Education System In Pakistan
The National Education Census (NEC) of 2005/06 was the first education census conducted in the history of Pakistan that was specifically designed to collect information on all types of schools. It thus generated a complete and comprehensive picture of the current education system in the country, and provides a robust information baseline from which to measure future progress.Through ensuring a complete listing of schools, it also assists other education data collection activities in the field.
Education in Pakistan is overseen by the government's Ministry of Education and the provincial governments, whereas the federal government mostly assists in curriculum development, accreditation and in the financing of research. The article 25-A of Constitution of Pakistan obligates the state to provide free and compulsory quality education to children of the age group 5 to 16 years. “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such a manner as may be determined by law”.
The education system in Pakistan is generally divided into five levels:
primary (grades one through five);
middle (grades six through eight);
high(grades nine and ten), leading to the Secondary School Certificate or SSC);
intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a Higher Secondary (School) Certificate or HSC); and
university programs leading to undergraduate and graduate degrees.
STAGES OF FORMAL EDUCATION:
1. Primary Education:
Only 80% of Pakistani children finish primary school education.The standard national system of education is mainly inspired from the British system. Pre-school education is designed for 3–5 years old and usually consists of three stages: Play Group, Nursery and Kindergarten (also called 'KG' or 'Prep'). After pre-school education, students go through junior school from grades 1 to 5. This is proceeded by middle school from grades 6 to 8. At middle school, single-sex education is usually preferred by the community but co-education is also common in urban cities. The curriculum is usually subject to the institution. The eight commonly examined disciplines are Urdu, English, mathematics, arts, science, social studies, Islamiyat and sometimes computer studies which is subject to availability of a computer laboratory. Provincial and regional languages such as Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto and others may be taught in their respective provinces, particularly in language-medium schools.
As of year 2009, Pakistan faces a net primary school attendance rate for both sexes of 66 per cent. A figure below estimated world average of 90 per cent.
Pakistan’s poor performance in the education sector is mainly caused by the low level of public investment.Public expenditure on education has been 2.2 percent of GNP in recent years, a marginal increase from 2 percent before 1984-85. In addition, the allocation of government funds is skewed towards higher education, allowing the upper income class to reap majority of the benefits of public subsidy on education. Lower education institutes such as primary schools suffer under such conditions as the lower income classes are unable to enjoy subsidies and quality education. As a result, Pakistan has one of the lowest rates of literacy in the world, and the lowest among countries of comparative resources and socio-economic situations.
Qualitative Dimension:
In Pakistan, the quality of education has a declining trend. Shortage of teachers and poorly equipped laboratories has resulted in the out-dated curriculum that has little relevance to present day needs.
Quantitative Dimension:
Causative factors include defective curricula, dual medium of instruction, poor quality of teachers, cheating in the examinations and overcrowded classrooms. However, efforts are on the way of moulding the curriculum to meet its national requirements.
Gender Differences:
There is great difference in the rates of enrollment of boys, as compared to girls in Pakistan. According to UNESCO figures, primary school enrollment for girls stand at 60 per cent as compared to 84 per cent for boys. The secondary school enrollment rate stands at a lower rate of 32 per cent for females and 46 per cent males. Regular school attendance for female students is estimated at 41 per cent while that for male students is 50 percent.
Education in Pakistan is overseen by the government's Ministry of Education and the provincial governments, whereas the federal government mostly assists in curriculum development, accreditation and in the financing of research. The article 25-A of Constitution of Pakistan obligates the state to provide free and compulsory quality education to children of the age group 5 to 16 years. “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such a manner as may be determined by law”.
The education system in Pakistan is generally divided into five levels:
primary (grades one through five);
middle (grades six through eight);
high(grades nine and ten), leading to the Secondary School Certificate or SSC);
intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a Higher Secondary (School) Certificate or HSC); and
university programs leading to undergraduate and graduate degrees.
STAGES OF FORMAL EDUCATION:
1. Primary Education:
Only 80% of Pakistani children finish primary school education.The standard national system of education is mainly inspired from the British system. Pre-school education is designed for 3–5 years old and usually consists of three stages: Play Group, Nursery and Kindergarten (also called 'KG' or 'Prep'). After pre-school education, students go through junior school from grades 1 to 5. This is proceeded by middle school from grades 6 to 8. At middle school, single-sex education is usually preferred by the community but co-education is also common in urban cities. The curriculum is usually subject to the institution. The eight commonly examined disciplines are Urdu, English, mathematics, arts, science, social studies, Islamiyat and sometimes computer studies which is subject to availability of a computer laboratory. Provincial and regional languages such as Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto and others may be taught in their respective provinces, particularly in language-medium schools.
As of year 2009, Pakistan faces a net primary school attendance rate for both sexes of 66 per cent. A figure below estimated world average of 90 per cent.
Pakistan’s poor performance in the education sector is mainly caused by the low level of public investment.Public expenditure on education has been 2.2 percent of GNP in recent years, a marginal increase from 2 percent before 1984-85. In addition, the allocation of government funds is skewed towards higher education, allowing the upper income class to reap majority of the benefits of public subsidy on education. Lower education institutes such as primary schools suffer under such conditions as the lower income classes are unable to enjoy subsidies and quality education. As a result, Pakistan has one of the lowest rates of literacy in the world, and the lowest among countries of comparative resources and socio-economic situations.
Qualitative Dimension:
In Pakistan, the quality of education has a declining trend. Shortage of teachers and poorly equipped laboratories has resulted in the out-dated curriculum that has little relevance to present day needs.
Quantitative Dimension:
Causative factors include defective curricula, dual medium of instruction, poor quality of teachers, cheating in the examinations and overcrowded classrooms. However, efforts are on the way of moulding the curriculum to meet its national requirements.
Gender Differences:
There is great difference in the rates of enrollment of boys, as compared to girls in Pakistan. According to UNESCO figures, primary school enrollment for girls stand at 60 per cent as compared to 84 per cent for boys. The secondary school enrollment rate stands at a lower rate of 32 per cent for females and 46 per cent males. Regular school attendance for female students is estimated at 41 per cent while that for male students is 50 percent.
2. Secondary education:
Secondary education in Pakistan begins from grade 9 and lasts for four years. After end of each of the four school years, students are required to pass a national examination administered by a regional Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (or BISE).
Upon completion of grade 9, students are expected to take a standardized test in each of the first parts of their academic subjects. They again give these tests of the second parts of the same courses at the end of grade 10. Upon successful completion of these two examinations, they are awarded a Secondary School Certificate (or SSC). This locally termed as 'matriculation certificate' or 'metric' for short. The curriculum usually includes a combination of eight courses including electives (such as Biology, Chemistry, Computing and Physics) as well as compulsory subjects (such as Mathematics, English, Urdu, Islamiyat and Pakistani Studies).
Students then enter an intermediate college and complete grades 11 and 12. Upon completion of each of the two grades, they again take standardised tests in their academic subjects. Upon successful completion of these examinations, students are awarded the Higher Secondary (School) Certificate (or HSC). This level of education is also called the FSc/FA or 'intermediate'. There are many streams students can choose for their 11 and 12 grades, such as pre-medical, pre-engineering, humanities (or social sciences) and commerce. Each stream consists of three electives and as well as three compulsory subjects of English, Urdu, Islamiyat (grade 11 only) and Pakistani Studies (grade 12 only).
Alternative qualifications in Pakistan are also available but are maintained by other examination boards instead BISE. Most common alternative is the General Certificate of Education (or GCE), where SSC and HSC are replaced by Ordinary Level (or O Level) and Advanced Level (or A Level) respectively. Other qualifications include IGCSE which replaces SSC. GCE O Level, IGCSE and GCE AS/A Level are managed by British examination boards of CIE of the Cambridge Assessment and/or Edexcel of the Pearson PLC. Generally, 8-10 courses are selected by students at GCE O Levels and 3-5 at GCE A Levels.
Advanced Placement (or AP) is an alternative option but much less common than GCE or IGCSE. This replaces the secondary school education as 'High School Education' instead. AP exams are monitored by a North American examination board, College Board and can only be given under supervision of centers which are registered with the College Board, unlike GCE O/AS/A Level and IGCSE which can also be given privately.There is another type of Education in Pakistan which called Technical education. currently three boards, Punjab Board of Technical Education, NWFP Board of Technical Education, and Sindh Board of Technical Education providing facilities of technical education. PBTE( Punjab Board of Technical Education) offering Matric tac. and D.A.E (Diploma of Associate Engineering) in different technologies like Civil, Architecture, Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, Computer Sciences and many more technologies. This is consist of three years and combination of Physics, Chemistry, Islamic study, Pakistan Study and other more than 25 books related to there Technology. After matric and then three years diploma is equal to 12th grade, and diploma holder called Associate Engineer. Either they can join there respective field or can take admition in B-tech or BE in there related technology after D.A.E.
Upon completion of grade 9, students are expected to take a standardized test in each of the first parts of their academic subjects. They again give these tests of the second parts of the same courses at the end of grade 10. Upon successful completion of these two examinations, they are awarded a Secondary School Certificate (or SSC). This locally termed as 'matriculation certificate' or 'metric' for short. The curriculum usually includes a combination of eight courses including electives (such as Biology, Chemistry, Computing and Physics) as well as compulsory subjects (such as Mathematics, English, Urdu, Islamiyat and Pakistani Studies).
Students then enter an intermediate college and complete grades 11 and 12. Upon completion of each of the two grades, they again take standardised tests in their academic subjects. Upon successful completion of these examinations, students are awarded the Higher Secondary (School) Certificate (or HSC). This level of education is also called the FSc/FA or 'intermediate'. There are many streams students can choose for their 11 and 12 grades, such as pre-medical, pre-engineering, humanities (or social sciences) and commerce. Each stream consists of three electives and as well as three compulsory subjects of English, Urdu, Islamiyat (grade 11 only) and Pakistani Studies (grade 12 only).
Alternative qualifications in Pakistan are also available but are maintained by other examination boards instead BISE. Most common alternative is the General Certificate of Education (or GCE), where SSC and HSC are replaced by Ordinary Level (or O Level) and Advanced Level (or A Level) respectively. Other qualifications include IGCSE which replaces SSC. GCE O Level, IGCSE and GCE AS/A Level are managed by British examination boards of CIE of the Cambridge Assessment and/or Edexcel of the Pearson PLC. Generally, 8-10 courses are selected by students at GCE O Levels and 3-5 at GCE A Levels.
Advanced Placement (or AP) is an alternative option but much less common than GCE or IGCSE. This replaces the secondary school education as 'High School Education' instead. AP exams are monitored by a North American examination board, College Board and can only be given under supervision of centers which are registered with the College Board, unlike GCE O/AS/A Level and IGCSE which can also be given privately.There is another type of Education in Pakistan which called Technical education. currently three boards, Punjab Board of Technical Education, NWFP Board of Technical Education, and Sindh Board of Technical Education providing facilities of technical education. PBTE( Punjab Board of Technical Education) offering Matric tac. and D.A.E (Diploma of Associate Engineering) in different technologies like Civil, Architecture, Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, Computer Sciences and many more technologies. This is consist of three years and combination of Physics, Chemistry, Islamic study, Pakistan Study and other more than 25 books related to there Technology. After matric and then three years diploma is equal to 12th grade, and diploma holder called Associate Engineer. Either they can join there respective field or can take admition in B-tech or BE in there related technology after D.A.E.
3. Tertiary Education:
According to the OECD's 2009 Global Education Digest, 6.3% of Pakistanis (8.9% of males and 3.5% of females) were university graduates as of 2007.Pakistan plans to increase this figure to 10% by 2015 and subsequently to 15% by 2020.There is also a great deal of variety between the different age cohorts. Less than 6% of those in the age cohort 55-64 have a degree, compared to 8% in the 45-54 age cohort, 11% in the 35-44 age cohort and 16% in the age cohort 25-34.
After earning their HSC, students may study in a professional college for Bachelor's degree courses such as engineering (B.Engg/BS Engg.), medicine(MBBS), dentistry (BDS), veterinary medicine (DVM), law (LLB), architecture (B.Arch), pharmacy (Pharm-D) and nursing (B.Nurs). These courses require four or five years of study. There are some councils and boards that will handle all the educational matters in these cases and they are known as the PMDC, Pakistan pharmacy council and Pakistan nursing council. Students can also attend a university for Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BSc), Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) or Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree courses. These all are the courses that are done in Pakistan and are really common but these days doctor of pharmacy is also gaining much reputation. The pharmacy council of Pakistan is doing huge struggle to make the pharmacy education better.
There are two types of Bachelor courses in Pakistan: Pass or Honors. Pass degree requires two years of study and students normally read three optional subjects (such as Chemistry or Economics) in addition to almost equal number of compulsory subjects (such as English and Pakistan Studies). Honors degree requires three or four years of study, and students normally specialize in a chosen field of study, such as Biochemistry (BSc Hons. Biochemistry). It can be noted that Pass Bachelors is now slowly being phased out for Honors throughout the country
After earning their HSC, students may study in a professional college for Bachelor's degree courses such as engineering (B.Engg/BS Engg.), medicine(MBBS), dentistry (BDS), veterinary medicine (DVM), law (LLB), architecture (B.Arch), pharmacy (Pharm-D) and nursing (B.Nurs). These courses require four or five years of study. There are some councils and boards that will handle all the educational matters in these cases and they are known as the PMDC, Pakistan pharmacy council and Pakistan nursing council. Students can also attend a university for Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BSc), Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) or Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree courses. These all are the courses that are done in Pakistan and are really common but these days doctor of pharmacy is also gaining much reputation. The pharmacy council of Pakistan is doing huge struggle to make the pharmacy education better.
There are two types of Bachelor courses in Pakistan: Pass or Honors. Pass degree requires two years of study and students normally read three optional subjects (such as Chemistry or Economics) in addition to almost equal number of compulsory subjects (such as English and Pakistan Studies). Honors degree requires three or four years of study, and students normally specialize in a chosen field of study, such as Biochemistry (BSc Hons. Biochemistry). It can be noted that Pass Bachelors is now slowly being phased out for Honors throughout the country
4.Quaternary Education:
Most of Master's degree programs require 2 years education. Masters in Philosophy (M.Phil) is available in most of the subjects and can be undertaken after doing Masters. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) education is also available in selected areas and is usually pursued after earning a M.Phil degree. Students pursuing M.Phil or PhD degrees must choose a specific field and a university that is doing research work in that field. M.Phill and PhD education in Pakistan requires minimum of 2 years of study.