Discussion

Discussion Analysis of Pakistan

ANALYSIS OF PAKISTAN’S
EDUCATIONAL POLICY IN TERMS OF
HIGHER EDUCATION
Fareeda Ibad1

Introduction
Pakistan being a developing country renders education as a
survival tool of this millennium. The identity of Pakistan comprises its
social, economic and political make up. In this context it becomes
imperative to equip its youth with the skills, expertise and knowledge
necessary to make sure the nation achieves its challenges. Thus, there
is a need for credible and quality institutions of higher education so
that students are equipped with the quality of education which would
lead to gainful employment in the future (Iqbal, 2006).
Coming down to brass tacks, the education sector of Pakistan
has been in a state of neglect since independence with a mere 2% of the
GNP allocated for education in spite of the UNESCO recommendation
of 4%. However, in 2003 this budgetary allocation rose to nearly 3%. In
regard to higher education, the exponential growth of the budget went
up to about Rs. 9 billion by 2005 which constitutes an increase by
1500%. This increase has not proved beneficial since the rise in
expenditure and inflationary costs have proved detrimental in the quest
for improvement in this sector (Saiyid, 2006).
Returning to the point of the social and economic aspects of
national development along with the aspects of intellectual and cultural
development, according to Ravitch (2006), if these aspects are not
attended to, the standard of living of the population will be kept from
growing. Therefore, a significant portion of funds should be allocated
for the development of universities. In this way it will be possible to
provide education to all levels of society and talented youth will benefit
and contribute to nation building. Keeping in mind its priorities Pakistan
must consider the case of education, since it is the conduit to the
resolution of other problems faced by the country, and when the number
of educated youth grows this goal will become achievable.
Higher Education Scenario in Pakistan
Higher education in Pakistan functions at three levels. First of
all, there are degree colleges which are affiliated with universities for
the awarding of degrees. Secondly, there are institutes with a degree
awarding status and finally, there are universities in both the public and
private sectors (Khan, Siraj & Sultana, 2010). The numbers of students
in institutions of higher education constitute a mere 3% in comparison
to the 50-75% in developed countries and fall in the age bracket of 17-

1-Dept of Communications, Institute of Business Management, Karachi,

Pa kistan

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Analysis of Pakistan Discussion

24 years. Of these 75% of graduates are from the public sector and
mainly in science and technology. The quality of these institutes is
hardly commendable since quality education emerges from the private
sector institutions which are operating for profit and the fee structure
is beyond the reach of the common man. Only the upper class youth
have access to this education (Ravitch, 2006).
Turning to the education policies and plans since
independence, it cannot be denied that efforts were made at different
periods to give direction to education. The founder of Pakistan
envisioned character building through education wherein students
would develop honor, a sense of integrity and responsibility to render
selfless service to the country. Thus, initially education plans were
made on a five year basis.
A notable event at the advent of Pakistan’s independence
was the First Education Conference in 1947. Bring honor and
contributing to nation building were the aims of education which at
that stage was of a poor quality since colonial education thus far did
not seek to inculcate any ideology on literacy for that matter. These
issues aside, the Conference considered the need of the hour, that is,
to empower youth with scientific and technical skills. Another point
was to ensure that the educational goals conformed to the intellectual
ability and aspirations of the youth. The Conference also planned for
education to promote democracy and this would be through expansion
of higher education aimed at moral and intellectual human
development. Despite the lofty aims of the Conference, the suggestions
could not be implemented and therefore, another commission followed
aimed at preparing education objectives for the new nation. This
commission’s objectives also failed because there was no strategy
accomplishing these objectives. However, financial planning was done
on a yearly basis and varying financial commitments were made by
the governments that followed.
To examine the five year plans, the first one was the Plan
1955-1960. This catered to the 6 universities existing at that time with
16% of the budget for education. The Plan 1955-1960 called for better
management of tertiary education through the provision of autonomy
and accountability. The proposal for a University Grants Committee
for every province was made to improve coordination with the
University Board and the Government. Other areas included in the
Plan were research, faculty exchange programs and merger of
professional colleges with universities in the form of constituent
bodies. Unfortunately, this plan failed to achieve its objective and
only 69% of its budgetary allocation was availed.
The failure of the First Plan led to the appointment of the
National Commission on Education in 1959 through a resolution. The
policy emerging from this commission was to come up with a policy
to meet the needs of a new nation and mirror the values required by
the population. The policy fell short since it was not based on an
evaluation of the reasons why a new policy was required and also
lacked the perception regarding strategy for implementation of the
changes in attitude required by the people about their country and
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Discussion Analysis of Pakistan

government. In this context it became the responsibility of higher

education to build character and promote a love of knowledge among
the youth. Other objectives of this policy were to establish standards
of equality in society, democracy, values relating to morality and
spirituality which would aid in developing the need for knowledge of
science and public service as a step to national development. However,
the policy failed due to lack of funds and political will. An example of
this was that the government bowed down to student pressure and
withdrew the 3 year Bachelor’s program proposal. The policy was
effective in the achievement of agricultural and industrial education
objectives but not in higher education per se.
In order to get a holistic view of this policy it is important to
view the 5 year plans of 1960-1965 (Second Five Year Plan) and 1965-
1970 (Third Five Year Plan). The Second Plan targeted the reliance of
all levels of education on one another and emphasized vocational and
technical education. This Plan saw the establishment 3 engineering
colleges, up gradation of 2 engineering colleges to universities,
postgraduate programs in engineering, construction of 3 universities
and enhancement of the physical infrastructure of seats of higher
learning. Funding also increased during this period and provision for
merit scholarships was made.
As regards the Third Five Year Plan, its objectives included
the formation of the University Grants Commission, emphasis on
quality education, further spread of scientific and technical education
and infrastructure, and research and development for faculty. In terms
of higher education this plan achieved the establishment of 2 more
engineering colleges, 5 degree colleges, 2 universities, start of degree
classes in 25 colleges, and increase in scholarships.
In the year 1970 the National Education Policy was formulated
since national cohesion had failed to come into effect and separatist
feelings were rife which subsequently, led to the disintegration of
Pakistan in 1971. Apart from this education standards continued to
remain poor and unemployment was widespread. The new policy aimed
to inculcate Islamic cultural values, increase literacy and promote
technical manpower leading to workers with skill sets enabling them
to secure employment. In the quest to increase literacy a program of
mass adult literacy was planned and the administration of education
was decentralized. The reality, however, was different since the policy
was not implementable and was only a political show.
The education policy 1972 was envisioned by the democratic
government of Bhutto and focused on higher education through the
establishment of 6 new universities, 2 new engineering colleges,
nationalization of private institutions, and increase in university
enrollment by 56 percent. The downside of the policy of nationalization
was that the government faced financial constraints and increased
development expenditure considerably.
The Fourth and Fifth Five Year Plans of 1970-1975 and 1977-
1983 followed this policy. In the Fourth Plan the nationalization policy
continued and the treasury was burdened further. The achievements
were that the University Grants Commission was established, as well
as centers of excellence, 7 new universities, increase in agricultural
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education, scholarships and enrollment in higher education. The

downside was that education was politicized and jobs were given on
a political basis. The Fifth Educational Plan sought to balance access
to education, improve teaching quality, improve institutions and
research facilities and make higher education possible for youth in
distant regions of the county.
The National Education Policy of 1979 followed and the main
features here were the promotion of Islamic ideology and the
continuation of development efforts in higher education tending to
vocational and scientific education. It appears that all previous and
subsequent policies were political in nature and the features were
merely variations of the same.
The Seventh Five Year Plan 1988-1992 saw increases in
engineering education, the setting up of the National Education
Testing Service and some efforts in the area of faculty and research
development.
The National Education Policy 1992 which followed was the
product of democratic governments where education was not a
priority; however, efforts were on to make education modern. Higher
education became demand driven and research and community
development were also prioritized to bring about social change in the
country. Like previous policies it failed to be fully implemented due to
a change of government. It is interesting to note that no assessment
has ever been made to determine the causes of failure of these policies.
As a result higher education suffered the most.
Following this policy was the Eighth Five Year Plan 1993-98
which provided 4100 million for higher education. Here again the
focus was engineering education and the 3 year Bachelor’s degree.
Additionally, linkages with universities abroad, increased tuition,
generation of funds by universities and research improvement were
envisaged. This plan saw burgeoning private sector higher education
and evening programs in universities.
Coming to the National Educational Policy 1998-2010, it can
be said that it was the product of a democratic government which had
been elected with a stable majority. The policy realized that higher
education was limited to a few, was beset with politics, the curricula
was not current and relevant, the system of assessment was not
adequate and fair, the infrastructure needed up gradation, and
inefficient and corrupt administration. The policy goals were
specialization in higher education which was demand driven and of a
superior quality comparable to international benchmarks with a strong
research-oriented faculty. To achieve these goals efforts were made
in the right direction with all pertinent recommendations. Higher
education became more autonomous and the social implications were
enormous. It would be pertinent to say that this was a period when
foreign donors were involved in efforts to turn the economy around,
thus monitoring of higher education was extremely necessary if the
system was to be reformed. The reform agenda continued with the
Education Sector Reforms, Strategic Plan 2001-2004, which basically
ensured continuation of this policy in terms of the liberal policy for
the education sector, and increased enrollment in higher education
institutions (Jahangir, 2008).
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Regarding the Education Policy of 2009 much has already

been said and written, therefore, this paper will not touch upon it.
Conclusion
1.It is evident throughout all policies, plans, and reform effort, that
there has been dissatisfaction with the quality of higher education
and an urgent need for reform.
2.In addition, finances allocated for higher education have also been
inadequate and a major constraint in the way of alleviating
problems associated with higher education.
3.Inability to extend Bachelor’s degree programs subsequently led to
graduates entering two types of Masters Programs namely, the
one year program and the two year program.
4.As regards the quality of education which was given importance in
several plans, unfortunately, it declined instead of improving
because funds favored the quantitative expansion of the higher
education sector rather than focusing on quality, thereby not
fulfilling the need for professionally trained human resource.
5.Funds were not the only handicap in improving higher education for
national development but it was the lack of government support.
6.The nationalization of institutions was ill planned because the
government could not take on the financial burden leading to
increase in non-development expenditure which became a
precursor of political unrest in universities.
7.The fostering of private institutions led to the creation of two
systems, one for the common man and one for the elite which did
not benefit social cohesion in the country.
8.The formulation of education policies was not based on any
implementation strategy and this led to the failure of policies in
terms of achieving their objectives of higher education.
9.Each government rejected the policies of the previous government
which resulted in higher education becoming embroiled in politics
doing no service to nation development and social change.
10.Politicization of institutions of higher learning led to the destruction
their credibility and the public becoming indifferent to learning.
All in all, it can be said that the policies were good but a lack
of funds hindered their implementation so the desired results were not
forthcoming
Recommendations
The following recommendations are offered for different areas:
Planning
1. In order to improve higher education, faculty from both sector
colleges and universities should formulate a plan aimed at
outlining procedures and transparent systems of accountability
which are fair and equitable.
2.The HEC should have an external advisory board for decision-making
process guidelines and to make sure these decisions are
transparent.
3.The external HEC board should find out what plans and procedures
were implemented and with what degree of success.
4.Universities which receive funds from HEC must use these after
approval from their Board of Governors and submit a report to
HEC regarding their usage. In case of satisfactory feedback from
277 HEC thesePAKISTAN
funds may beBUSINESS
disbursed again.
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Analysis of Pakistan Discussion

5.National accreditation bodies must aspire to evaluate institutions

according to international standards and certify institutions more
rigorously.
Administration
1.Guidelines for decision making should be set.
2.Research should be strategized for the entire nation.
3.Costs of education for each student should be calculated carefully
so students can arrange funds accordingly.
Fund Allocation
1.HEC funds for universities should be based according to degree
programs and faculty ranks.
2.Private sector university students should also be eligible for
stipends and scholarships.
3.The corporate sector should be encouraged to give grants for
education.
Faculty
1.Faculty remuneration should be improved.
2.More faculty training and development programs should be
organized.
3.Faculty should be encouraged to upgrade teaching methodology
and curricula using critical thinking and problem-based learning
philosophies.
Quality of Institutions
1.Resources should be state-of-the-art.
2.Physical infrastructure should be technically sufficient.
Public/Private Partnership:
1.Private sector institutions should share their faculty expertise with
public sector universities.
2.Private sector universities should provide education to students
from less-privileged strata through need-based scholarships.

References
Iqbal, K. (2006). A nationwide plan and a public-private partnership
to help improve higher education in Pakistan. Leaping
forward: A report on Higher Education in Pakistan. United
Nations, New York: The Promotion of Education in Pakistan
Foundation.
Jahangir, K. (2008). Management of higher education reforms in
Pakistan: An implementation perspective. Islamabad,
Pakistan: National University of Modern Languages Press.
Khan, H.G.A., Siraj A., & Sultana, A. (2010). Constraints of management
dynamics of higher education in Pakistan. Global Journal
of Management and Business Research, 10(9), 2-6.
Ravitch, D. (2006). Improving standards and opportunity for higher
education in Pakistan. Leaping forward: A report on Higher
Education in Pakistan. United Nations, New York: The
Promotion of Education in Pakistan Foundation.
Saiyid, B.H. (2006). Public sector universities of Pakistan: The way
forward. Leaping forward: A report on Higher Education in
Pakistan. United Nations, New York: The Promotion of
Education in Pakistan Foundation.

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