Secondary Education in Pakistan:

The Key Issues, Challenges and

Reform Framework

Tahseen Sayed, Lead Education Specialist, SASHD

Regional Conference on Education, Training, and
Knowledge Economy in South Asia
New Delhi September 14-15, 2006
 Overview & Key Challenges in
Secondary Education in Pakistan
ƒ Access (enrollment, institutions)
ƒ Regional differences
ƒ Financing (share of budget)
ƒ Quality (content of curriculum, choice
of subjects, teachers, pass rates)
ƒ Ongoing reforms and future reform
areas
 Participation Rates by Levels of Education
Net Enrollment Rates by Level

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Pr imar y Middle Mat r ic ( High Higher Degr ee Colleges Univer sit y
School) Secondar y

ƒ The bigger decline is between primary and middle, where

most enrollment is lost
ƒ About 25% of enrolled primary school students enter
middle schools, whereas about 40% of the middle schools
students enter high/higher secondary level
*Source: PSLSM Survey 2004/05
 The Urban-Rural Divide in
Participation Rates
Net Enrollment Rates by Level

70
60
50
40 Urban
30 Rural
20
10
0
Primary Middle Matric (High School)
Share of Institutions and Enrollments
by Level (public and private)
*Source: MOE Data 2004/05

Share of Institutions by Level Share of Enrollment by Level

7% 3%
16%
8% 1%
15%

76% 74%

Primary Middle Secondary & High Colleges Primary Middle Secondary & High Colleges
 Gender gap highest at secondary level
*Source: MOE, 2004/05

Female Enrollment as % of Total Enrollment

60%
49%
50% 43% 41% 40%
40%

30%

20%

10%
Primary Middle Secondary & Colleges
High
 Share of Private Sector by Level
Private Sector Enrollment as % of Total Enrollment by Level

10%

36%
25%

29%

Primary Middle Secondary & High Higher Secondary/colleges

ƒ Although the above is based on administrative data of 2004/05, some

emerging data shows that private sector accounts for about 34% of
total enrolment at the primary to secondary level
Gross Enrollment Rates across education
levels – International Comparisons
Gross Enrollment Rate

120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Primary Secondary Tertiary
Bangladesh India Indonesia
Pakistan Thailand Turkey
 Funding Issues
ƒ Distribution of education expenditure at levels of
education is highly skewed

Percentage Distribution of Education Expenditures

by Level 2004/05

2% 9%
11%
42%

12%

24%

Primary education Elementary & secondary education

General university/college education Professional/technical universities
Teacher and vocational training Other educational institutions
 Quality Issues
ƒ Content of curriculum is weak
National Curriculum Review findings:
– Curriculum, especially science, set up for very high
standards
– strong in theoretical content, but knowledge base is
without skills (e.g., low practical application in absence
of labs, etc.)
– Current curriculum does not address systematic
progression from easy to difficult, and absence of
vertical and horizontal linkages in subjects
ƒ Shortage of Language and Science teachers, with
variation between institutions
 Quality Issues
ƒ Choice of subjects not responding to market
/ economy needs
ƒ Disparities between urban/rural institutions,
including gaps in facilities, teaching
ƒ Multiple examination boards of varying
quality
ƒ Low pass rates: SSC (Grade 10) 55%; HSC
(Grade 12) 50% pass out of those who
appear in exams
 Employability of graduates
ƒ Unemployment rate for matriculate
graduates is 8.8% (steadily rising over the
years)
ƒ Unemployment rate for primary level
attainment is much lower (under 4%)
ƒ Stringent labor regulations and skill gaps are
two major bottlenecks identified by
employers
Reforms in Secondary Education
ƒ Because of prominent issues with access at
primary/basic levels, and large drop out between
primary and middle/secondary, focus has not been
on secondary education reform
ƒ Some initiatives have been started recently as part
of Ministry of Education’s overall reform efforts,
and provincial reform programs
ƒ With better data analysis, focus also moving to
secondary and college education
ƒ Higher Education reforms already underway
 National Level Reforms
ƒ National Curriculum Review: undertaken after 20
years (last review was in 1985, with “insufficient,
partial and superficial” revisions in 2000-02
ƒ Curriculum being made responsive to job market
ƒ Options of vocational education being explored
ƒ A formidable task as curriculum review in isolation
will not yield change – and requires linkages with
better textbooks, teaching practices, and
examinations
 Some national reform initiatives
ƒ National Curriculum Review to strengthen content and quality of
secondary education
ƒ Composite examinations for Grades 9 & 10
ƒ Reducing the number of examination boards (BISE) to one in
each province to bring in uniformity of quality and reduce
regional disparities
ƒ Colleges (higher secondary) handed to provincial management
(from district)
ƒ Teacher accreditation - as part of wider teacher professional
development framework
ƒ Reforms in the Higher Education Sector
ƒ Establishment of National Vocational Education Commission
 Provincial Level
ƒ Focus has been on demand-side
interventions at the middle school and high
school level (e.g., stipends for female
elementary and secondary stipends;
textbooks for all through Grade 10
ƒ Expanding access at the middle and
secondary levels
ƒ Filling teaching gaps at secondary level,
especially subject teachers
 Future Agenda
ƒ Demand-side interventions such as stipends
to increase the number of children
completing primary and proceeding to
middle/secondary level
ƒ Strengthen the content of education, by
ensuring linkages between revised content
and textbooks, teaching, examination
 Future Agenda
ƒ Strong focus on teacher education
ƒ Quality of secondary and higher secondary
graduates, including focus on marketable
skills
ƒ Subject revisions at secondary and higher
secondary
ƒ A clearer partnership with private sector