PUBLIC SCHOOLS
26,900Boys: 16,195
Girls: 10,705
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
44,569Boys: 28,256
Girls: 15,983
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
52,470Boys: 24,925
Girls: 27,545
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
12,317Boys: 8,730
Girls: 3,587
Who is learning what?
Our Out of School (OOS) children now number over 24 million. But even in the 51 million going to school, World bank estimates learning poverty at 77% (2019). Fresh estimates suggest that COVID-19 driven school closures may have raised it to 79%.
What are they spending?
From a high of 15.45% of its GDP in 2007, Pakistan's education spend dropped to 10.24% in 2021. As infrastructure crumbles in the face of a growing population, students are forced to spend extra on after-school tuitions. This expense can range from $3 per subject to as high as $70 per subject.
Physician, heal thyself!
If Pakistan's school-going population was a country, it would be the 21st largest country in the world. Yet, our public schools have failed to produced leaders in education that could guide this nation to its rightful place. Even the government admits that almost all public schools have poorly trained teachers.
Is brick & mortar model the answer?
The policy focus on raising physical infrastructure at huge expense is clearly failing our children. Learning poverty is not a measure of how many schools are there but what happens in these schools. Outdated textbooks combine with poorly trained teachers to push young learners away from education. No amount of brick and mortar can combat this disengagement. Technology can.
