Still on the wrong foot

Despite the high aims and hopes, the actions taken for the improvement of the education in Pakistan, have not really been reflective of the ambitions
By Tahir Ali

It is said that Pakistanís first five-year plan was borrowed by Korea. Taking advantage of it, Korea has reached to enormous heights. Since 1991, the enrolment rate is 100 percent for primary school there, 95% for middle school, 88% for high and 38.1% for higher education. The figures may have improved further as the data available with the writer is a bit old. Education is compulsory from 6 to 14 and between these ages there is practically 100 percent attendance at school there.

Pakistan, on the other hand, has been through many educational policies and five year plans which served as conceptual frameworks and plans of action for the development of education in the country. In 1947, the First Educational Conference was held in Karachi. In 1959, the Commission on National Education put forward its recommendations for the advancement of education in the country. They were followed by Educational Policies of 1970, 1970, 1972-80, 1979, 1992, 1998-2010, 2002 and in a couple of months, the present PPP-PML(N)-ANP-JUI-coalition government is going to present its educational policy.