Education in Pakistan: Causes of Failed State and

Future Road Map

Posted by: Other Writer May 4, 2013 in Essay, May 2013 Leave a comment

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Education has been accorded great importance in every

religion and society. Islam also attached utmost importance
to it.
1. Introduction
2. Importance of Education
3. Present state of Education: Dismal
a) Literacy
b) Equity
c) Quality
d) Access
e) Relevance
f) Environment
4. Technical Education
5. Higher Education
6. Causes of Failure
a) Historical and societal
b) Governance-related Factors
7. Impacts on society and development
8. Recommendations for improvement
9. Conclusion
Education in Pakistan is in a dire state when seen in terms of vitality for socioeconomic development.
Education is aimed at to develop human capabilities through knowledge, skills and creative strength that,
in turn, enhance the socioeconomic growth. But ironically, in the present-day Pakistan, even the
importance of education has not been recognized. Given the multifarious importance and diverse role of
education in building a stable society, it becomes imperative that in Pakistan, the provision of education is
ensured urgently and its uplift is sought through prudent policies with a pragmatic approach.

Education has been accorded great importance in every religion and society. Islam also attached utmost
importance to it. Muslims ushered an era of glory only with education but when they renounced it, they fell
into the depths of despondency and dejection. The West, today, dominates the world only because it
realized education’s vitality to development. Article 26 of the UN’s ‘Universal Declaration of Human
Rights’ reads: ‘Everyone has the right to education’. It is the second objective in UN’s Millennium
Development Goals (UNMDGs) which requires education for all (EFA) by year 2015. The World Bank
also underscores ‘the positive outcomes of education’ as ‘reduction in poverty and inequality,
improvement in health status and implementation of socioeconomic policies.’
However, the state of education in Pakistan is far from satisfactory. The statistics of education present
dismal picture in all the six important indicators that include literacy, access, equality, quality, relevance
and environment.
Here is a brief view of the above-mentioned indicators:
The literacy rate for age 10 years and above in Pakistan, according to World Bank, is 55 per cent (67%
for males and 42% females). This is the lowest rate in the developing nations in Asia. Sri Lanka has
90.7%; Indonesia has 90.4% while literacy rate in Vietnam, Iran and India reach 90.4%, 82.4% and 61%
respectively. In contrast, in developed countries, it is almost 100%.
The second indicator means that access to education is a crucial factor in enhancing literacy. It’s
obligatory on state to provide all the citizens with equal opportunities to improve their living standards. For
education, it means ‘access to quality education for all•, irrespective of family income, gender, religion
and ethnicity, etc. Pakistan’s main problems are the paucity of funds and gender discrimination.
Moreover, most villages are without schools and students of many villages share one school. In addition,
the parents don’t allow girls to study in coeducation system. Girls’ schools, particularly at secondary level,
are not in sufficient number.
The inequality in education system is a serious concern as well. It has many forms including gender-
disparity, rural-urban divide and class structure. As regards gender-disparity, the literacy rate shows a
gap of 25% between male and female. ‘A gap of more than 10 per cent is internationally considered a
serious concern’•, writes
Dr Shahid Siddique, the author of ‘Rethinking Education in Pakistan.
Rural-urban divide, another serious concern, is caused mainly due to economic disparity and condition of
schools. People living in rural areas are relatively poor and standard of education in those areas is also
unsatisfactory. ‘They assume that opportunity cost of sending children to school is greater than the
benefit education is likely to bring’•, says Dr Shahid Javed Burki.
In addition, public and private sector divide is also there. Most people cannot seek education in private
institutions due to high fees and other expenses. These institutions have their own curriculum and
examination system. This further widens the class divide in society; the rich become highly-educated
while the poor remain poorly educated. To bridge this gap, there is neither policy to ensure a uniform
system nor regulations to check the fee structure of private schools.
As regards the third indicator i.e. quality of education, it has been least emphasized in Pakistan. It’s
basically determined by curriculum, textbooks, teachers’ skills and assessment system that are far below
the international standards. These system flaws undermine the competence level of the students. This
factor, in fact, helps students gain a foothold in market. But an average Pakistani student is unable to
compete in the job market even of the national level, let alone the international competition. How ironic is
that not a single Pakistani university is among the World’s top universities.
Fifth; the relevance is as much important as quality. What is taught in institutions must be relevant to what
is in demand in the outside world. Currently, there is a disconnection between education and
employment sector as there is no system of consultation between academia and economic managers.
Resultantly, the unemployment among the educated people surges.
Sixth indicator i.e. environment is also a crucial factor in improving access to education. A wide disparity
is there in the environment in schools in rural and urban areas. Approximately, 12737 schools have been
reported as non-functional (Ghost Schools).
The above indicators present a grim picture at every tier from schools to technical and higher education.
To improve the technical education, there is no vocational awareness at middle and secondary levels. At
present, there are 1140 government and 382 in private vocational institutions in the country. The output
quality is poor owing to the unqualified and untrained faculty and absence of collaboration with industry.
In the sphere of higher education, unfortunately, only 3.7 per cent of Pakistani youth of 18-23 age group
is enrolled. This is very low as compared to other developing countries as Malaysia has 12% while India
has 7%. Although due to scholarship programmes, the situation has improved, still there is paucity of
trained faculty and laboratories. Only 25% of university teachers are PhDs and only 20 per cent of them
are active researchers. Government is ought to give special treatment to this sector but ironically, it not
only curtailed the funding of HEC but also attempted to disband it. It may cause the positive enrolment
trend to revert and that would be a lethal blow to human resource development as it is crucial to translate
the dream of knowledge economy into reality.
Such neglect of education sector in Pakistan is the result of many factors ranging from historical and
societal to governance-related issues. In past, the education system which the British introduced in the
Subcontinent didn’t go well among the religious leaders. Hence, the Muslims eschewed the education. On
the other hand, the Madaris were confined to religious education. Women were not allowed to seek
education in public institutions hence a big portion of population remained illiterate.
Another big reason behind this fiasco is the feudalism. Feudal lords influence the policymaking due to
their political contingencies. They denounce education to ensure cheap labour in their fields and to
maintain their political base.
Poverty is another factor which prevents majority of rural population from educating children. More than
30% of Pakistan’s population is living below the poverty line. Pakistan’s is an agro-based economy and its
65% population lives in rural areas. Most people cannot afford the cost of educating their children, that’s
why they take their children to work with them in fields at an early age just to increase the family income.
These impediments could have been removed had there been realization, vision, planning and
seriousness among our leaders. Unfortunately, there has always been lack of commitment to education
development on part of those at the helm of affairs. This is evident from the paltry resource allocations in
the annual budgets. The funding to education in Pakistan has always been below or around 2.5% of GDP
that is extremely low.
It is further perplexing that even this meagre amount is not spent fully for development of education
sector. About 10 to 30 per cent of education budget remains unutilized. Then there is embezzlement of
funds as well because corruption is rampant in the education department. This grave situation is the
outcome of two main factor i.e. no accountability system and undue political interference.
All the areas of education ‘primary, secondary, technical and higher education’ reflect neglect of
education sector. Though there have been policies formulated and goals set, but when it comes to their
implementation, there is a lack of commitment. So, the education system has failed which has resulted in
deteriorated social conditions and a vulnerable economy.
This dismal state of education has placed Pakistan at 134th place among 177 countries of the world as
education is a major indicator in human development index. It also exhibits that the education has a
serious impact on the image of a country in the globalized comity of nations.
It’s a universal fact that the education develops ‘thinking of man’ but in our society its failure has led to the
widespread discontent and chaos. World has genuine concerns that poorly-educated people pose serious
threat not only to Pakistan but also to world security. Former VP of the World Bank and a renowned
economist Shahid Javed Barki writes:
‘The education system of Pakistan is deteriorated to the point where it now threatens economic, political
and so cial stability not only within the country but also poses a real danger for the world at large.’
Keeping in view the multifaceted role, education has to be the top priority. Our education system requires
an overhaul and in addition to additional resources, there is an urgent need to redesign educational
system for promoting productivity in socioeconomic sector. Following are some recommendations that
provide a pragmatic roadmap to reform the education sector in Pakistan.
1. Primary education must be made compulsory. The textbooks and uniforms should be provided free of
cost to the indigent children and rewards may be offered to them on passing examinations. Usher, Zakat
and Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) should also be linked with enrolment of child in school.
2. Technical education should be encouraged. Introductory technical subjects should be taught at the
middle level to enhance awareness and encourage interest of students. The network of polytechnic
colleges should be expanded to cover the remote areas as well.
3. The 19th century was of steam and coal, 20th was of electricity and the 21st is of information
technology (IT). Therefore, due importance should be given to IT. Computers with trainers should be
made available in secondary schools.
4. Government must develop a uniform curriculum to eliminate the multi-tier system of education that
furthers the class divide. It should enable the child to compete at national and international levels. The
curriculum of private schools may be adopted with little modifications. It would be convenient as the
private schools will be less resistant to such change.
5. Education must be relevant and responsive to national environment, culture, society and economy.
The social and religious values must be embedded in the children to make them good citizens. The
education should conform not only to the local industry but also to international market.
6. Higher education deserves serious attention in this regard. Steps should be taken to attract youth to
higher education. The investment in this sector should be increased to meet the demands of universities.
An effective reform of the higher education system in Pakistan requires a down to up approach; without
the improvement of colleges, it is out of question to improve the quality of university graduates.
7. A uniform and sound system of national testing should be promoted. The National Education
Assessment System (NEAS) should be entrusted with more such tasks. A federal council to ensure
uniformity in all the universities’ examinations can be another prudent step.
8. The importance of teachers in education need not be overemphasized. The remuneration and
incentives for teachers should be increased to attract the intellectual and competent persons. In-service
teachers should be required to qualify some exams to go into the next pay scale.
9. A qualified and motivated teacher also needs training and grooming. Therefore, the capacity of
training institutes should be enhanced with expert trainers. A well thought-out syllabus and policy should
be formulated containing modern teaching techniques.
10. Importance of private sector cannot be undermined as it has saved Pakistan’s education system
from complete collapse. It’s difficult for government to uplift the education sector single-handedly, so the
private sector should be encouraged to invest more. The establishment of private education foundations
on non-profit basis may be a good option. The private schools should be made to give admissions to poor
students.

Introduction
Quaid’s view on education
Concept of education’ meaning and definition
Significance of education’ as pillar of success
Education’ an agent of socioeconomic reforms
Spinal cord of the nation
Thesis statement leading to conclusion
Pakistan’s Education System as per 1973 Constitution
Educational and economic reforms in backward areas
Removing illiteracy
Promotion of technical education’ basic concern
Education’ access to all
Women participation, etc.
Factors Leading to Catastrophe
Indecisive medium of education’ English? / Urdu?
Co-education’ a social dilemma
Lack of uniform academic syllabus
Women education’ concept in doldrums
Lack of creative education methods’ cramming culture
Political interference in education institutions’ student/ teacher unions
Political pressures/ influences
Teacher absenteeism
Ghost schools
Less than 2% GDP, for education
Crippled economy, etc.
Education Policy 2009
Budget for education’ increased by 7%
All primary schools upgraded to middle standard schools
Higher education percentage to be increased from 4.7% to 15% by 2015
Emphasis on technical education
Establishment of residential colonies for the teachers
Special incentives for teachers willing to work in remote areas, etc.
Suggestions
Decentralised system/ local government
Village
Council
Tehsil
District
At least 7% budget for education sector
Accountability and transparency in education department at all levels
Public-private partnership
Madrassa reforms
Registration of madaris
Introduction of English and technical subjects
Education Sector Reforms
Education system reforms
Primary education for all
Making civil society vibrant
Female education’ A keystone
Promotion of technical education
Incentives for the teachers’ Increase in salaries
Revised and updated curriculum
PTC/CT replaced by Diploma in Education
Enhancing the role of Higher Education Commission
Expansion in universities
Virtual universities, etc.
Conclusion
Come forward as servants of Islam, organise the people economically, socially, educationally and politically,
and I am sure that you will be a power that will be accepted by everybody.”
Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah
The importance of education cannot be negated. Education paves the way for advancement. It is a
primary catalyst for national development and its availability ensures accelerated growth and progress. It
is a key factor that distinguishes one nation from another. It’s the education which makes a person live a
better life and more importantly contributes to his social well-being. However, it is unfortunate that
education system of Pakistan is fundamentally flawed, thoroughly shattered and exceedingly divisive
despite the fact that Quaid-e-Azam was a staunch supporter of educational reforms. He provided the
basic guidelines for the future development by emphasising that education system should suit the genius
of our people, consonant with our culture, history and instil the highest sense of honour, integrity and
responsibility. He was also of the view that scientific and technical skills are the only way forward.
Pakistan today stands at the crossroads where there is a stringent need for educational reforms based
upon moral edifice. This is only possible if all creeds of mind sit together and evolve a consensus policy in
the light of Islamic ideology.
Before going into the details let’s have a look on the 1973 Constitution which is a much chanted slogan in
Pakistan by almost all political elites. Article 25A of the 1973 Constitution says:
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.’
The Constitution further goes on to make the state responsible for the education of its citizens in the
following way:
Special care will be taken for educational and economic reforms in the backward areas.
Illiteracy will be removed and secondary education will be made free and compulsory within minimum
possible period.
People from different areas will be imparted training for agricultural and industrial development. Technical
and general education is made generally available and higher education accessible to all on the basis of
merit.
Participation of women in all spheres of life will be encouraged.
Despite all the pledges and promises made by the constitution, nothing has been done yet on the above-
mentioned grounds. Indecisive system of education, outdated curriculum, medium of instruction, meagre
budget allocation for education sector and many other factors have played havoc with the fate of this
unfortunate nation.
It is noteworthy that Pakistan’s national language is Urdu but English has become the major medium of
education. English medium schools are enjoying prestigious status in society and are charging heavy
fees from students as well. English language is nothing but a way of expression but why is it made
necessary? Just to spoil the potentialities to learn English? Admittedly, English is an international
language but the students should be imparted educationin their mother tongue also. Sir Charles Wood
sent Wood’s Despatch• in 1854 regarding the medium of education in India that throws light on the
importance of mother tongue in education. Despatch’s fifth point was:
The Indian natives should be given training in their mother tongue also.
Another reason of this sorry state of affairs is the outdated curriculum which leads to the failure of education
system to produce professionals in all fields of life. Outdated syllabi do not fulfil the requirements of the
ongoing developed world. It is an era of science and technological development while, unfortunately,
Pakistan is still entangled in the web of obsolete pedagogical methods.
Furthermore, Student wings of various political parties are also ruining the educational environment of
colleges and universities. Unions like ATI, MSF and IJT have been a source of deep concern for the
students. Such activities make them forget their aim of admission and they start to take part in political
activities.
Public sector is also confronting the issue of teachers’ absenteeism. Scanty salaries and job insecurity
compels them to join private sector institutions that offer them better incentives. The grievances of the
teachers are grave but real and they need to be addressed urgently. A very little amount of GDP, about 2%
is being allocated for education sector which should be above 7% for a country like Pakistan.
It is noteworthy to mention the role of madaris in Pakistan here as they are a part of traditional system of
imparting religious education. Present government is working to register these madaris and there are
around 12,000 madaris that are yet to be registered. There is also a dire need to revise the method, syllabi
and curriculum of these institutions so as to impart true spirit of religious education without creating
misconceptions and confusions and also keeping them in pace with contemporary world. The conventional
style of religious education should be abolished and new methodologies based on science and technology
should be adopted. The role of civil society in regarding the reforms is very crucial and equally required.
In the past, there were courses like PTC, CT, etc. which were optional for the students. In the present
circumstances, it is strongly recommended to replace such short courses by diploma in education so that
the students after adopting teaching profession could give their best to the nation. On the other hand, the
teaching staff must be provided special training in form of refresher courses to enhance their capacities
and capabilities.
Education is the key to the development and advancement of any nation. Pakistan needs highly
knowledgeable and skilled professionals equipped with innovative abilities to gain a respectable in the
comity of nations. Pakistan is passing through the turbulent phase in terms of social, economic and
political turmoil. It stands at the crossroads and the only way forward is the promotion of education. Time
is ripe, effective and implementable strategies must be formulated to come out of these crises. Education
must be made the top priority. More than 4-7% of GDP must be allocated for education sector, for
teachers’ training, development of infrastructure, abolition of ghost schools, scholarships, etc. Chief
Minister’s laptop scheme is a good omen and an encouraging initiative for bringing educational reforms in
the country. Such efforts can be a source of encouragement and inspiration for the young
generation. Nations rise by dint of education and education alone. If we want to realise the dream of
socioeconomic development in Pakistan, we must follow the message that Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali
Jinnah gave us years ago. He said:
My message to you all is of hope, courage and confidence. Let us mobilize all our resources in a
systematic and organized way and tackle the grave issues that confront us with grim determination and
discipline worthy of a great nation.

Outline

1. Introduction
2. Definition
3. Importance
4. Sphere of liberal education
5. Objectives
(a) To produce informed citizens.
(b) To develop creative thinking
(c) To improve skills and competitiveness
(d) To inculcate communication skills
6. Present style of education in Pakistan
7. Prerequisites for liberal education
8. Advantages of liberal education
(a) Economic development
(b) Employment opportunities
(c) Interdependent and stable society
(d) Peace and harmony in community
9. Conclusion

Essay
Education is the most important factor behind the progress man has achieved in this world. It has been the
permanent character of human history and evolution of thought. However, in the past, it used to be
prerogative of only a few privileged men and the pace of development was quite slow. Since it has been
disseminated to common people, there has been rapid growth in every sphere of development: science,
technology, sociology, politics, anthropology, etc. Now it is treated as basic human right of every man.
Though, it encompasses a wide sphere of knowledge, it has been metamorphosed by man according to
his needs. It has been mainly applied as a tool of economic development, which has limited its application.
Consequently, people are deprived of the potential education offers for the overall development of
personality and stability of society. The chaos in modern world is also partly due to this fault. Therefore, in
order to meet the multi-dimensional challenges, man faces in the world, it is essential to impart real
education i.e. liberal education.

The liberal education has been defined in many ways, though emphasizing the similar essential elements.
The best definition is offered by the ‘Association of American Colleges and Universities’•.
‘Liberal education means to empower an individual and prepare him to deal with diversity, complexity and
change’•.
As manifest from the definition, the purpose of education is to enable man to surpass the challenges
faced in the world, to know and obtain his rights and to accommodate himself in the constantly changing
environment in the present day competitive world.
The importance of liberal education in this contemporary globalised world is greatest than ever before.
The world has become so shaped that every economic and social activity requires modern and advanced
means of communication and technology. The transformation of technological development is on a very
fast track. There is a demand of more interactive and communica tive manpower to run this complex
system. Moreover, despite the interdependence on each other, the diversity in different areas is in sharp
contrast. Hence, the man is required to be quite sufficiently prepared to move forward. And the instrument
that can enable him to face these challenges is nothing but liberal education.
This is why the renowned scholar ‘Skarnovey’ says: ‘Liberal education: the developing countries must
adopt it as it is a necessity’•. Nevertheless, it is essential for every nation but the developed countries are
already ahead in this sphere. The developing countries, which are still far behind, need to forge efforts to
transform their education system in order to catch up with the rest of the world. Not only because it helps
in achieving economic development but also because it fulfills the need of society in every sphere of life.
The sphere of liberal education is wide enough to call it real education. Basically, education is aimed to
develop whole being of a person. It is necessary to educate man to learn social ethics, cultural values,
religious obligations, ways and means of a stable society and skills of professional competitiveness.
Liberal education, simply, fulfills all these essential needs. It emphasises the development of a citizen
who is professionally capable of living in the society in civilised way – the way which is not only beneficial
to himself alone, but also fruitful for other members of his family, community and society.
It is best elaborated in the words of Kurth Kahin; ‘Liberal education teaches something about everything
and everything about something’. His words can be best understood by contrast to the maxim ‘Jack of all;
master of none’. Simultaneously, there are also people who are ‘Jack of none but master of one’•. The
people, who acquire general education without proficiency in any specific subject, are explained by the first
maxim. While some people who are very skilled and highly qualified in one field like an engineer, scientist
or doctor but do not know any other subject or field of life; these are referred to the latter assumption.
However, liberal education is a moderate way between both the polar positions. It is aimed at making a
person ‘a good professional in any one field’ and also to ‘possess knowledge and skills about other
important fields’. More importantly, it makes constructive members of society better described as ‘Jack of
all; master of one’.
In such a way, the objectives of liberal education are multifaceted, which address the requirement of society
to a considerable extent. These objectives are briefly discussed here:
Firstly, it is the most important for a man to be an informed citizen. The people who are concerned only with
their single professional field of occupation cannot be ideally good citizens. They would only be members
and nationals of a community or nation. A good citizen is required to be participatory in the social and
political building of community, which is the foundation of any society. As the actions of man are based on
information and knowledge, without these none understands the obligation towards community and
resultantly remains inactive member of society. However, but if the students are inculcated the knowledge
of their needs and roles, they would be quite prepared to foresee occurrences and would direct their
thoughts and actions towards social and political participation. This can be achieved when the system of
education is made liberal which does not aspire to produce only technical robots in human shape but
informed and good citizens.
Secondly, the philosophy of liberal education envisages the development of creative thinking among the
students. Creative thinking has acquired fundamental place in the education system of advanced countries.
The students are encouraged to ‘think a new’•. The creative experiments, creative writings and creative
art lead to frame the development of thought process. Though, it is practised in western countries, it owes
its origin to the most influential scholars and artists of Greek period and early Muslim era. Socrates, Plato,
Aristotle, Machiavelli, Ibn-e-Khaldun, Galileo, Khuw-arzmi, Newton, to name a few, all were creative
thinkers. In short, whole of the development in the world and education itself is the result of creative thinking.
On the contrary, the limited application of education is insufficient to produce brilliant minds. The specific
technological development devoid of human values and ethics has failed to form the basis of a viable
society. Thus, it is the objective of liberal education to teach the students various subjects like history,
sociology, philosophy and psychology besides their professional field, so that creative thought is
encouraged to be developed among them. Therefore, we need to introduce liberal education in order to
secure our future based on collective ideals.
Thirdly, liberal education improves the skills and competitiveness of students, which is necessary to enable
them to get foothold in the competitive market. For example a typist may have good efficiency in his field
but computers have replaced typewriter. People like to get their papers typed on computer in order to save
their document and to get good command. Now, the excellent typist is in trouble, he would go jobless in the
market unless he learns to operate computer. Same is the case with every field of employment. The modes
of technology are being transformed very rapidly. In order to meet the demands of market one should be
quite prepared and skilled. Hence, the knowledge of mathematics, science, computer literacy and
technological acquaintance are necessary to be imparted to the students, which can be achieved through
liberal education.
Fourthly, as the world has become a global village, the importance of communication skills has been
increased manifold. A person must be proficient in national and at least one international language. He
must know how to send e-mail, voice-mail or to carryout visual communication. The social change compels
the person to change the job for better opportunities. The talented people feel an urge to move towards
other countries as well in order to actualise their talent and to obtain maximum result. This is where the
communication skills are mostly required. All the communication techniques, basically, listening, speaking
and writing are essential ingredients. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the skills of students through
methods of listening comprehension and speaking ability tests. All the examinations of foreign languages
comprise these elements and even very talented students from developing countries fail to go abroad due
to lack of these communication skills in international languages.
The world has become so shaped that every economic and social activity requires modern and advanced
means of communication and technology. The transformation of technological development is on a very
fast track.
These few objectives of liberal education underline its importance and need in the developing countries,
including Pakistan. Unfortunately, it has not been taken seriously.
The system of education in our country is obsolete. It is devoid of the contemporary methodology of teaching
and the curriculum is almost from primary to university level. Computer is studied as a field of study only,
not as a skill. Even in most of the universities it is taught only to the students of computer department
seeking degree in that subject, let alone its use at primary and secondary level. In universities the students
of other subjects like sociology, languages, arts and other sciences are not taught the computer skills. This
lags them far behind from students of other countries and few quality institutes of the country.
Same is true of languages. English though introduced from primary level, is not taught according to the
modern techniques of comprehension. Only reading lessons and knowing meaning of words cannot enable
students to master the language. The methodology of English departments in universities is also in
question. The national language, Urdu, is also not focused at any level of education. Learning of both these
languages is important to produce capable and competitive students at the national and international level.
The fate of the students of other subjects is also not much different. On the one hand, they are deprived of
computer and language skills; on the other they do not become proficient in their field of interest as the
proper methodology is not applied. Faculty members are not well qualified, research is not pursued and
creative thought is ignored.
These defects of our education system are the main reasons of the chaos, unemployment, poverty and
social instability in our society. In order to overcome these shortcomings, we must adopt the liberal
education system without any further delay. However, this requires a well thought out and comprehensive
policy to improve the existing education system.
Primarily, we should redesign our curriculum at all levels. All the major components/subjects of liberal
education: sociology humanism, citizenship, history, philosophy, languages, computer and sciences must
be introduced in every tier of education from primary to university levels in accordance with the capacity of
students and the needs of society.
Secondarily, all the institutions should be equipped with computer and scientific laboratories and libraries.
The research and creative thinking should be encouraged through modern techniques of education. In this
regard the accessibility and equality of all sections of our stratified society must be ensured in order to
achieve uniform development.
Lastly, the faculty must be energised by providing skilled and experienced teachers. The existing teachers
should be trained to equip them with modern techniques of teaching methodology. Fresh and young blood
must be encouraged to join education field as a profession by enhancing the monetary incentives in the
education sector.
This policy will yield tremendous benefits to the future of a nation. The liberal education is hailed because
it brings concrete advantages. The young generation of Pakistan makes bulk of the population of country.
According to a report of the State Bank of Pakistan 65 per cent of the educated youth is unemployed due
to irrelevance of their skills with market. If this portion of population is properly skilled, it will prove to be a
boost to the economy as the manpower is considered a resource in all countries of the world.
Another benefit would be the eradication of poverty. Once our youth are employed, they will naturally add
to the income of their families and consequently eradicate their poverty. It will also help in raising the living
standard of our common man as it is directly proportional to the income of a family.
The liberal education would create sense of understanding and cooperation among the people. The
contemporary chaos of extremism and isolationism are due to lack of approach towards collective interests
and common goals among people. Once they realise their social obligations and think creatively they will
initiate participating positively in the stability of society.
It is quite clearly manifested from the discussion that liberal education, which is the real education, is an
essential component of good governance and stable society. It not only helps an individual to progressively
achieve goals but also gives impetus to economic, political and social stability to a state. In short, it forms
the basis of human development in this complex global world of diversity and challenges. It offers a way
towards a better change.

Education System in Pakistan

(2019 Research)
By

REHMAT ULLAH

-
June 3, 2019

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Education System in Pakistan 2019 Research

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 Current Literacy Rate in Pakistan 2019 (Updated)
As of January 2019, Pakistan vows to raise literacy rate from 58% to 70% in four
years by providing school access to the approximately 22.8 million students,
improving the education system among all ages with modern technology

1. Primary: 22,650,000
2. Post-Secondary: 1,949,000
3. Secondary: 2,884,400

From 1947, we praise education and we believe that Education can change the
fortune of a country. Pakistan has several threatening problems and the top one
is Education.

We also believe that only education can solve all the rest big issues that
Pakistan is facing today. But the question is How to Improve Education System
in Pakistan?

Don’t worry we will answer this question.

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.”
We made laws like Article 25-A which states that:

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
Unfortunately, no one focused on practical implementation and still, low or
middle-class families have no access to quality education in Pakistan due to the
high fees of private institutions.

In this article, we will be going through different flaws, drawbacks, and issues in
the education system of Pakistan and will be giving the real solution for those
problems as well.

We have also collected some of the valuable suggestions from well-known

personalities as well as from teachers to students from different areas, which
we will be sharing later.

Flaws in the Education System of Pakistan:

In Pakistani Education System, there are a lot of flaws and issues that must be
addressed as soon as possible.
We are listing the issues and flaws in the Education System of Pakistan and will
be sharing the solutions as well.

1. Theoretical (Not Practical) Education:

I am listing this issue on the top because this is the biggest and actual problem
due to which Pakistani Education System is unable to educate the students with
practical skills rather they only read books to pass exams.

Due to this issue, even degree holders don’t have any skill to utilize and earn a
happy life. They only depend on the jobs which also need practical skills in this
modern age.

A very serious part is that a so-called Educated Degree holders are begging for
Jobs while on the other side, a local Engineer called “Mistry” who has no degree
and is considered as an illiterate earn millions per year and also provide jobs.

At some points, these degree holders are provided internships by these non-
degree holders.

It is a big slap on the Educational System of Pakistan.

2. Outdated (20 years old Syllabus):

Yes, you read RIGHT!!! We are teaching 20+ years old syllabus to our students
which is just a joke with the education.

How can we improve the Education system in Pakistan with the old age
syllabus? We can’t compete with the modern world of Education with this
quality.
We need to come with a fresh and latest knowledge which can be compared to
the foreign updated syllabus to overcome the challenges of quality education in
Pakistan.

We teach students the history of the computer (same for other subjects as well)
at BS level (I think it can be listed in top jokes of the world).

3. No Teaching Quality:

In this modern world, Teaching is considered the most special and important
field. It is the backbone of the Education system of every country. Teachers are
given a special type of Training to teach students in a better and friendly way.

Unfortunately, In Pakistan, No quality teachers are provided to students. In

fact, those who become unsuccessful in their field and they don’t know what to
do with their degree now? they join teaching.

What can a teacher teach if he/she doesn’t know the output of his subject?
(Isn’t a shame?)

In the government sector, teachers are mostly employed by politicians in

favoritism/bribery. While in the private sector, they find inexperienced and the
cheapest teachers.

There should be proper training programs for teachers to learn how to teach
and engage students.

4. No Unity (Different Curriculum/Syllabus):

In Pakistan, there are different curriculum followed by the different educational

system. First of all, it is very unfortunate that in one country there are several
educational systems exist just based on financial differences.
We have a National Educational System which includes matriculation and
intermediate while the other is the British Educational System which includes O
level and A level.

Because of this educational differences, disparities created in the minds of

students at a very young age.

Further, in the National Educational System, we have Urdu Medium and English
Medium which divides the students, then we have govt. and private sectors
which also follows different syllabus and textbooks.

The same case with all the provinces as well. One province has one syllabus
while others have another.

This is a very big issue in the educational system of Pakistan. Govt. of Pakistan
needs to address this issue with a policy to unite all of them and make them
sure to follow one best and updated syllabus.

5. Limited Fields Offered:

In Pakistan, there are few subjects which are considered as a field and these
fields are imposed on students like Medical and Engineering.

If one wants to be respected in Pakistani society, he/she must be a Medical

Doctor or an Engineer.

No!!! This is wrong. All minds are not the same and they are not supposed to do
the same thing. Everyone has different creativity and that creativity can only be
utilized if he/she chose his interest.

My Personal Experience:
 I WAS FAILED IN MATRIC EXAM AS I
WAS IMPOSED TO STUDY BIOLOGY
(MEDICAL SUBJECT) WHICH WAS NOT
MY INTEREST. I TOPPED THE WHOLE
COLLEGE AT F.SC LEVEL BECAUSE I
CHOSE IT (COMPUTER SCIENCE)
WHICH WAS MY INTEREST. ALWAYS
GO FOR INTEREST.
6. No Career Counselling (difficult to Choose Field):

Most of the students, they have no idea at the primary level that what field
he/she should choose to specialize in. It is very unfortunate that there is no
counseling provided in Pakistani schools and even colleges.

Also Read: Is Formal Education in Pakistan Really Worth It?

I have seen BS students regretting their decision of coming to their fields.

I like the European system in this regard where one year before field selection
is for counseling. They are provided with an environment to explore dozens of
fields and then chose the best-suited field at the end of the year. In this way,
they find their actual interest and field.

7. Education Become a Profitable Business:

Education is considered as a profitable business in Pakistan. Day by day, new
institutes are opening not to provide quality education but to benefit from the
lack of schools by govt. and earn a huge amount by charging very high fees.

The perceptions of the students and their parents are not much different as
well. They are taught to study and pass exams to get a degree and then offered
a job to earn money.

They have no vision to contribute to society or country through education. It

becomes a business. Parents invest in children to get Return of Invest later.

8. No Check and Balance:

The worst part of the education system in Pakistan is that there is less or no
check and balance on both govt. and private sectors.

Several Govt. schools and colleges even have no subject teachers or if they
might have as well they don’t come to teach and there is no one to ask why?

There are hundreds and thousands of ghost schools across the country that
never opened in years but thousands of employees are getting their salaries
every month without any output.

Govt. has already policies and laws regarding these issues but need to
implement those laws in real means to overcome the loss of the whole nation.

9. Rattalization (Cramming):

Students are taught to do “Ratta” of the questions and answer without any
concept and just paste that Ratta in the paper to pass the exam.
It is because students don’t understand the English language and they are
taught everything in English. The funniest part is that Teachers who teach
English as a subject can’t speak English themselves.

10. No or Less Security:

Yes, unfortunately, we are facing terrorism as well. The terrorists mainly target
schools and other educational institutes which created fear in society.

Due to which parents don’t allow their children to go to schools. Govt. need to
provide strict security to the educational institutes and assure the parents that
their child is in safe hands.

Drawbacks of the Education System in Pakistan

(Disadvantages):
We discussed the flaws in the Educational System of Pakistan, now we are
listing the drawbacks of Education System in Pakistan that caused by those
flaws and issues.

1. Child out of School:

It is estimated that presently more than 55 million age 10 Pakistanis are unable
to read and write and there are 7 million children of age 5 to 9 years are out of
schools.

The more worst part is that in rural areas, more than 52% of girls are not
enrolled in school. This is not enough, you know 67% of women as well are
illiterate.

These statistics are growing every year which affect every out country from
every aspect either it is political instability or less economic growth.
Reasons:

 Poverty
 Not enough schools in rural places as compared to their population.
 No awareness.
 No output from already degree holders.
 Low-Quality Education.
 Non-Responsible Politicians.
 Wadera, Choudhry, Nawabs don’t allow.
 Sexual Harassment.
 No Security.

2. Child Labor:

Because of the worst education system in Pakistan, parents don’t enroll their
children in school, instead, they make them earn money at a very young age in
hotels/local shops etc,.

Reasons why Parents don’t Enroll Child in School:

 Poverty (They want their child to earn two times food for them).
 No Quality Education (Child learn nothing in years)
 Graduates are unemployed.
 Graduates could be an inspiration and motivation for others but they
themselves are unemployed.
 Why would parents want their child to waste years for just getting
graduated and then do nothing?

3. No Respect for Degrees:

Best was the time when there was big respect for degree holders. Now very few
of them achieve that respect otherwise the most non-respectful people of the
society these days are unemployed degree holders.
Because they don’t know the local and basic skills and also learn nothing in
graduation which makes him dependent on the job. If a job isn’t provided
he/she becomes a burden on the society.

4. No Higher Education:

At first, parents don’t enroll their children at school. If a child has good luck and
gets enrolled, he/she only continue to study up to matric or maximum F.Sc level
and don’t go for graduation.

Sometimes this decision is from parents side but mostly from students
themselves as well because they also get to know the reality that nothing can
be learned in real so better to leave.

5. No Major Invention/Exploration:

Due to the flaws in the education system of Pakistan, and low quality of
education students are unable to explore something new and invent something
for the betterment of the society because they followed only camming(Ratta)
and there was no real concept taught to them.

Even those students who are given assignments to write an essay on Pakistan
Education System. They copy from the net and submit and don’t think over it.

How to Improve Education System in Pakistan:

Now #ItsTime to roll the table and improve the education system in Pakistan
with urgent and big steps. To answer this question, we have researched a lot
and asked different teachers, students and other personalities in the society.

We also attend some panel discussions on the topic and collect point of view of
different educationists and all those who are struggling to improve the
education system in Pakistan.
Suggestions for Improving Education System in Pakistan:

1. Free Education: As stated in article 25-A, every citizen of Pakistan

should be given free education.
2. Scholarships: Govt. should provide scholarships for higher education.
3. Focus on the Parents: Why do I say this? because often and
especially when it comes to girls, parents are the biggest obstacle to
achieving an education. So, what do we do? we mobilize parents.
4. Practical Education: There should be an educational emergency to
prioritize Practical studies over theory. Right from the school level,
practical works should be made compulsory.
5. Career Counseling: It should be compulsory in every school in govt.
as well as the private sector.
6. Remove Ratta System: Govt. should come up with a new system to
remove cramming (Ratta) system.
7. Teachers Qualification: There must be a standard qualification to be
able to teach in schools as in majority private schools FA pass teachers
are hired.
8. Teachers Training: Teachers should be given proper training before
allowing them to teach.
9. Standard Syllabus: One syllabus should be made for country-wide
schools to avoid disparities.
10. Proper Planning: Government and Private both should sit
together and draft a master plan for the right education and then the
government should follow this plan sincerely.
11. Unity: Governments must develop partnerships with communities,
NGOs, and the private sector to delegate responsibility effectively in
order to achieve universal primary education.
12. Political Influence: There should no political influence in the
syllabus as nowadays, every govt. just put their leader’s praise and
history in books.
13. Student Political Parties: There should be a complete ban on
Student Political Bodies in Universities and colleges.
 14. Faculty: There should be strict monitoring of faculty being hired in
government and private educational institutes.
15. Technical Training Centers: Make the vocational and technical
training centers more efficient so that skilled youth could be produced.
16. Policy Planners: Special Policy planning units should be
established in provinces.
17. Special Grants: If needed special grants should be provided to the
provinces where the literacy rate is low.
18. Freelancing: Students must be taught the modern age digital skills
and how to utilize them through freelancing on the internet. Pakistan is
on 4th number in freelancing in the whole world. If Pakistani students
can reach this level without any proper guidance, Imagine, If they will
be given a proper training to do online freelancing and other
businesses, they can be on 1st very soon and the economy will be
boosted. Govt. must think over it

ducation system of Pakistan Essay:

Education plays leading role in any society. For the
development of any country the fundamental role of
education is undeniable. Independence of Pakistan was laid
upon schooling and awareness provided to the Muslims of
subcontinent by Ali-garh Movement. Not only pedagogy but
quality instruction matters. In Pakistan, the system of
education is more theoretical than practical and research
oriented. That’s why people demand jobs form government
than starting their own business and serving nation.
Policies For education system in Pakistan:
Policies for education system in Pakistan are well enough.
But unfortunately there are no strict checks and balances in
schooling system of Pakistan. These policies are beauty of
paper and are not practical.
Pakistan have competing policies but unfortunately due to
lack of honesty, strict rules and regulations, fierce
punishments for violating laws, but these are mere
documental.

Diversified mediums OF EDUCATION:

Unfortunately, due to no checks and balances, the system of
the instruction’s in Pakistan is divided into the following
ctegories:
-> Urdu medium School system
-> English medium school system (Cambridge School
System)
-> Madrassah school system

Different levels of education system :

-> The different levels of education institutes are as follows
-> Preschool (For 3 To 5 years age children)
-> Primary level (grade 1 to grade 5)
->Middle level (grade 6 to grade 8)
-> High school (grade 9 to grade 10)
-> Intermediate school (grade 11 to 12)
-> University education (grade 13 to onward)
The university education system in Pakistan has following
domains
-> Vocational Education
-> Technical Education
-> Medical Education
-> Commerce business Education
-> Agricultural Education
-> Engineering Education

18th constitutional amendment for

educational system of Pakistan:
In 18th constitutional amendment, pedagogy in Pakistan is a
subject matter of provinces not of federal government which
mainly finances higher education. Does this means
that schooling in Pakistan is an important matter for
Pakistan or not?

Educational Budget for FY 2018-2019:

According to Educational Budget for FY 2018-2019 Rs.
111.23 billion have been documented for education
including 46.23 billion for (Private Sector Development
Programmed) PSDP and 65 billion for recurrent for coming
fiscal year .Which are higher than ever before.

Private Sector of Education System of

Pakistan:
The Private Sector of instruction of Pakistan is now more
business oriented. There is no one to check their dues and
balance them. In good institutes dues are so high that a
normal person cannot think about it.

ANALYSIS OF EDUCATION SYSTEM OF

PAKISTAN:
The importance of education in the progress of a
society can never be denied. Education should be top priority
of a government. Health facilities and quality schooling are
inalienable basic needs of a society. Recommended GDP
for education is 4%. But, unfortunately, in Pakistan GDP for
education is never more than 2%. Secondly,
primary pedagogy is not our top priority but
university learning has gained importance. This is not fair
but this should be reversed.
Thirdly, diversified medium of school coaching creates
problem. Our mother language is Urdu but official language
is English. This creates confusion for students. Fourthly,
males and females do not have equal opportunities of
progress. Fifthly, feudal system still exists in our country. It
is a big hurdle in promoting schooling in our society. Due to
lack of enlightenment, people are not well aware of their
fundamental rights. The infrastructure of schools as well as
passionate teachers should be more important. In rural
areas, infrastructure, the infrastructure is not that well. As far
as teachers are concerned teachers are not by-themselves
passionate, then how can they motivate students
for enlightment. For the motivation of teachers, it is important
that their salaries should be high. The prestige and rewards
of teachers should be at that level which keep them
contented and motivated. If society does not respect
teachers then how students can respect teachers, ultimately,
teachers don not work passionately. The result is society
does not promote pedagogy and education system of
Pakistan fails to produce passionate youngsters which may
play a positive role in society.
 How education system of Pakistan can be
made the best:
Best education system follows free and equal schooling for
all. Free and equal education must be constitutional. Besides
this, teaching should be highly regarded profession. Before
promoting education teaching should be made highly
prestigious. Class room environment should be highly
interactive and activity based. AV-Aids should be used in
classroom. Home work is not compulsory after highly
interactive and activity based class. Vocational and general
education should be equally subsidized under highly
qualified teachers. Free Education should be constitutional
right. Child labor should be strictly banned. Best classrooms
provide the best education system.

Conclusion:
Pakistan has good policies for educational system. But due
to corruption, lack of honesty, no accountability and
awareness Pakistan has low literacy rate in the region. Right
now if accountability becomes active, there would be
remarkable improvement in coaching system and literacy
rate of Pakistan.

Education

Types of Education: Formal, Informal

& Non-formal
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Meaning & Types of Education:

Education is a gradual process which brings positive changes in human life and
behavior. We can also define education as “a process of acquiring knowledge through
study or imparting the knowledge by way of instructions or some other practical
procedure”.

What is education?
Education brings a natural and lasting change in an individual’s reasoning and ability to
achieve the targeted goal. It facilitates us to investigate our own considerations and
thoughts and makes it ready to express it in various shapes.

Education is the main thing that encourages us to distinguish between right and wrong
because in the absence of education, we can’t do what we need or we can’t achieve our
goal.

Straightforwardly, we can say, “education is the passage to progress”. It is additionally

the way to our fate as achievements can only be accomplished when individuals have
information, aptitudes, and frame of mind. In this way, education resembles a medium
through which we can associate with various individuals and offer our thoughts.
To tackle issues and do inventiveness we first need to gain proficiency with some
essential abilities. We require learning and abilities to wind up increasingly imaginative.
So education is fundamentally learning of abilities and ideas that can make us
increasingly innovative and issue solver. Education is to pick up the capacity to develop
and take care of issues in order to achieve their lawful motives.

You may also like: Philosophy of Education

Education also means helping people to learn how to do things and encouraging them
to think about what they learn.
It is also important for educators to teach ways to find and use information. Through
education, the knowledge of society, country, and of the world is passed on from
generation to generation.

In democracies, through education, children and adults are supposed to learn how to be
active and effective citizens.
More specific, education helps and guide individuals to transform from one class to
another. Empowered individuals, societies, countries by education are taking an edge
over individuals stand on the bottom pyramid of growth.

Read also: Meaning & Nature of Education

Types of Education
Education goes beyond what takes places within the four walls of the classroom. A child
gets the education from his experiences outside the school as well as from those within
on the basis of these factors. There are three main types of education, namely,
Formal, Informal and Non-formal. Each of these types is discussed below.

Formal Education
Formal education or formal learning usually takes place in the premises of the school,
where a person may learn basic, academic, or trade skills. Small children often attend a
nursery or kindergarten but often formal education begins in elementary school and
continues with secondary school.
Post-secondary education (or higher education) is usually at a college or university
which may grant an academic degree. It is associated with a specific or stage and is
provided under a certain set of rules and regulations.

The formal education is given by specially qualified teachers they are supposed to be
efficient in the art of instruction. It also observes strict discipline. The student and the
teacher both are aware of the facts and engage themselves in the process of education.

Examples of Formal Education

 Learning in a classroom
 School grading/certification, college, and university degrees
 Planned education of different subjects having a proper syllabus acquired by attending the
institution.

Characteristics of formal education

 Formal education is structured hierarchically.
 It is planned and deliberate.
 Scheduled fees are paid regularly.
 It has a chronological grading system.
 It has a syllabus and subject-oriented. The syllabus has to be covered within a specific time
period.
 The child is taught by the teachers

Advantages of Formal education:

 An organized educational model and up to date course contents.
 Students acquire knowledge from trained and professional teachers.
 Structured and systematic learning process.
 Intermediate and final assessments are ensured to advance students to the next learning
phase.
 Institutions are managerially and physically organized.
 Leads to a formally recognized certificate.
 Easy access to jobs.

Disadvantages of Formal education:

 Sometimes, brilliant students are bored due to the long wait for the expiry of the academic
session to promote to the next stage
 Chance of bad habits’ adoption may be alarming due to the presence of both good and bad
students in the classroom
 Wastage of time as some lazy students may fail to learn properly in spite of motivation by
the professional trainers.
 Some unprofessional and non-standard education system may cause the wastage of time
and money of the students which leads to the disappointment from formal education and
argue them to go for non-formal education.
 Costly and rigid education as compare to other forms of learning

Informal Education
Informal education may be a parent teaching a child how to prepare a meal or ride a
bicycle.
People can also get an informal education by reading many books from a library or
educational websites.

Informal education is when you are not studying in a school and do not use any
particular learning method. In this type of education, conscious efforts are not involved.
It is neither pre-planned nor deliberate. It may be learned at some marketplace, hotel or
at home.

Unlike formal education, informal education is not imparted by an institution such as

school or college. Informal education is not given according to any fixed timetable.
There is no set curriculum required. Informal education consists of experiences and
actually living in the family or community.

Examples of Informal Education

 Teaching the child some basics such as numeric characters.
 Someone learning his/her mother tongue
 A spontaneous type of learning, “if a person standing in a bank learns about opening and
maintaining the account at the bank from someone.”

Characteristics of Informal Education

 It is independent of boundary walls.
 It has no definite syllabus.
 It is not pre-planned and has no timetable.
 No fees are required as we get informal education through daily experience and by learning
new things.
 It is a lifelong process in a natural way.
 The certificates/degrees are not involved and one has no stress for learning the new things.
 You can get from any source such as media, life experiences, friends, family etc.

Advantages of Informal Education

 More naturally learning process as you can learn at anywhere and at any time from your
daily experience.
 It involves activities like individual and personal research on a topic of interest for
themselves by utilizing books, libraries, social media, internet or getting assistance from
informal trainers.
 Utilizes a variety of techniques.
 No specific time span.
 Less costly and time-efficient learning process.
 No need to hire experts as most of the professionals may be willing to share their precious
knowledge with students/public through social media and the internet.
 Learners can be picked up the requisite information from books, TV, radio or conversations
with their friends/family members.

Disadvantages of Informal Education

 Information acquired from the internet, social media, TV, radio or conversations with
friends/family members may lead to the disinformation.
 Utilized techniques may not be appropriate.
 No proper schedule/time span.
 Unpredictable results which simply the wastage of time.
 Lack of confidence in the learner.
 Absence of discipline, attitude and good habits.

Read also: Importance of education: comprehensive article

Non-formal Education
Non-formal education includes adult basic education, adult literacy education or school
equivalency preparation.
In nonformal education, someone (who is not in school) can learn literacy, other basic
skills or job skills.

Home education, individualized instruction (such as programmed learning), distance

learning and computer-assisted instruction are other possibilities.

Non-formal education is imparted consciously and deliberately and systematically

implemented. It should be organized for a homogeneous group. Non-formal, education
should be programmed to serve the needs of the identified group. This will necessitate
flexibility in the design of the curriculum and the scheme of evaluation.

Examples of Non-formal Education

 Boy Scouts and Girls Guides develop some sports program such as swimming comes
under nonformal education.
 Fitness programs.
 Community-based adult education courses.
 Free courses for adult education developed by some organization.

Characteristics of Non-formal Education

 The nonformal education is planned and takes place apart from the school system.
 The timetable and syllabus can be adjustable.
 Unlike theoretical formal education, it is practical and vocational education.
 Nonformal education has no age limit.
 Fees or certificates may or may not be necessary.
 It may be full time or part-time learning and one can earn and learn together.
 It involves learning of professional skills.

Advantages of Non-formal Education

 Practiced and vocational training.
 Naturally growing minds that do not wait for the system to amend.
 Literacy with skillfulness growth in which self-learning is appreciated.
 Flexibility in age, curriculum and time.
 Open-ended educational system in which both the public and private sector are involved in
the process.
 No need to conduct regular exams.
 Diploma, certificates, and award are not essential to be awarded.

Disadvantages of Non-formal Education

 Attendance of participants is unsteady.
 Sometimes, it’s just wastage of time as there is no need to conduct the exam on regular
basis and no degree/diploma is awarded at the end of the training session.
 Basic reading and writing skills are crucial to learn.
 No professional and trained teachers.
 Students may not enjoy full confidence as the regular students enjoy.
 Some institutes provide fake certification through online courses just for the sake of earning