The writer is an economist, anchor, analyst and the President of all Pakistan Private Schools’ Federation president@Pakistan privateschools.com
Over the decades, Pakistan has made considerable progress in advancing the socio-economic development of its youth. The country has achieved middle-income status and has made notable strides in reducing poverty over the past two decades. However, the overall pace of progress has lagged behind that of other developing countries and regional peers. The slow pace of human capital development not only hinders the potential to fully realize the demographic dividend but also threatens to limit Pakistan’s aspiration to achieve upper-middle-income status by 2047 (World Bank, 2019). Among the key determinants of human capital development, the provision of quality education stands as a critical enabler. The Government of Pakistan is committed to ensuring the provision of free, compulsory, and quality education to all children of school age. In 2010, the Parliament of Pakistan amended the Constitution to declare the right to free education a fundamental right. Article 25-A, introduced under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, mandates the state to provide free and compulsory education to children aged 5-16 years. To ensure the efficient implementation of this constitutional right, political, administrative, and financial authority over education and other social subjects was devolved to the provinces. Since then, provincial governments have enacted compulsory education laws, increased budgetary allocations for school education, and implemented various governance and management reforms. Nearly 15 years after the enactment of Article 25-A, Pakistan continues to face significant challenges in achieving its educational goals. The District Education Performance Index (DEPIx) Report 2023 developed by the Planning Commission, reveals striking disparities in education performance across Pakistan’s provinces and districts and unveiled that the national average score for the overall index is 53.46 (out of 100), which places Pakistan in the Low-performance category. The country is home to one of the largest cohorts of out-of-school children (OOSC), with 26.9 million children not in school (Population and Housing Census, 2023). A new report has highlighted Pakistan’s educational plight, showing that the country’s institutions imparting knowledge do not meet the required standards. Pakistan confronts a critical challenge in developing its human capital. According to the 2023 census, nearly 71 million children fall within the school-going age of 5 to 16 years, representing 30% of the total population. Alarmingly, 26.9 million of these children are out of school, with nearly 79% of them never having attended school. Additionally, data shows that 77% of children aged 10 cannot read age-appropriate text. These statistics are a stark reminder of the urgency of our mission, prompting the Government of Pakistan (GoP) to declare an education emergency. Moreover, equity in education remains a critical issue, with pronounced gender disparities: 39% of girls aged 5-16 are OOSC as compared to 32% of boys (Population and Housing Census, 2023). Learning outcomes, as indicated by the National Achievement Test (NAT), present concerning results. The 2023 NAT findings highlight that, on average, a Grade 4 student correctly answered only 56.1% of English assessment items, 49.4% of Math assessment items, and 68.1% of Urdu or Sindhi assessment items (PIE, 2023). These access and learning metrics raise serious concerns regarding the transformation of Pakistan’s latent youth potential to support the needs of an emerging knowledge economy. The slow progress in education outcomes has hindered Pakistan’s efforts to achieve the targets set under SDG 4. Several complex and interrelated challenges have contributed to this sluggish advancement. While the primary responsibility for delivering quality education rests with the provincial governments following the 18th Constitutional Amendment, but the Federal Government must take its responsibility to remain steadfast in providing thought leadership, as well as administrative and fiscal support to the provinces. Recognizing education as a cornerstone of socio-economic growth, the Government must place it at the forefront of our development agenda. The objectives and strategy of the Government must be encapsulated within the Equity pillar of the Five Es National Economic Transformation Plan, which is aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. A critical aspect of the education strategy in the aforementioned plan must be the measurement of performance and the creation of robust databases for evidence-based planning.
The District Education Performance Index (DEPIx) Report 2023 developed by the Planning Commission, reveals that the national average score for the overall index is 53.46%, which places Pakistan in the Low performance category.
Pakistan, with nearly 67% of its population under the age of 30, is experiencing a large youth bulge. Over the past decades, the country has reached middle-income status and has made commendable progress in developing its human capital. However, this progress has been slower than that of other developing countries and regional peers. The slow pace of human capital development poses challenges not only to realizing the potential demographic dividend but also to achieving the SDGs by 2030 and attaining upper-middle-income status by 2047. Covering 134 districts, including Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and all districts in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab, and Sindh, DEPIx classifies districts into four categories: Very High, High, Medium, and Low. The report primarily covers the period from 2020-23. The DEPIx covers 134 districts across Pakistan, and the results reveal significant challenges in education delivery nationwide. Notably, none of the districts achieve the Very High-performance category, indicating that even the best-performing districts fail to meet the optimal benchmarks for education performance. Furthermore, none of the districts, except Islamabad, fall into the High category, making ICT an outlier and the highest performer across the country. This first-of-its-kind tool measures district-level education performance, focusing on key outcomes such as access, learning, equity, governance, and inputs such as infrastructure and public financing. Among the provinces, Punjab emerged as the top performer with a composite score of 61.39. KP follows with an average score of 54.47, while Sindh and Balochistan lag behind with scores of 51.55 and 45.50, respectively. Among the critical factors in human capital development, providing quality and inclusive education is paramount. In 2010, the Parliament of Pakistan devolved policy, administrative, and fiscal authority over education to the provinces and enshrined the right to free education as a fundamental right through Article 25-A of the Constitution. Since then, provincial governments have enacted compulsory education laws, increased budgetary allocations for school education, and implemented various governance and data reforms. Notably, reforms in the education data regime have improved the availability of data on education indicators. Notwithstanding these efforts, the complexity, breadth, and fragmentation of education data have often made it challenging for policymakers and stakeholders to use it effectively in decision-making. Although to address this issue and support the education emergency declared by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in May 2024, the objective is to make data available in a form that can be easily understood and utilized by policymakers and other stakeholders to inform advocacy, policy planning, and resource allocation in school education. However, public financing records the lowest score, highlighting the need for increased and better-targeted spending in the education sector. The Learning domain also scores poorly, reflecting persistently low learning outcomes among students. Governance & Management, though slightly better than Learning, still falls in the “Low” category, mainly due to teacher shortages and high bureaucratic turnover. DEPIx is a comprehensive tool that measures the performance of education systems at the district level, focusing on key outcomes such as access, learning, and equity, processes such as governance, and inputs like public financing and infrastructure. The DEPIx is structured across five domains: Infrastructure & Access, Learning, Inclusion (Equity & Technology), Governance & Management, and Public Financing. Notwithstanding the overall index scores, there are notable differences in provincial scores across domains, indicating the relative strengths and weaknesses of each province within the larger education delivery system. The specific areas of strength and weakness for each province are as follows: Punjab outperforms other provinces in Infrastructure & Access (73.36) and Inclusion (75.05) but scores lower in Public Financing and Governance & Management. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa excels in Governance & Management and Public Financing but ranks lower in Learning compared to other provinces. Sindh shows relative strength in Public Financing, where it ranks highest, but lags in Infrastructure & Access and Governance & Management. Balochistan faces severe challenges across all domains, ranking lowest in nearly all areas except Learning, where it performs only slightly better than the worst-performing province.
In the rapidly changing world, the need for data-driven decision-making is more critical than ever. DEPIx represents a significant advancement in efforts to apply rigorous, evidence-based methodologies to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public spending on education. This index is a vital tool for policymakers, providing the precision and clarity needed to assess education performance at the sub-national level. The strategic value of DEPIx lies in its ability to offer a clear and comprehensive picture of the state of education across Pakistan’s districts. Pakistan with 67% of its population under the age of 30, is one of the youngest nations in the world, but this substantial youth bulge presents both an opportunity and a challenge. On the one hand, it means a rise in the proportion of the working-age population, with a large number of young people entering the labour market. If these new entrants can be effectively integrated into productive employment, Pakistan stands to benefit from a demographic dividend, leading to higher income per capita and economic growth. On the other hand, if sufficient and meaningful work opportunities are not available, this youth bulge could become a significant socioeconomic burden. With the introduction of evidence-based tools like the District Education Performance Index (DEPIx), which re-affirm to resolve and commitment to transforming the education sector, enhancing transparency, and fostering community-driven demand for quality education. DEPIx—a groundbreaking initiative that signifies a major milestone towards improved governance, accountability, and equitable access to quality education across Pakistan. DEPIx is more than just a tool for measuring performance; it is a catalyst for meaningful change. By evaluating key indicators such as access, quality, equity, and governance, DEPIx enables us to identify both areas of success and those requiring urgent intervention. This granularity ensures that the policy responses are not only timely but also targeted, thereby maximizing the impact of interventions. One of the core advantages of DEPIx is its potential to improve resource allocation. With limited resources available, it is imperative that to direct them where they are most needed and where they will have the greatest impact. DEPIx provides the essential data required to make these critical decisions, ensuring that resources are directed towards addressing the most pressing challenges in our education system. This approach will lead to more effective use of public funds, better prioritization, and improved educational outcomes for our children. By providing a comprehensive assessment of education outcomes at the district level, DEPIx can enable us to identify strengths, address weaknesses, and allocate resources more effectively. It can empower policymakers, educators, and the public to hold the education system accountable, ensuring that investments in education translate into tangible learning outcomes and equitable opportunities for all. These collective efforts will undoubtedly pave the way.