EDUCATIONAL reforms in the country have, from the start, struggled with issues of inequality, access, quality, and relevance. Major challenges have included insufficient public spending on education, low literacy rates, gender disparity, an inadequate infrastructure, and poor delivery. The national education policy of 2009 was a landmark reform. It emphasised increasing literacy rates, improving quality, and addressing gender disparities. However, it was not fully implemented due to many hurdles.

Pakistan is committed to the Education for All initiative, which aims at providing quality education to all children, particularly focusing on girls, marginalised groups, and those living in rural areas. Pakistan also undertook higher education reforms, notably with the creation of the Higher Education Commission in 2002. The HEC was tasked with improving research, funding, and infrastructure for the universities. To bridge the gap between education and the workforce, Pakistan has focused on reforms to enhance technical and vocational education in order to improve employability and economic productivity.

The Federal Ministry of Education has introduced a curriculum and assessment reform through a systematic process to improve the quality of education. The HEC has introduced teacher education reform, which helped revamp pre-service teacher education in the country. In order to assure the quality of teacher education, the HEC introduced accreditation for teacher education programmes. The Inter-Board Coordination Committee has introduced a grading scheme for the SSC and HSC examinations conducted by the Boards of Secondary and Intermediate Education in the country — again a positive step towards improving the quality of education. The respective provincial governments have also made a number of interventions for improving the quality of education, but their impact is yet to be determined.

Sindh has introduced teacher licensing managed by the Sindh Teacher Education Development Authority. Although it is at the initial stage, it will help professionalise teacher education and improve teacher quality. Like other provinces, Sindh has also introduced a cluster-based continuous professional development policy, replacing the ad hoc approach to in-service teacher education. A critical mass of human resources, including master trainers, guide teachers, and subject coordinators, has been developed. They will be responsible for teachers’ continuous professional development. Under this policy, the subject coordinators have been playing a pivotal role in conducting classroom observations and formative assessments for coaching purposes. The Sindh government has plans to develop the accreditation framework and the continuous professional development qualification framework to promote quality teaching.

Despite progress, much remains to be done.

In order to fully transform the education system, reforms should focus on increasing public spending, which needs to be substantial in order to ensure that schools are well-funded and equipped with modern teaching resources. There should be a nationwide initiative to improve teacher training and professional development. This would raise the quality of instruction and improve student learning outcomes.

Education for girls must be a priority, especially in the rural and tribal areas. Incentive programmes, community engagement, and awareness campaigns will help resolve cultural barriers. Using technology for remote learning and optimising digital educat­i­­on platforms can reduce some of the geographical disparities in our ed­­ucation system. Given the country’s cultural and regional diversity, educational reforms should be localised to meet the unique needs of each region, while ensuring alignment with the larger national educational goals.

Educational reforms are normally project-driven and funded by donors. Although there are some successes, the projects tend to function in isolation rather than integrating with the mainstream. Donor-driven projects normally take off late due to procedural matters. A thorough implementation plan seems to be the best solution for effective results.

The sustainability of education reforms and their impact have been a long-standing issue, which must be tackled. Any education reform must be part of the national/ regional education development plan based on a needs assessment.

Pakistan has an opportunity to reshape its education system into one that meets the needs of all its citizens. A balanced approach, combining investment in infrastructure, teacher quality, curriculum and assessment reform, and technology integration, could provide the foundation for a more equitable and effective education system in the country.

The writer is a senior educationist, policy scholar, and researcher.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2024