Education Budget of Pakistan
Education Budget of Pakistan پاکستان کا تعلیمی بجٹ | |
|---|---|
| File:Education Budget LOGO png.png | |
| Spokesperson | Irfan Yousaf |
| Founded | Mustafavi Students Movement |
| Political position | 1.7% of GDP Education Budget in 2021-22 |
| Slogan | "Education for All - تعلیم سب کیلئے" |
Education Budget & Education System of Pakistan
Education is the basic tool for the development of any society. According to Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”[1] Education creates awareness among the people about challenges in the world. It produces creativity and is the key to unlock the door of a bright future. It is an established fact that only those nations, having sound educational systems, have made progress. Since 1947, Pakistan has lagged behind in national development in comparison to other countries of the Third World due to a class-based education system.
History
From very inception, Pakistan, the newly independent state, inherited an already defined system of education. This system was weak and poorly instituted. The system could not be reformed according to the needs of the people. The major factors of this negligence were parochial feudal and self-serving politicians, authoritarian regimes, a culture of nepotism, a thirst for power, corruption and fake democracy. Political interference in the educational institutions is rampant, which breeds corruption, favoritism, and nepotism. The education system was structured on the basis of class distinctions. The poor segment of society was provided with unequal educational opportunities in the presence of a flawed and inadequate system which was characterized by absence of such basic needs as classrooms, teachers and textbooks. Majority of the schools were opened under the shade of trees where the children of common people were to be educated. On the other hand, state-of-the-art educational institutions were established in the private sector to cater to the needs of the elite class of the society. This system of education has further created more divisions in our society. The recent (2018-2022) report on education issued by UNESCO has revealed the reality of education in Pakistan.
Education budget under different governments in Pakistan
As far as funding for education is concerned, the budget 2021-22 shows that education is not a priority of this government. In the 2013 election campaign, The PML(N) had promised to increase the financial allocation for education to at least 4 percent of GDP, but in Budget 2013-14, the combined allocation for all levels of education was less than 1.9% of GDP. 2.1% of the budget was allocated in the budget 2014-15.,[2] 2% education budget was kept in 2015-16.[3] The education budget was 2.3% of GDP in 2016-17.[4] In the election campaign before the government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Chairman PTI made big claims of working for education and increasing the budget but in PTI Govt did not provide proper education to poor students. The education budget was 2.2% of GDP in 2018-19.[5] The education budget in 2019-20 was 2.3%.[6] The education budget in 2020-21 was 1.9%.[7] The education budget in 2020-21 was 1.7%.[8]
According to the UNDP Human Development Report 2013, only seven developing countries in the world spend less on education than Pakistan. Pakistan, globally, is ranked 177th in terms of public spending on education which represents an alarming situation for the future of Pakistan. The quality of education in the public sector is deplorable. There are 154000 primary schools with only 42000 teachers in both urban and rural sectors of Pakistan. Most of these schools do not have enough rooms to meet increasing students’ needs and management’s requirements. Some schools even do not have basic facilities which compel the students to get education under trees. In some places school buildings are used by the locals as a place for hooking animals due to poor administrative supervision. Our examination system is also outdated. The standards of examination of primary education in Pakistan are the lowest in the world. This system does not meet the requirements of the national and international standards. Evaluation and assessment of students is conducted to check only memory and capability of rote learning rather than creativity. Institutional politics has further worsened the examination system of Pakistan. Malpractices such as copying and other exam related crimes in schools are a result of a poor system of supervision during examination. The primary school curriculum does not improve the thinking abilities of students. It is outdated, non-productive and impractical. Students memorize the content and reproduce it in the examination. Thus schools in Pakistan are producing the best types of parrots in the world. This practice is creating a gap between understanding of the curriculum and its effective implementation. In developed countries of the world teachers are invited to participate in the process of designing curriculum. Their inputs are considered vital by the authorities. In Pakistan, education has not been the priority of any government since partition. The reforms were neglected due to political interference in the system, which breeds corruption, favoritism and nepotism. No effective mechanism of supervision has been adopted. The system of accountability is very poor in schools. Moreover, the feudal system, extreme poverty, and lack of good governance are the main hurdles in the way of better education in the country.
Our Demands
So here a question arises as to what we can and should do to reverse the tide. The answer is simple. We have a voice and we should raise it. 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.[9] “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such manner as may be determined by law.” It is a constitutional right of every child to get education.
Today, 5.5 million children are deprived of their constitutional right. This is the responsibility of every citizen of Pakistan to raise his/her voice for reforms in the educational system. Every student should join the struggle for Revolution of Mustafavi Students Movement to improve the quality of education and eradicate the class-based education system from Pakistan. Mustafavi Students Movement wants to bring a uniform education system for everyone and it is everyone's right to allocate at least 5% of the education budget every year so that even poor students get good education.,[10][11] irrespective of any discrimination. Our education system should be so structured that it is capable of addressing the demands of industry and achieving integration of society. Let us rise to the occasion and strive for an educated Pakistan. Let the future generations not say that we did not prove equal to the task.
References
- ↑ "Nelson Mandela Quote from Oxford Reference".
- ↑ "Budget of Pakistan (2014-15)" (PDF).
- ↑ "Budget of Pakistan (2015-16)".
- ↑ "Education Budget of Pakistan (2016-17)".
- ↑ "Education Budget of Pakistan (2018-19)".
- ↑ "Budget of Pakistan (2019-20)".
- ↑ "Education Budget of Pakistan (2020-21)".
- ↑ "Education Budget of Pakistan (2021-22)".
- ↑ "Rights of Education in Pakistan".
- ↑ Protest Against Education System of Pakistan, DailyPakistan, Retrieved 30 May 2016
- ↑ Uniform Education System, Nawaiwaqt, Retrieved 28 November 2019
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