Pakistan: the State of Education

Higher education and women’s empowerment in Pakistan

“…These shortcomings are more pronounced and more common in rural areas, but not entirely absent from urban ones (Government of Pakistan 2009). In addition, corruption in the public sector appears to be a significant problem (Government of Pakistan 2009; Khalid and Khan 2006;Shami and Hussain 2005). Private schools tend to be better equipped, but also vary greatly in this respect.…”

“…Education in Pakistan presents a patchwork picture of almost bewildering complexity and magnitude (Khalid and Khan 2006). In its structure, it shares many features with education systems in Western countries.…”

Gender representation in the public sector schools textbooks of Pakistan

“…However, political support for gender equity in schooling does not bring with it solutions to tackling the obstacles in the way of such goals. These obstacles include: the complexity of educational systems in Pakistan, where government schools vie with private schools; and where the urban-rural divide exacerbates inequalities (Khalid and Khan 2006;Khan 2007). As such, gender equality is not simply about boys' vs. girls' education but a recognition that young men and women in middle-class urban areas will have greater access to good quality schooling and employment prospects than their lower-class contemporaries in rural areas (Lewis and Lockheed 2007).…”

Gender Inequality in the Public Sector in Pakistan

“…Most of this was found in the rural areas where girls were systematically kept out of the school system. There is an argument that it is the poor supply of education rather than demand that limits girls' access to education (Barber 2010), due to persistent neglect of education by the state (Khan 1997;Khalid and Khan 2006;GOP 2009;Barber 2010). Less than 2.5 percent of GDP expenditure is allocated for education overall (GOP 2009) with female education being ignored, most obviously in rural areas (Aslam and Kingdon 2008;Latif 2009;Halai 2010).…”

“…It is the role of the state to alleviate the adverse effects of the problems faced by women that tend to solidify inequality between men and women (Khan 1997;Khalid and Khan 2006;GOP 2009;Barber 2010). When households have to bear the cost of the provision of transport, accommodation, and childcare, women are considered a liability and men considered an asset.…”