MAIN TOPIC:

DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN
PAKISTAN
INTRODUCTION :

Education is not only an important pillar for development but also the basic condition for the
success of democracy. The Muslims are religiously bound to get education. This is necessary in
order to lay sound basis for political culture, political socialization and recruitment of political
system of the country. Quaid had complete belief in students throughout the movement for
independence.

You know that importance of education and the right type of education, cannot be over-emphasized....
If we are to make real, speedy and substantial progress, we must earnestly tackle this question ...
having regard to the modern conditions and vast developments that have taken place all over the world".
( Quaid-e-Azam ) (1)

Pakistan appeared on the map of the world on 14th August,1947. Pakistan was created in the
name of Islam under the outstanding leadership of Quaid-e-Azam. The Quran placed great
emphasis on education. The Quaid as quoted above also highlighted its importance for the new
nation.

PAKISTAN’S EDUCATIONAL SETUP

AFTER INDEPENDENCE

At the time of independence, Pakistan has a weak educational setup. Most of the people were
illiterate and numbers of educational institutions were insufficient for educating people.
Pakistan inherited administrative setup from British in 1947 and since then the system has
improved to some extent through a number of administrative reforms but revamping of
administrative structures did not take place. In Pakistan, usually educational administration
has been practiced through centralized system. Ministry of education and provincial education
departments are regulating the educational laws and policies at federal and provincial levels.

At the time of independence (1947) the organizational structure of local government was
vibrant. During 1950s and 1960s local councils, delivered most of the public services. Since
1970 some of the important functions of local councils were moved up to the provincial
government.

Ref (1): Akhtar Hasan Khan "Education in Pakistan: fifty years of neglect". Pakistan Development pg.1

EDUCATIONAL POLICIES :
Development of education is evident from the Educational Policies introduced by the
Government in different periods. Following educational policies have been introduced in the
country since its independence in 1947:

a ). Educational Conference 1947

b ). Report Of The Commission On National Education 1959
c ). National Education Policy 1970
d ). Developmental Changes In Educational Policy 1972
e ). Education Policy 1978
f ). National Education Policy, 1992
g ). National Educational Policy 1998-2010

EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE 1947

The importance of education was fully realized soon after the establishment of Pakistan.
The All Pakistan Education Conference was convened in 1947, at the behest of Quaid-i-Azam.
He provided the basic guidelines for future education development by stressing, inter-alia,
that the system of education should suit the genius of our people, it should be consonant with
our history and culture and instill the highest sense of honor, integrity, responsibility and sell
less service to the nation. It should also
provide scientific and technical knowledge
for economic uplift of the new state. The
Conference therefore, made three basic
recommendations:

(a) Education should be inspired by Islam.

(b) Free and compulsory elementary
education.
(c) Emphasis on technical education.

The conference recommended to the

Constituent Assembly that Urdu should be
[2]
recognized as the lingua franca  of
Pakistan. It resolved that Urdu must be taught as a compulsory subject in schools. A Hindu
delegate Director Public Instruction from East Bengal dissented from the resolution that
recommended text books in Urdu. He preferred English for the public of Bengal. The
conference also emphasized for free and compulsory education at primary level and then
gradually to be raised to middle level. Co-education schools at the primary level if
recommended by local conditions. It also focused on improving literacy rate through adult
literacy program

Ref (2): Lingua Franca:

A language or mixture of languages used as a medium of communication
by people whose native languages are different.
REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON
NATIONAL EDUCATION 1959
The Ayub era saw high-level commissions to examine and guide all walks of life. Education
being a very important aspect of national development received priority during this period. The
Commission was appointed by a resolution adopted by the Government of Pakistan on the 30th
of December 1959, with the mandate of evolving a national system of education which would
reflect the spiritual, moral, and cultural values of independent Pakistan, and enable the
system to meet the growing needs of the nation in the fields of agricultural, scientific and
technological development.

The Commission recognized that civilized societies have

for many centuries looked to their institutions of higher
learning for the training of leaders in government and
the professions. It emphasized that higher education
must be concerned with the formation and development
of character along with the acquisition of knowledge.

"We must recognize that Government has never provided

adequate financial support for education either in absolute terms
or in comparison with the effort being made in other countries. It is frequently argued that the level of
support for education in Pakistan is related to the general economic position of the country and if our
effort is to be judged in this light it is as much as can be managed. It is stated that because we are poor we
cannot afford an extensive educational programme. There is, of course, some truth in this…. But to argue
that we are too poor to support education is to argue that we must always be poor. This goes against the
whole concept of economic planning…. We are spending a smaller percentage of our national income …
on education than many countries whose resources are more or less equal to our own." [3]

EDUCATION POLICY 1970

The New Education Policy 1970 was adopted by the Cabinet on March
26,1970. This policy was announced on November 28,1969. On this day, the
President of Pakistan General Aga Khan Mohammad Yahya Khan had also
announced the dissolution of the one unit in West Pakistan. This policy
regarded educational development as a dynamic and continuous process, which
implied an evolutionary exercise and periodic appraisals of policies and
programs on the part of the state, the community and all others concerned with it.

Ref (3): Report of the Commission on National Education, 1959, P. 340 - 341.

National Education Policy 1970 also proposed the introduction of decentralization of

educational administration to ensure academic freedom and financial autonomy required for the
healthy and effective growth of educational institutions at various levels.

Its salient features were as follows:

  Great emphasis on universal enrolment up to class 5.

 Decentralization of educational institutions to allow greater community participation.

 Secondary and tertiary education institutions to have their own governing/advisory

bodies with representation from government, parents, teachers, and founders.

 National Research Fellowships and National Professorships Schemes to be financed by

the central government.

 Establishment of two National Institutes of Modern Languages.

 Higher pay scales for faculty members tied to qualifications and research output.

 System of sabbatical leave for faculty members.

DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES IN
EDUCATIONAL POLICY 1972

Bhotto’s regime gave its Educational Policy on March 15-1972. He

nationalized the privately managed institutions which, was considered a landmark of Bhutto’s
regime. Education was made free and compulsory at primary up to class X. The university
grants commission was established to coordinate all universities. During Zia’s era Maktab
schools were revived and national education policy was announced under which private sector
encouraged to contribute towards provision of education. Islamization of education was
remarkable achievements of his era. He focused mass literacy and enrolment of school
dropouts through Nai Roshni Scheme.

The national objectives were identified as:

(a) equalizing the opportunities for education;

(b) arresting the declining educational standards; and
(c) correcting the growing imbalance between various types of
education.

The statement of goals was accompanied by broad-based

guidelines which were to provide a framework within which the Provincial Government and non-
government agencies were to prepare detailed plans and programs. The role of the Ministry of
Education was to ensure that adequate and effective programs are developed for the
achievement of the educational goals and targets at the desired place. This was to be
monitored by continuous study and evaluation.

The strategy used in developing the goals relied on two principles,

(a) education should be inspired by the nation's ideological and cultural heritage; and
(b) education should be dictated by universal structures of human knowledge and concepts
of human progress.
 EDUCATION POLICY 1978

In 1978 a new education policy should be stressed that Pakistan must

abide by Islamic Principles Of Education and cultural traditions to
suit their socio-economic needs and requirements, to promote national
unity and national unity. This policy was announced by Minister Of
Education Mohammad Ali Khan on 12 October 1978 in Islamabad.

The major aims of this policy again focused on fostering deep and abiding loyalty to Islam,
creating awareness that a Pakistani is also a part of Universal Muslim Ummah, inculcation of
character in accordance with Quran and Sunnah, providing equal opportunities to all citizens
for cultural and religious development, development of
creative and innovative faculties of people, functional
literacy to all citizens, fostering discipline and promotion of
scientific and technological education needed for socio-
economic growth.

NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY, 1979

Presented in February 1979, the stated aim of this policy was the harmonization of education
with the concepts of Islam and the ideology of Pakistan.

The major change introduced through this policy was the use of the national language as the
medium of instruction with a view to strengthening the ideological foundations of the nation,
and to foster unity of thought, brotherhood and sense of
patriotism.

This policy aimed at "Islamization" and the revision of the

curriculum in order to assign highest priority to Islamiat and
Arabic. These two were made compulsory subjects for all
students. Plans were made to setup 30 Arabic language centers
under the umbrella of Allama Iqbal Open University. Private
schools and colleges were to be opened up and enforcement of
Urdu in 450 English medium schools countrywide. It focused on
adoption of Urdu as the medium of instruction at grade 1 in 27
English medium schools of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Only 12
schools followed the instructions. Interestingly, the Federal Schools under defense and
missionary schools resisted in favor of English as the medium of instruction.

NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY, 1992

This policy was initiated in December 1992 with the objective of restructuring the existing
educational system on modern lines, and to bring a social change as dictated by the teachings
of Islam. It envisaged a qualitative shift for higher education from
supply to demand oriented study programs, and placed a heavy
premium upon Research, Community Participation, and Student
Discipline.

Unfortunately, this policy too fell victim to the vagaries of political

expediency and instability. It started out realistically enough by
recognizing the need to create an operational framework which would
improve quality by ensuring effective translation of policy principles
into concrete action at the level of educational institutions. It was
prepared for a period of ten years (1992-2002), and like its
predecessors aimed at universal primary education.

NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL POLICY 1998-2010

The National Education Policy 1998 was formulated in the milieu of Quaid’s message [3] with a vision to
transform the Pakistani nation into an integrated, cohesive entity that can
compete and stand up to future challenges.

The National Education Policy 1998-2010 proposed that there shall be

regulatory bodies at the national and provincial levels to regulate
activities and smooth functioning of privately managed schools and
institutions of higher education through proper rules and regulations. A
reasonable tax rebate shall be granted on the expenditure incurred on
the setting up of educational facilities by the private sector. Grants-
in-Aid for specific purposes shall be provided to private institutions.
Setting up of private technical institutions shall be encouraged.
Matching grants shall be provided for establishing educational
institutions by the private sector in the rural areas or poor
urban areas through Education Foundation. In rural areas,
schools shall be established through public-private partnership
schemes. The government shall not only provide free land to
build the school but also bear a reasonable proportion of the
cost of construction and management. Liberal loan facilities
shall be extended to private educational institutions by
financial institutions.
 CONCLUSION

The above policies of Pakistan recognized that education is the basic right of every citizen;
therefore, access to education for every citizen is crucial for economic development and for
poverty alleviation. The present government has given much importance to education sector it
has not only emphasized raising the present literacy rate but also emphasized improving the
quality of education.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
> aepam.edu.pk/Publications/Decentralization in the Education System of Pakistan.

> Akhtar Hasan Khan "Education in Pakistan: fifty years of neglect". Pakistan Development, pg:1,2
Review. FindArticles.com. 12 Feb, 2011.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6788/is_4_36/ai_n28701421/

>cssforum.com.pk/css-compulsory-subjects/current-affairs/current-affairs-notes/1968-education-
system-pakistan.html

>faculty.ksu.edu.sa/NaeemAfzal/Documen

>friendsmania.net/forum/9th-class-english-notes/20209.htm

>iqrapakonline.wordpress.com/tag/education-ministry-pakistan/.

>tfhe.net/resources/pakistan.htm