As compared to other nations, Pakistan has given less attention to education which is the most vital sector for sustainable progress and prosperity. During the last 70 years Pakistan has failed to develop an education system which can fulfill the aspirations of the people, especially the rising generations.

No government in the past made a comprehensive plan for the education sector as a result of which Pakistan today is placed in the category of nations with poor educational attainments. The lack of a unified and sustainable education system has led to a wide range of societal issues, including political turmoil, terrorism and sectarian violence, social disruption, economic instability and declining quality of governance. Non-availability of jobs, poverty, rising sense of insecurity, lack of tolerance and a sense of national direction — all these are a result of an inefficient and ineffective education system.

The major issues of the education system include an extremely low budget allocation, an outdated examination system, poor Infrastructure, untrained teachers, low enrolment, a high dropout rate, outdated curriculum, corruption, increasing cost, cultural constraints, lack of parental input and community participation.

Education in Pakistan has suffered mainly due to lack of sufficient funds. While in many countries the share of education in the total budget is increasing, in Pakistan it is continuously declining. Our low education budget is not sufficient to fulfill the needs of a growing population. Educational institutions also do not spend available funds on the training and development of teachers. They are neither sent to attend workshops, courses, seminars or conferences to groom themselves and learn the modern techniques and methodologies of teaching.

Pakistan has a poorly planned and directionless education system which is more prone towards general education. It is not oriented towards the creation of skilled manpower resulting in growing unemployment. There is little emphasis on science and technology and little effort is made to teach students to develop critical thinking, creativity, imagination, reasoning, experimentation, and innovation.

A serious issue is the class basis of our education system: English medium schools for the rich, Urdu medium for the middle classes and madrassah for the poor people.  Such a skewed education structure has divided society along political, economic and social lines.

We are still carrying on with an old-fashioned and outdated syllabus oriented towards rote memorization, cramming of facts and figures without proper understanding of the underlying concepts. We have no arrangements for proper training of teachers and educational administrators. There are only a few training institutes which suffer from lack of funds and related resources. Such a situation does not help to improve the quality of teaching and enhancement of student skills. A new UNESCO report rates the quality of educational institutions and teachers in Pakistan as very low. Teachers do not use new methods of teaching and learning. There is no lesson planning and little use of libraries or the internet. Students are promoted to the next class on the basis of cramming and memorization of facts and figures without any understanding of topics in the books.

Students’ dropout rate in Pakistan is among the highest in the world. Lack of good management and discipline in schools leads many students to drop out. The reasons include poor teaching, lack of parental control, lack of motivation and an unattractive school environment.An unbalanced teacher-student ratio is another big issue of our education system. In a large class, weak students do not get sufficient attention from the teacher.

Moreover, not all students are able to access facilities like labs, computers, canteens, sports items, playgrounds, washrooms, etc. The ideal class size is 30 students for one teacher but in our education institutions this figure ranges from 50 to 80.

The problems identified above call for urgent remedial measures as suggested below: The government should arrange to provide free education to all citizens from the primary to graduation level. Budget allocation should be increased as per international standards. Student-teacher ratio should be maintained as per international best practices. For teacher training and development of quality professionals, institutes with sufficient funds should be set up in all parts of the country.

The curriculum should be revised on annual basis and new strategies and methods should be incorporated to align our education system with the rest of the world. Computer education should be introduced at the primary level. The examination system should be improved through stricter supervision and monitoring. Both quantitative and qualitative exams should be introduced to judge the performance of students through various types of assessments like case studies, research papers, MCQs, comprehensive subjective and analytical questions. Technical and vocational training should be made compulsory in all schools and colleges.

Parent-teacher committees should be set up to involve the local community in school management.