The public spending in education sector has been decreased incessantly in last four year, said a report released on Thursday.
The report titled “Public Financing in Education Report 2022-23” was compiled by Pakistan Institute of Education (PIE), a subsidiary organization of ministry of federal education and professional training.
The Report provides an in-depth analysis of education financing over the last four years and highlights critical findings that signal urgent areas for reform.
As per the Report the public spending on education in Pakistan remains alarmingly low with a decrease from 1.7 per cent to 1.5 per cent of overall country’s GDP in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
It stated that the figures were far below the international benchmark of 4 per cent recommended by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Report also underscores imbalances in budget allocation with a dominant share of 88 per cent going to recurring expenses such as salaries leaving only 12 per cent for the much-needed development of educational infrastructure.
The Report calls for a strategic increase in public education funding to at least 4 per cent of GDP, emphasizing that a balanced approach between recurring and development expenditures is essential for modernizing the education sector.
It was stated that the Report serves as a roadmap for improving the efficiency of budget utilization, ensuring accountability, and fostering capacity-building efforts to optimize provincial education systems.
The education ministry now plans to take concrete steps to implement these recommendations, marking an important milestone in the journey towards better education outcomes in Pakistan.
After a detailed review, the Secretary of federal education Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani expressed his commitment to aligning Pakistan’s education financing with international standards and praised the efforts of the PIE and other stakeholders in identifying key areas for reform.
He applauded that the PIE effort stating that to conduct such reports were need of hour as well as a significant step towards enhancing the country’s education system.
In the backdrop of this report, the secretary also chaired a meeting at the ministry which was attended by all stakeholders including Additional Secretary, Senior Joint Secretary, Dr. M Shahahid Soroya, DG PIE and members of the World Bank team.
Mohyuddin Wani told this correspondent that during the meeting, participants discussed the urgent need to address the underfunding of primary and secondary education, particularly in provinces like KP and Balochistan, and the overall lack of focus on non-formal education aimed at reducing the out-of-school children (OOSC) population, which currently stands at 26.2 million.
