Education in
Pakistan
All Demand and
Little
Supply
The is
the text of Ms. Habib’s presentation at the
Pakistan
Economic
Development Conference held on March
07 1998 at
MIT.
I would like
to speak about education
in Pakistan
at two ends
of the spectrum-- at one
end highereducation
in the
private sector, and at the other end NGO schooling for
the
very poor.
In each case, I will try to identify criteria that successfully meet
parents' demand foreducation
,
and then address the question of
how successful initiatives can be sustained.
Providingeducation
to its citizens
is clearly
not a priority for the Government
of Pakistan
. Policy
makers do
not seem to realize the immense importance of investing in the people of the
country, and not only in roads and airports. Lack of skills and high
illiteracy levels are as great a barrier to economic development as inadequate
infrastructure. This will become increasingly evident
asPakistan
is forced to
compete in world markets
where most developing countries already have more skilled
workers.
Low
investment in girlseducation
also imposes
a high cost on society. When women
are more educated, labor force
participation rates increase, their
children
are better
nourished and educated, and of utmost importance
to Pakistan
, fertility
rates are lowered. The population
of Pakistan
is
estimated to grow to 250 million
in twenty years and the country does not
have the resources to
sustain this increase. Female illiteracy will be
an important
contributor to thispopulation
increase.
DEMAND FOR
HIGHER EDUCATION
IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR
The need for colleges and
universities to provide quality education
cannot be emphasized enough. Good institutions of
higher learning are essential for building leadership and professionalism
in our country.
Unfortunatelygovernment
institutions
no longer enjoy the reputation they used to 20 years ago. The spacious campuses
of Punjab
University
, Government
college Lahore
and Karachi University
, are not perceived as
institutions of high
academic standards anymore. At the core of this
deterioration is the public
examination system. Malpractice in the system
have made the Intermediate,
Bachelors and Masters degrees unreliable
measures of student
competence. Public institutions of higher learning
have also become a hotbed
of student politics, and student and teacher
absenteeism is high.
The inability of degrees
fromgovernment
universities
and colleges to serve as
screening devices for selecting graduates in the job market
has led to a substantial
demand by parents and employers for private
higher education
, where
students are willing to pay high fees. We are all
familiar with the traffic
jams caused by private colleges and institutions that
have mushroomed in rented
houses in cities all overPakistan
. However
these institutions are
mostly commercial ventures, some of them playing a role
in providing marketable
skills. Most serve as tuition centers to prepare
students for board exams, rarely
providing qualityeducation
and
opportunities for intellectual
growth.
A few universities in the private
sector have attempted to fill this vacuum for quality
highereducation, of which
the best known two are the Lahore University
of
Management Sciences (LUMS) and the
Aga
Khan Medical
University
in Karachi
. These
universities provide successful alternatives
to poor
qualityeducation
in the public sector. In the case of
the Lahore
University
of Management Sciences, the initiative
came from businessmen, who
supported and funded the setting up of a private school that
they perceived would meet
the demand of Pakistani industrialists and bankers
for well qualified local
MBAs.
I will highlight the experience
of a relatively recent establishment in the
private sector,
theLahore
School
of Economics.
The Lahore
School
originally
aimed to provide a graduate degree in Economics and
Management and eventually
expand to an undergraduate program.
TheLahore School
was established in 1993 and received a charter
from the provincialgovernment
at the
beginning of 1997. I wasteaching
at the
School during this formative stage, and it gave me an
opportunity to gain some insights into
the mechanics of the birth
of an institution. It was clear that there is
substantial demand for
quality highereducation
in the
private sector. Parents
are willing to pay over Rs. 100,000 a year for educating sons
as well as daughters which
is several times higher than the cost of an
equivalent degree from a
public university, but at the same time lower than
the cost of sending
students to foreign universities. Parents' demand
also reflects the
job market demand foreducation
. For
instance, bankers and industrialists often commented on the
preference for well trained local MBAs over those with foreign qualifications
as the local graduate adjusted better to the Pakistani
businessenvironment
. For this
reason, banks and businesses are also willing to support
private institutions because they need well trained graduates to work in their
organizations.
There are many interesting
features and stages in the setting up of an
institution. My focus here
is to identify three features that served as
important criteria for
meeting the demand for highereducation
.
1) obtaining a charter by
the government
to award the institution's
own
degrees
2) ensuring well qualified
faculty willing to work intensively with students
3) creating an atmosphere of
learning through regular assignments on
current topics, regularly
inviting speakers on a variety of topics and
supplementing lectures with
tutorial sessions.
1) Obtaining the Charter. The
process of obtaining a federal or provincial
charter that allows a private
university to award its own degrees is a
fairly rigorous one, and although
the government
has allowed many
educational institutions to
flourish, there is a long review process
before official sanction is
given. Therefore a private institution's
willingness to go through this
process and open itself up for review is
important for establishing
credibility. One of the primary objectives of
the Lahore School
was to
obtain a charter from the government
to enable it
to award its own "recognized"
degrees. The process of obtaining
the
government
of
Punjab
charter took three years of active
pursuit. This was a
frustrating experience, requiring
a high level of persistence. Since the
School had announced its
intention of pursuing the charter from the outset,
students and faculty participated
enthusiastically in the process.
Obtaining a charter is therefore
an important milestone in meeting quality
standards expected by parents and
employers and setting an institution
apart from other commercial
ventures.
2) Qualifications and dedication
of Faculty. Even before the charter was
obtained, enrollments were
rising. The school started with a first batch
of about 20 students. Just before
the charter was obtained there were
about 100 students enrolled in
the program and now there are over 200
students. This was partly in
anticipation of the charter, but also because
well qualified teachers were
recruited and were expected to work
intensively with the students.
Teachers were also given independence to
design their own courses.
Recruitment of well qualified staff is one of the
biggest challenges in maintaining
high standards.
3) Creating an Atmosphere of
Learning. Another criteria for success is
enabling the student to analyze
the material being taught. When students
entered the Master's program,
although they were bright, eager and
confident, their creative and
analytical abilities had not been given an
opportunity to develop in college
years where the emphasis was on
reproducing materials from
textbooks for end-year examinations.
Tutorials were an important
feature of each teaching
session where
material covered in lectures was
reinforced through assignments based on
the lecture and discussions among
students divided into smaller groups.
Inviting outside speakers
regularly to discuss real world situations
relevant to the class material
kept students abreast of current events and
gave them an opportunity to
exchange views with professionals and policy
makers. Another important feature of many
courses was assignments in which
students were required do
independent research. Although students were not
used to independent work, or even
using libraries, with faculty guidance
and persistence, students
overcame their initial reluctance and handicaps
and often came up with creative
projects.
Sustaining Standards in Private
Higher Education
Behind successful ventures there are always
individuals or a group of
people who are committed and
persistent in achieving goals for their
institutions. However when the
institution expands, individuals may lose
the momentum to maintain high
standards. It may also not be possible for
one person or a small group of
persons to effectively continue maintaining
the same level of interest and
high standards. Once an institution is
successfully established it is
important to also establish a clear
organization structure for
sustaining quality to guide those who work in
it.
To remain financially viable, it
is important to be able to cover running
costs through fees, and avoid
unnecessary costly investments in facilities
since parents and students attach
a lot of value to the substance of the
material taught, the competence
of the instructors, and the ability of the
faculty to work intensively with
students. And investment in these inputs
is in fact essential to meeting
the demand for quality education
.
In conclusion, how does one
example aid us in thinking about the future of
higher education
? Does the
solution lie in handing over higher education
to
the private sector? s to What
about the public resources tied up in the
infrastructure and staffing of
the many government
universities? Can these
be salvaged? Although the
majority of Pakistanis have access only to the
cheaper state
provided education
, there is
scarce evidence of reform
in
state universities. In one case,
in an effort to reclaim its former
reputation, Government
College Lahore
pursued autonomous status to
give
its own examinations and award
its own degrees, independent from the
Punjab examination board. This
will be a challenging undertaking, since
drastic reform
of existing teaching
methods, curriculum and funding will
be
required. The results of any
committed efforts in this direction will be
very instructive for similar
experiments in other government
colleges and
universities.
Let me now turn to another vital
area of schooling for children
from low
income
families.
B: SCHOOLING FOR
POOR CHILDREN
IN THE NGO SECTOR
Only 60% primary
age children
in Pakistan
attend school, a much lower
rate
compared to neighboring
countries. Moreover, the gender
gap is large.
There are only 56 girls to every
100 boys enrolled in primary education
.
Although
the government
has doubled expenditure
on education
in the last
ten years the emphasis is still
on construction of facilities and
recruitment of teachers without
an effort to improve quality of education
.
The vast majority
of children
who do attend school are not able to
read
and comprehend material other
than what they memorize from textbooks. Nor
are they able to perform simple
computational skills in mathematics. So for
a lot of children
who do make it to school,
the education
they receive is
extremely inadequate and an
inefficient use of public resources.
Dissatisfaction
with government
schools is reflected by the low
attendance
rate --20 to 30 percent of
schools are either empty or have very few
students.
The consensus of a number of
studies on schooling in Pakistan
is that low
enrollment and low retention
rates are a reflection
of poor supply in terms
of low quality
of education
offered. Parents do not consider it
worthwhile
to send
their children
to school if they are not learning
anything.
Children
's time is
considered better used in chores at home or
assisting
parents in income earning
activities. Since the opportunity cost of
educating
poor children
is high, the quality
of education
also has to be
high, in order to convince
parents of the value of sending children
to
school.
Millions of poor families
in Pakistan
want good schools for
their children
.
They demonstrate this demand
enthusiastically when they are assured that
the education
received is worthwhile. Participation
rates are high in
successful projects. In
the government
assisted Balochistan
community
schools project, there is 87%
female enrollment compared to the province
average of 18% . Successful
schools established under the Baldia Home
Schools project, the Orangi Pilot
project and the Aga Khan Rural Support
Program have also been in
operation since the eighties. All these schools
operate with community support
and involvement.
The inadequate supply of public
schools has also encouraged the growth of
private schools in the last ten
to fifteen years. Two types of private
schools exist in urban areas,
those catering to the elite, or educated
middle and upper classes, and
schools of a much lower quality, charging low
fees, catering to the poor.
Low-income families in urban areas spend a
substantial part of their budget
towards educating children
in private
schools because they perceive
these schools to be of higher quality
compared
to government
schools. However, only 10% of all
school going
children
in Pakistan
attend private schools, and the
responsibility for
educating the poor still lies
heavily with the government. The
challenge is
two-fold--improving the quality
of existing schools, and to increase the
number of schools.
Let me now narrate the experience
of one NGO school to illustrate how a
community can be transformed if a
committed effort is made to provide
good
education
. About a
year ago, I had the opportunity to work with an NGO
school in Sheikhupura, about 40
miles out of Lahore
. This
school started
functioning in 1991 and evolved
as part of a rehabilitation program for
flood devastated settlements
along the Lahore
/Sheikhupra
road. This
community did not have access to
any government
school. A new school
building was constructed, and
over a 100 children
registered on the first
day the school opened. By 1996,
enrollment had reached 1500, and F.A. and
FSc. classes had also started
since there was no college in the area. Now
efforts are underway to start a
computer center for the senior classes. The
demand for schooling in the area
led to the opening of another school
further along the Sheikhupura
highway in 1995, where enrollments have
reached 500. Land for both
schools was donated by factory owners of the
area.
Some performance criteria of the
school are indicated as follows:
1) Cost-effectiveness: The annual
cost of schooling is about Rs. 2000 per
child, which is half the cost per
student in a government
Parents are charged a voluntary tuition fee
of Rs. 10 per month and Rs. 20
for those who can afford it.
Despite their poverty
, 70% of
parents are
able to pay at least Rs.10 per
month. In fact they pride their ability to
pay for
the education
of their children
. Since
drop-out rates are also
much lower and achievement levels
higher compared to government
schools,
society gains much more for the
limited resources spent in an effective
NGO school compared to a
typical government
school.
2) Learning
abilities: Children
from very poor families are assumed to
come
from so-called disadvantaged
backgrounds where there is lack of
intellectual stimulation due to
parents illiteracy. In fact, children
entering school in the kindergarten, class 1,
and class 2 levels, from
ages five to seven, were observed
to be capable of learning and absorbing
material very quickly. They had
well developed motor skills, and good
communication and social skills.
These skills are learnt at home. For
instance, small motor skills are
developed because children
are expected to
engage in household chores from
an early age and also learn to perform
tasks for themselves such as
buttoning and unbuttoning, pouring water and
so on. When asked to draw birds,
vegetables or flowers, they tended to draw
examples from real life-- making
very detailed drawings of crows or
carrots or roses. As a result, in
the initial years of school, children
from poor backgrounds were seen to be very
ready for learning, probably as
capable as the average
kindergartner from a typical middle to upper class
school.
3) High returns to
early education
: It is also
in the first two or three
years of school
that children
lose the opportunity for learning
if
memorization is stressed
and children
are intimidated by teachers.
Therefore the returns to the
first two or three years of schooling can be
very high and crucial in building
a strong educational foundation that
would give high dividends in
terms of academic achievement in higher grades
and lower drop-out
rates.
Extra effort at the "kachi" or
pre-school level, and up to the first three
classes is also important from
another perspective. Poor parents face
pressure to
pull children
out of school to help with domestic or
market
related activities. If the high
standard of education
is established at an
early stage, parents will be
willing to make greater sacrifices to
keep
children
in school. Even in case the child is
forced to drop out, the first
three or four classes may be the
only education
he or she will obtain.
Therefore, the more
intensive education
is at this stage, the more
useful
it will be to the
child.
4) Introducing English at an
early stage: The school's policy
of
introducing English from the very
beginning is a feature specially
attractive to parents. "English
medium" schooling is sought after by
parents of all income groups,
because even illiterate parents can perceive
the opportunities the knowledge
of English can open up for their children
.
Given that curriculum in Urdu is
poorly developed, and most children
speak
Punjabi at home, there is no
natural advantage in teaching
only Urdu in
the earlier classes. The
challenge lies in training teachers to instruct
the children
properly.
5)
Co-education
works well. Classes are co-educational
up to the
intermediate level. Parents do
not object to co-education
, due to
their
trust in the school
administrators and the principal. Girls make up 50%
of
most
classes.
6) Competence and training
of teaching
staff. The success of the
school
hinges on the dedication,
competence and constant supervision of the
principal, or the headmistress,
who in turn is motivated by NGO workers.
Some of the teachers were trained
at considerable cost from private teacher
training centers
in Lahore
. These
teachers then trained the other school
teachers. Recruiting, training
and retaining teachers (especially after
they had received training) is a
difficult challenge. The school has also
started recruiting some of its
own matriculate students after they have
graduated to teach in the primary
classes.
In conclusion, the success of NGO
schools depends on the commitment and
motivation of a few individuals
and their ability to raise funds. And
society cannot depend on this
commitment alone. What this example does
reveal is the strong demand for
high quality education
by poor parents and
their willingness to pay for
this education
. Therefore
it is important for
the government
to focus on the type
of education
it provides and on
improving the substance
of education
.
The main lesson to be learned
from the diverse examples of education
given
here is that there is a positive
and high response to good
quality
education
, at the
higher and primary level, and that a high priority
should be attached to
providing education
of substantial quality.
Although
the
current education
situation is dismal, the high demand
for education
indicates that intensive investment in the
right type of education
could
yield high returns in terms of
enrollment and achievement rates within five
to ten years. The initiative for
this would have to come from
the
government
, and
enhanced with the help of NGOs, and the
community.
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