Nelson Mandela rightly said: “Education is the most important weapon that you can use to

change the world.”

Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing ARMY. (Edward Everett)
Education a cheapest defense mechanism. Education turns the burden of population into
productive human resource.
Illiteracy
Illiteracy is defined as not being able to read and write which affects many people.
A person who is unable to read, write and interpret written documentation is called as an
“illiterate.” Many countries are suffering from the illiteracy, especially developing countries.
Defining literacy: UNESCO
Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using
printed and written materials associated with varying contexts
The literacy rate measures the percentage of people aged 15 and above who are able to read and
write.
Education in Pakistan
From 1947 till now, we have always admired education and we believe that
Education has the potential to change the fortune of our beloved country.
Pakistan has several threatening problems and the most serious one is
Education.

A famous quote of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah:

“EDUCATION IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH FOR PAKISTAN. THE WORLD IS

PROGRESSING SO RAPIDLY THAT WITHOUT REQUISITE ADVANCE IN EDUCATION,

NOT ONLY SHALL WE LAG BEHIND OTHERS BUT MAY BE WIPED OUT ALTOGETHER.”

Article 25-A of Pakistan’s Constitution

Article 25-A of Constitution of Pakistan obligates the state to provide free and compulsory
quality education to children of the age group 5 to 16 years. "The State shall provide free and
compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such a manner as may
be determined by law".[3]
Unfortunately, no one focused on the practical implementation of these laws,
and still, there are several low or middle-class families in Pakistan who have no
access to quality education due to the high tuition fees of private institutions.
Literacy rate of Pakistan declined from 60 % to 58 % according to Economic Survey of Pakistan
(2016-17).
In Pakistan dropout rate at primary level is 33% (Government of Pakistan, 2017) which is at a
very high side. Low enrolment and high dropout at primary level have negative impact on
literacy rate in the country
Approximately, 25 million children still don't go to school, which is the largest of any country
within the world. With only one in four children making it to grade 10, this shows a strong
systemic issue in regards to educational practices within Pakistan, as well as the conditions of the
schools themselves. 
Pakistan’s literacy rate is abysmally low as compared to eye opening literacy rate of Asian
countries. Keeping in view, Maldives overall literacy rate is 99 percent, Sri Lanka 93 percent,
India 71 percent, Bhutan 65 percent, Nepal 64 percent and Bangladesh 62 percent. It is painful
that The government has allocated Rs. 83.3 billion for Education Affairs and Services in the
federal budget for 2020–21 against the revised allocation of Rs. 81.2 billion for the ongoing
fiscal year, showing an imperceptible rise of around 2.5%. Pakistan’s public expenditure on
education as a percentage to GDP is estimated at 2.3% in the fiscal year 2019-20, which is the
lowest in the region. Compared to international benchmarks, the allocated budget for education
is lowest as of the agreed targets of 15-20% of the total budget and 4% of the GDP. 
Afghanistan is the only country after Pakistan having the lowest (38 percent) literacy rate.
According to the budgetary documents, for the fiscal year 2021-22 the government has
earmarked Rs108 billion - 42.4b for development and 66.25b for non-development expenditure
of the HEC.
During last decade provinces doubled the budget but students learning did not improve.
The survey also noted that overall Net Enrollment Rate at the primary level decrease and 54 % in
2015-16 as compare to 57 % in 2013-14.
According to various domestic and international reports, Pakistan has a total of
150,129 primary education facilities.

According to the latest available data (2018) Pakistan has 78 percent professionally trained
teachers at the primary school level against a global average of 89.1 percent. If we break down
this percentage on a gender basis, a bias is clearly evident. 89 percent male teachers have had
some kind of professional training, while 68 percent female teachers have had similar training.
There are 120,273 private education institutions in Pakistan (DR. Ayesha Razzak, Eliminating
private school competition, 2021)
 a. In Pakistan children rate going to private schools has rapidly growths to about 1/3rd of
total
b. Private schools are largely present in both urban and in rural areas.
c. Cost of public sector school is higher
d. Public sector schools pay high salaries to the teachers

There are 188 educational institutions in Pakistan which are recognized by the HEC. Public,

private, military, and vocational universities constitute the higher education system in Pakistan.
Lack of university seats and high-quality study programs in Pakistan, particularly at the graduate
level. While Pakistan has created a tremendous amount of new doctoral programs over the past
decade, growing numbers of Pakistani scholars are heading abroad to access higher quality
education, primarily in fields like engineering and the science
Universities failed to produce planners, developers, decision makers & implementers. No
Pakistani university is included in 100 top universities of the world

According to the Open Doors data of the Institute of International Education, Pakistan sent 7,957
students to the U.S. in 2018/19, an increase of 5.6 percent over the previous year, making it the
22nd most important sending country. Around 44 percent of these students are enrolled in
undergraduate programs, 35 percent in graduate programs, and 4 percent in non-degree
programs, while 17 percent pursue Optional Practical Training.
Pakistan has signed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and Goal 4 of the SDGs relates
to quality education and lifelong learning. Pakistan could not achieve the Education For All
(EFA) agenda by 2015 despite invocation of Right to Education under Article 25-A of its
constitution (Global Monitoring Report, 2015).
According to the Human Development Report, 2019 Pakistan is ranked 152 out of 189 countries
in the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI)
ranking.
Women in Pakistan need education
Women's education in Pakistan is a fundamental right of every female citizen, according to
article thirty-seven of the Constitution of Pakistan, but gender discrepancies still exist in the
educational sector.
In Pakistan, the rate of women’s literacy remains low as compared to men’s. Women have a low
percentage of participation in society. The status of women in Pakistan especially in rural areas is
low which is due to social and cultural obstacles. In 2017, Pakistan's total literacy rate was
around 59 percent, with less than 47 percent of women being literate and more than 71 percent of
men.One of the strangest aspects in Pakistan is that some place especially in northern tribal areas
the family is against of educating girls. The situation in NWFP and Baluchistan is most critical.
The rate of women literacy is 3-8%. Many organizations have opened such schools in these areas
that provide education. 

In Pakistan, women’s education is in dire need of improvement, and so far, the number of

illiterate women has not decreased - on the contrary, it has been going up for years. Although
education for both genders is not prohibited in Pakistan, women are generally not as
well educated as men. But it doesn’t stop there: Pakistan is one of the countries deemed worst for
women in general when it comes to quality of life and safety.
Challenges of girl’s education

Lack of hygienic facilities. Absence of boundary walls and restrooms are big barriers to girls’
education.

Transport. In rural areas of Pakistan, schools are far away and transport links are unavailable to
ensure girls can attend school. Parents do not feel their daughters are safe to travel to school. 

Safety. In rural areas, in particular, harassment and rape rates are increasing day by day. The
people in charge need to improve the existing law and proceed with the implementation of anti-
harassment law 509. 

Education infrastructure. Many schools only have primary school education - therefore
education is limited to this level as girls are unable to travel far to attend secondary school. 

Early marriage interrupts young girls’ education. This common Pakistani custom places
intense societal pressures that restrict girls from continuing their education once married. In
fact, 21 percent of girls are married by their eighteenth birthday, and three percent are married by
the age of 15. For every year a girl continues her secondary education, she reduces her chances
of becoming a child bride by 3.4 percent

Poverty. The government commissioned programmes to provide schoolgirls with stipends. It

helped girls to some extent, as the stipend amount helped with resources. Another idea to
overcome poverty is entrepreneurship skills, vocational and part-time skill-based training which
could lead to greater change.

The lack of education for girls directly affects their future earnings. Women only make up
about 39 percent of the labor force in Pakistan. On average, women with primary education earn
only 51 percent of what men earn in Pakistan. However, with secondary education, the figure
jumps to 70 percent. The number of girls completing their primary education is also
disproportionate compared to boys. In 2014, 79 percent of boys in Pakistan completed primary
school. However, the completion rate drops to 66 percent for girls in primary school.

Education and the 18th Amendment

Primary education in Pakistan was devolved as a provincial subject with introduction of the 18th
Amendment to the constitution in 2010. Strategy formulation for post 18 Amendment provincial
education plans covers:

 Universal access to primary education

 Curriculum development
 syllabus planning
 resource allocation
 school management
 infrastructure improvement
 quality assurance of access to primary education
 quality assurance of access to measures to improve learning outcomes

The role of federal Ministry of Education is now reduced to assisting provinces with curriculum
development, accreditation and R & D. Concomitant with the 18th Amendment, Article 25-A
was introduced to the constitution. Article 15-A makes the state responsible for providing free
and compulsory education to all children of the age group 5 to 16.

Pakistan is one of the lowest performing countries of the South East Asian region in terms of
access to primary education, its quality and the learning outcomes. This despite its constitutional
assurances to make primary education free and mandatory under Article 25-A. Literature on the
status of primary education provides substantial evidence of unsatisfactory performance
compared to regional comparators.

According to an ADB sector assessment report (June 2019), “Pakistan spends just 2 percent of
gross national product on education, which is a far lower percentage than in comparable
countries of the region.”

After the 18th Amendment, education became a provincial responsibility which expected more
funding being available for primary education. However, additional resource allocation is not
evident while capacity constraints at the provincial and district levels mean value for money in
public expenditures on education is not materializing.

Importance of education

Despite great progress in the past few years, children are denied education. We must
understand that education and development go hand in hand. The Role of education in
developing countries is a very important one as lack of education causes poverty and slow
economic development of a country especially if the country is a developing country.
Education is very important for everyone it’s a primary need of any individual, every girl or
boy child should have the right to quality education so that they can  have better chances in
life, including employment opportunities, and better health.
 
The role of education in poverty reduction is huge. Some advantages of education are: it
boosts economic growth and increases the GDP of a country. It even reduces infant
mortality rate, increases human life expectancy. Education is an important investment in a
country as there are huge benefits. Education guarantees lifetime income; it promotes peace
and reduces drop-out rates from schools and colleges and encourages healthy competition.
Many children dropout form colleges as they are not aware of the advantages of college
education.Education helps in making the right decisions at the time of conflicts.
The importance of education for individuals

3.1 Gain knowledge

We can get worldwide information and knowledge through education (Oak 2011). That is
because education let us able to receive information from the external humanity and receiving all
important information regarding the current (Experts Column 2010). Education opens wonderful
opportunities for the knowledge of a person to grow and expand even further. An educated
person has an uncanny trait to look and learn more about new territories (McGregor 2010).

3.2 Training the human mind

A mind is the complex of cognitive faculties that enables consciousness, thinking, reasoning,
perception, and judgment. Education is not only teaching people how to answer the exam but it is
teaching people how to think, how to distinguish right and wrong, how to make decision and so
on (Gattani 2010). It is a generative and beneficial thing in the life of a person as it is one of the
important factors in the development of the mind (Study Mode 2005).

3.3 Bolsters Confidence

An educated person is a confident person. Education fosters a positive outlook and allows us to
believe in ourselves. Self-belief is the most wanted trait in a human being and education leads us
towards relying on ourselves, making us believe that we are ready to take on the world (Lifestyle
Lounge 2010). Without adequate education and knowledge, people won’t involve themselves
in any discussions such as group discussion in school. Thus, it depicts that proper education will
give them the required confidence to put their opinions in front of everybody (Useful Articles
2012).

3.4 Career advancement

3.4.1 Educated people will get jobs more easily

Education is important because it equips us with all that is needed to make our dreams come true.
It opens doors to brilliant career opportunities. Besides, it fetches better prospects in career and
growth. Every employer today requires his prospective employees to be well-educated. So,
education becomes an eligibility criterion for employment in any sector of the industry (Oak
2011).

3.4.2 Higher educated people will get a higher pay

Those people who able to produce qualifications and credentials that are essential for most types
of better paying jobs. It is an obvious fact that educated people are far more successful and richer
than those who are not. A study provides by Spagnoli (2012) shown that higher education people
will get higher pay for their job. As shown in diagram 1of appendices, the income level for those
people who are getting lower education are very low, less than 10k. Higher educations will most
probably getting higher pay in their job. Therefore, income level of people was depending on the
education of people.

4.0 Importance of education in society

4.1 A necessity for society

Education is necessary for society. Education fashions and models man for society. Man cannot
be conceived merely in terms of his biological existence. Education brings into focus the social
aspect of man. Therefore, education signifies man’s supreme position in society (Dushi 2012).

4.2 Makes Better Citizens

Education makes a worthy contribution to our lives by making us responsible citizens (MyNews
2010). We get to know our history and culture through education and imbibe those values.
Education opens our mind and expands our horizon. Also, it enables us to understand our duties
as a citizen and encourages us to follow them. There is no denying the fact that an educated
person is a better citizen (Lifestyle Lounge 2010).

4.3 Reformation of attitudes

Education aims at the reformation of attitudes wrongly developed by children already. For
various reasons the child may have absorbed a host of attitudes, beliefs and disbeliefs, loyalties
and prejudices, jealously and hatred. These are to be reformed. It is the function of education to
see that unfounded beliefs, illogical prejudices and unreasoned loyalties are removed from the
child’s mind, though the school has its own limitations in this regard, it is expected to continue
its efforts in reforming the attitudes of the child (Agarwal 2012).

4.4 Improve citizenry values

Education helps a lot in the improvement of the citizenry values that a person possesses. Proper
education inculcates the feeling and abilities of a person to become better citizens of a particular
area, who are completely aware about their cultural, social, national heritage, and so on. With the
help of education, a person can become aware of the duties and responsibilities that a citizen is
supposed to perform and understand deeply (Kumar 2012).

4.5 Making People Aware

Awareness is a chastity that cannot be prevalent in any society without proper education in an
area. The thinking methods of the people in an area do not tend to advance until and unless they
are properly educated. There are a lot of things that take place in this world on a daily basis. If
proper education is not imparted to the people in the society, they will not be able to identify the
right elements. With proper education comes proper awareness and with proper awareness, a
person can understand and react to the events that are taking place in the surroundings in a
proper manner (Useful Articles 2012)

5.0 Importance of education for a country

5.1An investment in human capital

A country with a strong education system can more definitely develop in the future. In
developing a country, improving citizen’s learning is very important because their attitude
towards a question can influence on development of country. Many studies have shown that high
school and college education in the United States greatly raise the income of a person, even after
netting out direct and indirect costs of schooling, and even after adjusting for the fact that people
with more education tend to have higher IQs and better-educated, richer parents. If they work
without education, this could be wasting a lot of resources and lead their country to go down
(Becker 2008).

5.2 Dispels inequality

The problem of unfair treatment is happening in all country. For individuals who do not have a
wealthy or fortunate background, the provision of quality education puts them at the same
footing as the vast majority of job seekers allowing them to rise from their present level. This
phenomenon also known as distributive justice, it helps in reducing inequalities for both
economic and social in society (The Research Pedia 2012).

5.3 Reduce incidence of poverty

The statistic provides by WordPress (2011) indicates that there is a correlation between
educational attainment and income level. The good news is that recent data from the U.S. Census
Bureau demonstrates a strong positive correlation as educational level goes up, median income
also rises. A study shown from United State, the average income per annum for those people
who are only getting ninth through 12 grade education are only $25,705. While the average
income for those who are getting higher education such as bachelor’s degree are around
$55,864, which is a very big difference in annual income comparing to those people who have a
lower education level (Refer to diagram 1of appendices). Therefore, a higher education will
increase our income level and directly decrease the probability of poverty.

5.4 Economic growth

A country’s economy becomes more productive as the proportion of educated workers increases,
since educated workers are able to more efficiently carry out tasks that require literacy and
critical thinking. As stated earlier, better-educated workers tend to be more productive than less
educated ones. Therefore, many countries have placed greater emphasis on developing an
education system that can produce workers able to function in new industries, such as those in
the fields of technology and science (Radcliffe 2012).

Problems

Lack of education budget

The share of public education expenditure in national budgets increased in many regional countries but
it has declined in Pakistan. According to the International Crisis Group, Pakistan is one of only 12
countries in the world that spends less than 2 percent of its GDP on education. According to Economic
Survey of Pakistan (2015-16), Pakistan spends around 2 % of its GDP on education sector. Less than fifty
percent of the funds allocated for development expenditure of the Ministry of Education at the federal
level are actually utilized. A major reason for this underutilization of funds is their complex financial
allocation and release system. The province lack the finical resources to achieve the goal of universally
primary education.

Finance is considered the engine of any system. The education system of Pakistan has been crippled
mainly due to scarce finance. The successive governments have been giving less than 2.5 percent budget
to the education sector which is not sufficient for the growing educational needs of the nation in the
present changing times. In many of the developing regional countries such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
the budgetary allocation for education has increased. But in Pakistan it is declining day by day [7].
According to International Crisis group, Pakistan is amongst the 12 countries in the world that spent less
than 2 percent of their GDP on education sector [3]. With this insufficient budgetary allocation, the
country is hardly going to meet the targets of universalization of primary education as a signatory to the
Dakar Conference’s MDG goals by 2015 and onward.

 issue confronting higher education in the country is less allocation for education in GDP.
The country spends a meager portion of its annual budget on education. In the year 207-
18, some 2.2 percent of the GDP was allocated for education. Even the most recent
financial budget witnessed some major budget cuts in HEC’s funding, and the worst part
is that the move was justified with the slogan of austerity measures undertook by Prime
Minister Imran Khan. These budget cuts halted one of the most research projects in the
higher education sector. Unlike Pakistan, the United States of America spends about 7.7
percent of its GDP on education, and the country is also ranked as the 14th best country
in the world by EIU for its education spendings.
Different medium of instruction

Cambridge Education system (foreign educatio~ system) is exclusively for the children of very rich so
that they can after graduation go overseas for higher education on the foreign exchange provided to
them by Pakistan Sate Bank. So the students from the elite class follow the "O" and "A" levels curriculum
instead of Pakistan's domestic, the poor quality curriculum. They have little or no awareness of their
religion and culture.

Pakistan Secondary Education System is provided by private and government schools, one for the
middle class and other for the poor. The one for the middle class has medium instruction in English and
the other one in Urdu. The children from these institutions, if they happen to have good grades and the
parental financial capital go to the colleges of their preference and the rest either become clerk/
cashiers/ sales person in a shop/worker in the factory/ any other work which comes in their way.

Maderessah Education System is supposed to provide religious education; however, poverty is another
factor that restricts the parents to send their children to public or private school so that they prefer to
send their children to madressah where education is free. Religious madrassas churn out yet anot?er
class that is usually unaware of the world outside their own.

Lack of uniformity

The system of education in Pakistan according to Iqbal (1981) is not based on uniform principles [5].
Different systems of education are simultaneously working in the country. The curriculum is also not
uniformed which has given birth to different schools of thoughts. For example there is a world of
difference between the attitudes of students coming out from the public educational institutions, Deeni
Madaris and the few private elite institutions. This trend has accelerated the pace of polarization in the
society.

According to Zaki (1989) this is the result of divisive Pakistani education system [1]. This system has
created a huge gap among the nation and even has deeply penetrated into the cultural veins of the
nation. The recent wave of terrorism and the increasing sectarian division are the logical consequences
of this divided system of education. As a result of this current polarized system of education there has
occurred a great social division in the society on political, social and economic grounds rather than unity
among the people which is cutting knee deep the ideological and social foundation of the nation leading
towards further divisions on linguistic and regional grounds which can poetentailly damage the social
cohesion and fabric of the society [7].

Outdated curriculum

Curriculum is the tool through which the goals of education are achieved. The curriculum of education in
Pakistan does not meet the demands of the current times. It is an old and traditional curriculum IJERE
ISSN: 2252-8822 Critical Analysis of The Problems of Education in Pakistan: Possible Solutions (Iqbal
Ahmad) 81 which compels the learners to memorize certain facts and figures without taking into
consideration the reality that education is the holistic development of an individual. It places much
emphasis on the psychology of the learner as well which cannot be negated in the process of teaching
and learning.
The objectives of education must be developed the psychological, philosophical and sociological
foundations of education. The present educational curriculum of Pakistan does not meet these modern
standards of education and research. Hence this curriculum is not promoting the interest of the learner
for practical work, research, scientific knowledge and reflective observation, rather, it emphasizes on
memory and theory [4]

Corruption

Among other causes, corruption is the main contributing factor which has deeply affected the education
system of Pakistan [8]. There is a weak system of check and balances and accountability which has
encouraged many criminal elements to misappropriate funds, use of authority illegally and giving
unnecessary favors in allocation of funds, transfers, promotions and decision making. According to
Transparency International, Pakistan is included in the list of the most corrupt countries of the world [3].
Due to low salaries, teachers in search of decent life standards and to keep their body and soul together
attempt to unfair means in the examination and matters relating to certificates, degrees and so on.

Corruption is one of the maj or contributing factors for failure of educational policy. It is due to lack of
accountability and transparency along with low salaries of the staff. Similarly a large number of schools
are operating in the records but do not actually exist, rose in record by some corrupt officials. There is
also political, social cultural and moral corruption found in our education system. Teachers poorly paid
in the best of circumstances, made extra money by tutoring and payment of bribes. The ultimate
corruption was the outright sale of bogus certificate and degree. For transferring and posting often
required payment of bribes to government agencies.

System of examination

Examination is the evaluation of student’s learning. It should be based on qualitative and quantitative
techniques to comprehensively evaluate the performance of students. The standards must ensure
validity and reliability of the procedures used in the assessment process. The basic aim of assessment is
to evaluate the performance of students. The examination system of Pakistan is not only outdated but it
also does not have the quality to evaluate the performance of learners comprehensively. The
examination system of Pakistan tests only the memory of students. It does not evaluate them in all
aspects of learning [3]. Moreover, the examinations are influenced by external and internal forces which
have encouraged the trend of illegal practices such as unfair means. As a result of this the examination
system promotes rote learning and cramming which negates the role of high intellectual power of
learners in the education process such as critical thinking, reflection, analytical skills and so on. It does
not measure the actual achievements and performance of students [6].

Examinations are ·conducted to test the ability of a student and find out his standard of academic
learning and knowledge. By the use of illegal practice in our examinations have become very widespread
and spoiled its objectives. The problem of illegal practices concern the examiners the 101 invigilators,
the students, the parents and examination board. The students look upon a degree as a passport to
employment in a commercial commodity which can be purchased if you pay the price. Unfortunately,
some parents also share same views and have actively helped their children in using unfair means to
pass the examination but the most tragic part of the story is that our educationists has also been
contaminated by the poison of this evil. Our poor examination system encourages rote learning and
cramming. This system is criticizing for its tendency to define education as the pursuit of high marks~d
not the development of intellectual power through learning. Our examination system is not regarding as
an accurate measure of actual achievement and future performance. This poor system spoiled our
education standard. In Sindh and Balochistan, students are allowed to use their helping material like
books and notes during paper timing.

Failed education policy

Since the inception of Pakistan a number of education policies were created. There has been lack of
political will on the part of successive government to implement the policies vigorously. The policies
were highly ambitious but could not be implemented in true letter and spirit. There has been problem of
corruption, lack of funds and gross inconsistency in successive planning on the part of various political
regimes in Pakistan. Moreover, in the overall policy formulation teachers have been ignored. They are
regarded as unimportant element which has led to alienation between the teachers and the system of
education [1].

A number of educational policies were introduced from time to time by various regimes in the history of
Pakistan for reforms but due lack of implementation and inconsistency, it showed no result. Major
policies decisions are made under threats from strongest pressure group or by the political leaders for
their own political slogan rather than in keeping with the overall needs of the country. Little are no
research is done on the implication of these policies and there long term costs. Similarly, there is hardly
any harmonization between the federal and provincial governments which leads to poor policy
implementation. There are also complaints that the government's consultation with the nonstate sector
does not necessarily result in action. Teachers have also been generally ignored in the policy making
process.

Lack of quality education

Pakistan emphasize is given on quantity not on quality which will make things more worse for our future
generation. The curriculum of our education system is not based on its objectives to create the power of
reasoning in a child. It has no direct connection with the practical life which the students will have to
face, when he becomes a mature person of the society. Our curriculum is not updated to compete with
the rest of the world in modem education. Our national survival both in term of economy and defense
potentials depends entirely on the kind of education we provide to our children. The basic problem is
that our curriculum is not promoting the interest of the student towards practical work and scientific
knowledge.

Lack of teacher training

Over the years since independence public have seen various political parties in action, various reforms
about education, various declarations on paper but nothing has been fulfilled in prosperous ' 100 way.
The 'main reason of the failure of our educational system is grooming of less technical faculty. Our
methods have been stereotyped and new techniques of teaching and materials to make lessons more
interesting to the students have not been adopted. Most of our teachers joined teaching just as a job to
earn their livelihood.
Training is essential for quality performance. Teaching is a challenging job. There is lack of training
opportunities for teachers in Pakistan. Although there various teacher training institutes in the country.
These institutes are either not well resourced or being poor run due to lack of fund and trained human
resource such trainers and administrators. There are no proper training standards in the available
training institutes around the country. Most of the training institutes have been closed down due to lack
of funds. The courses being run in the teacher education intuitions are outdated and very traditional
which does not enhance the skills, motivation and quality of teachers

Lack of quality of teachers

Teacher is the backbone of education system. The quality of teachers in Pakistani schools is deplorable.
According to a UNESCO report, the quality of the teachers and instruction in schools is of low quality [5].
This situation is grimmer in remote parts of Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan where even there are no
teachers available in schools. Research has found that teachers do not use new methods and strategies
of teaching and learning [3]. Majority of the teachers do not know about lesson planning which renders
them incapable of dealing with various problems in the process of teaching and learning. Teachers
encourage cramming of the materials by students. Students do not know the use of libraries in
educational institutions. Thus the reading habits are decreasing among the students. Teachers are highly
responsible for all this mess. It is their professional responsibility to guide the students towards book
reading. Teachers rely on lecture methods which do provide an opportunity to students to participate in
the process of education as active member. They only note does the information and memorize this just
to pass the examination. Thus students are evaluated on the basis of memorization of facts and
information rather than performance [10].

Outdated teaching methodology

Cramming is part and parcel of our academic calendar, students are asked to spoon feed the technical
terms instead of perceiving their fundamental concept, emphasize is given on amount then on logic.
Over these years education department have hardly spend any funds on advance coaching of "their
faculty staff which still stuck in the old age teaching techniques and are unaware of modem methods of
teaching and convincing students thorough sheer knowledge. Students are not able to lose library and
other modem educational facilities nor are they able to get helped from their teachers. Rote learning is
common practice both because of the educational tradition and because of lack of teaching material.
Teachers relay mainly on lecture method. One of the chronic problem of our education system is the
shortage of teachers due to which merit criteria is ignored though the number of teachers has been
gradually increasing but it does not match favorably with the number of students and there is a gap
between the students and teachers ratio.

Lack of resources

Education resources such as books, libraries and physical facilities are important for smooth running of
educational process. There are despairingly no facilities of books, libraries and reading materials in all
educational institutions of the country. Besides, there are overcrowded classrooms, inadequate teachers
and ill-equipped laboratories. This entire grim situation has resulted in a despair and low standard
education system

Internal and external influences

Education system in Pakistan is not free from external and internal influences. Externally the system has
been made hostage to political interference and internally it is plagued by the bureaucratic
manipulations [13]. There is a greater favoritism and nepotism in matters of transfers, appointments and
promotions. Due to this the basic infrastructure of the education system in Pakistan has affected [4].

A lot of political interference is noted in the appointments transfer and violation of merit. Most of the
time, educators seats are predecided leaving job seekers panic. MP As and MNAs quotas have badly
affected the recruitment system of education. Pakistan has not been able to develop basic
administration and infrastructure for an effective planning. Planning is based too much on the idea of
political official and little gross root enrollment.

Lack of meritocracy is another stark reality that the higher education sector in our country
has to face. In many colleges, and universities in Pakistan, the staff members are hired by
undermining the necessary principles of meritocracy. This results in the availability of
teachers that are not sufficiently competent and good at guiding the students. The trend
equally haunts the public sector as well. Financial corruption is a similar sort of issue that
adds much to the apathies associated with higher education. The absence of competent
staff might be the reason why only two universities out of the 188 Pakistani universities
made it to the top 500, according to the QS University ranking 2019
Alarming dropouts

Due to lack of effective management of schools there is lack of discipline in schools and other
educational institutions which leads to high scale dropouts of students. This trend has increased to such
an extent that there are now 40 lac students out of school due to drop out in Pakistan. This trend
according to Hayes (1989) is due to partly the punishment in schools, poor motivating or unattractive
school environment and partly due to weak parenting on the part of parents [11]. Child labour and
poverty is also one of the reasons for dropouts form schools. An estimated 30 percent of children
enrolled in primary education reach to the matric level. This trend in Pakistan has added to the low
literacy rate as well [8].

Education without direction

A sound education system is essential for every nation of the world [8]. Every nation develops its
generation on the basis of vigorous training and education on social, political, economic and ideological
grounds. Pakistani education system due being directionless and weak has not been able to develop and
guide its people on sound political and social grounds. There is lack of cohesion in the system and it is
more prone towards general education which does not bring any skilled manpower to the market.
Resulting there is increasing unemployment. This situation may promote sense of deprivation among
the masses [9]. Due to this there is cultural and political unrest in the society. Besides, there is lack of
educational opportunities for science and technology. In this way the development of thinking,
reasoning and creativity of students is not being polished.

Low remunerations given to the teachers.

Another issue to which the higher education in Pakistan is confronted with is the low
remunerations given to the teachers. There are many countries in the world in which
teachers are well paid. These include; France, Portugal, Costa Rica, Sweden, Austria,
Canada, Netherland, Australia, Spain, the USA, and many others. According to the World
Bank data, the US is one of the developed countries that pay the most for public high
school teachers. Unfortunately, this is not the case for Pakistan.
Here in Pakistan, the teachers even those teaching in the public sector are far less paid
than many other departments in the country’s administration. Those teachers who are
performing their duties in the private sector are paid very low salaries. Their salaries
range only up to a few thousand, and the teachers in private schools are fooled by
awarding them salaries of 5 or 6 thousand with due cuts in salaries for availed and other
holidays like summer vacations.

Solution

Increase education budget up to 4 % of GDP

The remedy is the increase in the GDP allocation for higher education. Like many other
developed and well-established countries, Pakistan needs to increase its funding in the
higher education sector. More subsidies should be given to the poor students and to the
students who come from remote areas. Some 5 to 7 percent of the annual GDP must be
allocated for the education sector. Attractive salaries of teachers, more advanced facilities
at the educational institutions, availability of modern scientific, and technical knowledge
due to an increase in education funding will definitely improve the standards of the
country’s higher education.
Lack of funding is also a problem. According to UNO standards a country should allocate 4 percent of its
GDP towards education but in Pakistan a very low spending on education is found, only about 2 percent
of the GDP. Moreover it is very clear that if existing funds utilized fairly then there could be no shortfall
of funds.

• U nifonnity of Educational Systems

There are many systems working here, resulting in social division and conflict. For example we have
English medium schools, Urdu medium schools, and religious madrasas. Therefor, a 102 unifonn system
of education for all the citizens should be introduced. One medium of instruction should be introduced,
for which English is suggesting which the demand of the modem world is.

Uplift of quality research

The remedy in this regard is the uplift of quality research. This can be done by
coordinating our research efforts with foreign highly competent research institutes. This
can take the form of financial coordination, ideas, and material sharing. The quality of
research can also be improved by orienting our research in line with the need of the hour
and domestic issues and challenges. An increase in research and development funding is
also crucial in this regard.
• Updated and research based curriculum

• Abolish feudalism, a rootcause of all social problems in Pakistan

• Teachers' appointment on merit basis

Merit-based appointments of the teachers, Vice-Chancellors of the universities, principals

of the colleges, and schools will be another hallmark in the higher education sector if
implemented timely and wisely. The political basis of the appointments should be clearly
done away with and no one should be supported on the basis of nepotism, and bribery.
The culture of merit can prevail if some competitive, lucrative, and accountable set-up is
given the task of appointments and screening of suitable candidates.
Implement better, more transparent, and accountable ways to recruit vice-chancellors and senior
administrators.

Pakistan has a patronage system that appoints unqualified and unsuitable bureaucrats or military men
as vice-chancellors, and that staffs universities with corrupt and incompetent administrators.
Fortunately, there seems to be some indications of positive change and, at least for the appointment of
a number of vicechancellors, search committees were set up.

• Teachers' training

We can improve quality of our education through teachers training because the education can only be
good as the teachers. Teaching is not an as much easy profession as much it is considered in our
country. Hence while hiring teachers there should be very c1itical process. In our country most of
teachers hired due to their relationships with local MNAs. And in most places teachers hired but they do
not attend schools in remote places. Some time teachers put any one else on their place and enjoy their
pay while sitting in home and give some percentage to their substitute teachers. Hiring process should
include written test, interview and demonstration . Teaching is an art and everyone could not teach, it
should be checked through demonstrations. Government should compare its training mode with
training of elite schools teachers. Or government should train trainers from elite school's trainers to
improve whole training menu. Introduce high quality selection procedure for higher level teachers and
introduce modem teaching techniques by use of A.V aids. Stress should be given to develop basic skills
because usually even our postgraduates lack basic skills. Poor teaching is the most prominent problem,
so various teams of experts should be involve in perfonning the improvement teaching methods by
introducing and implementation of various trainings. Modem techniques should be adc,;,ted. Instruction
in science, history and social studies should be incorporated in language teaching at the primary and
secondary levels through activities and projects

Promotion of technical skills

The promotion of technical skills in the students is another thing that can cope with the
shortcomings of the higher education sector. Such sessions of training should be given to
students that can enable them to employ themselves in national and international labor
markets. Several e-learning courses, courses regarding modern computing technology,
and manufacturing industry-related skills are considered in this regard
Online learning
The recent pandemic of coronavirus is already compelling the authorities to pursue online
education. The HEC in collaboration with the Government of Pakistan has decided to
operate an online learning system for the students. Online learning can be greatly
improved by collaborating with telecommunication companies operating in Pakistan.
This would not only improve the business of these companies but will also improve the
online lectures’ access to the students inhabiting at different locations. These
telecommunication companies can launch 4G Networking countrywide to ease the access
of online education for the students.
• Effective educational policies

Implementation of policy should be insuring instead of introducing new policies. There should
consistency in these policies which can provide gradual steps for one another for better implementation.
103 Teachers professors and other educationist should be consulted in the policy making process.

• Promoting research culture

The research is the key to the solution of many problems and has basic significant in bringing above
qualities and improvement in education. In recognition of this fact national institute of educational
research should be establish to conduct research, facility and communication, provide gelidness and
counseling. Universities professors should be facilitated to conduct research. We are just allocating less
than two percents of GDP. Educational budget should be increased at par with international limited to
research related activities. The Standard of Universities should be research centers only and must not be
allowed to conduct graduate or post-graduate examinations. High priority should be given to research
and development and technology, in .order to solve practical problem.

• Free education

Free and compulsory education should be provided on equal bases up to metric. Primary education
should be made compulsory and free of cost; it is already free of cost but not compulsory.

• Reforming examination system

To show good result in educational reforms great stress should be given examination system. Education
ministry should try their best to conduct pure examination system. It is suggested that equal important
should be given to external as well as to internal assessment, to eliminate the chances of corruption and
illegal promotion.

Provision of Scholarships through a competitive process

Students should be given more scholarships and government should support the intelligent and
outstanding students. Higher education commission should send position holder students of
intermediate under their strict observations and conditions, to foreign developed countries for studie,
with full facilities and contracts to return after completion of studies. China adopts the same strategy to
meet the global competitiveness. Banks should be encouraged to give student loans on easy bases.