Provisions of the Policy

The main provisions of The Education Policy of 2009 are: • The annual budgetary allocation for Education in future will be7 % of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) thus increasing literacy rate to 85% by 2015. • District Education Boards will be set up to promote education at grass root level to achieve development goal of universal primary education by 2015. • Intermediate classes will become part of the School system. • All primary schools will be upgraded to middle level. • Enrolment in Higher Education will be increased from present 4.7% to 15% by 2020. • Syllabi of public sector schools will be improved in consultation with private sector schools. Policy of uniform examination system in the country will be followed. • Teachers with Matric and Intermediate education will be replaced by trained teachers. Their salary structure will be improved. • Project of Apna Ghar will be launched in every district to provide education to poor students. • National merit program will be launched to reward bright students.

Raising literacy rate to 5% is a target that was set at World Education Forum met at Dakar, the capital of Senegal, under the UNESCO, in the year 2000. Accordingly, a National Plan of Action (NPA) was prepared to provide for “Education for All.” Minimum of 4% of GDP was to be earmarked for education which was never done. The new Policy recommends 7% which appears to be unrealistic in the backdrop of the past experience. In view of country’s economic conditions, rising defence requirements, increasing energy expenditure, law and order situation but more than that the mindset of the feudal in power, it is doubtful that the target will ever be achieved. Considering the track record of the governments in the past this Policy too may prove to be another exercise in futility.

The net result of all this activity will be further deterioration of the state of national education. Pakistan today is one of the few countries where the number of illiterates keeps on increasing from year to year. Presently around 55 million Pakistanis above the age of 10 are utterly illiterate. In primary education schools about 65% of school-going age students join the classes but 40% or so drop out in the first two years. Poverty and poor school environments are the main causes. Schools in the private sector, that claim to offer better education, are very costly which the majority of people can ill-afford.