Financing Education in Pakistan – Opportunities for Action (Country Case Study for the Oslo Summit on Education for Development)
Published - Jan 1, 2015In 2010, Pakistan’s constitution made education a legal right, deeming it the state’s responsibility to provide free and compulsory education for children aged 5-16 years. Article 25-A binds the state to bear the cost of education, and as such has financial implications for the government. The inclusion of the Right to Education in the constitution is an important signal of commitment to education by a democratically elected government. The challenge now is how to make this guarantee a reality. Achieving this right will be a huge challenge for the country. In 2011, the Pakistan Education Task Force announced that Pakistan was facing an ‘education emergency.’ One of the challenges identified by the task force was the lack of funds required to expand learning opportunities. New reform initiatives have been implemented across the country since that time, but the education system is still in crisis and financing remains a critical issue. This paper reviews the state of education in Pakistan, highlighting in particular the wide inequalities in educational outcomes that persist. The paper reviews the current state of financing for education, including domestic and external sources of finance. It notes the positive developments in recent years with regard to constitutional structures governing fiscal and administrative arrangements, which empower the provinces to meet the education goals and support the distribution of finances from the federal government to provinces according to need. The paper also details further challenges, notably the low levels of spending requiring wider reforms to strengthen the tax system and the need for redistributive financing within provinces to tackle inequalities. The paper concludes with a list of opportunities for action for the Government of Pakistan to achieve its education goals.
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Malik, R. & Rose, P. (2015). Financing education in Pakistan: Opportunities for action. Country case study for the Oslo Summit on Education for Development.