facing in its educational system include disparity amongst students, regional disparity, gender discrimination, standard of education, funds allocation, standard of teaching, and poverty. Current educational system of Pakistan causes disparity amongst students, as medium of education is different in both public and private sector. This divides students into two different segments. Regional disparity between provincial educational systems is another major problem. The schools and educational system implementation in Punjab (largest province of Pakistan by population) is considered as well standardized once it is compared to the province of Baluchistan(The Largest province of Pakistan by area). Gender discrimination in families cause female population to stat illiterate as education of male child is highly prioritized over female education. Moreover, due to religion and culture, co-education is uncommon in Pakistan. Lack of technical education and curriculum is one of the biggest flaws in the educational policy of Pakistan. Apart from this, the allocation of budget for education is

Zeeshan Rasool Education in Pakistan System and Problems

extremely low as only 2 percent of GDP is spent on education. The teachers in government schools, especially in primary and middle public, are not well trained and paid. Most of the teachers in primary and middle level are those who do not get job in any sector and they then try their luck in educational system. Lack of training and will to teach leaves the basic education system very unprofessional and flawed. Poverty is one of the major problems of enrollment of students in educational institutions. Because of poverty, parents cannot afford their children to attend a school.

Considering the current educational system and its problems, there is an urgent need to alter the educational policy, structure and curriculum. At large, the educational system of Pakistan is still following the structure of 20th century education. It is time to come up with the education system that is of highest standard and is for all. We cannot start from scratch, but we can alter the current system to produced highly educated generation, which in future can cater the needs of 21st century institutions.

Zeeshan Rasool Education in Pakistan System and Problems

Some statistics: According to Economic Survey 200910 According to the latest Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) Survey 200809, the overall literacy rate (age 10 years and above) is 57% (69% for male and 45% for female). Literacy rate in Punjab is 59 %, Sindh 59%, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 50%, and Baluchistan 45%. The overall school attendance, as measured by the Net Enrolment Rate (NER) for 200809 was 57% as compared to 55% in 200708. Increase in PrePrimary enrolment: 2.6% (8.434 million). Total numbers of 156,653 Primary Schools with 465,334 Teachers are functional. Increase in Primary enrolment: 0.6% (18.468 million). Total numbers of 40,919 Middle Schools with 320,480 Teachers are functional. Decrease in Middle enrolment: 0.2% (5.414 million). Total numbers of 24,322 Secondary Schools with 439,316 Teachers are functional. Increase in Secondary enrolment: 2.9 (2.556 million. Total numbers of 3,291 Higher Secondary Schools / Inter Colleges with 76,184 Teachers are functional. A total numbers of 1,238 Degree Colleges with 21,176 Teachers are functional. 37.7% schools up to elementary level are without boundary wall, 33.9% without drinking water facility, 37% without latrines and around 60% schools are without electricity.

Zeeshan Rasool Education in Pakistan System and Problems

References: "Pakistan - EDUCATION." Country Studies. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://countrystudies.us/pakistan/42.htm>. Higher Education Commission, Pakistan. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://www.hec.gov.pk/Pages/main.aspx>. "PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN - Pakistan Research Repository." Welcome to Pakistan Research Repository - Pakistan Research Repository. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. <http://eprints.hec.gov.pk/440/>. Farooq, Omer. "PAKISTAN ECONOMIC SURVEY 2009-10: Education." Ministry of Finance. Government of Pakistan. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <www.finance.gov.pk>.