When school opened after the corona pandemic in Punjab, parents received an SMS that their children could return to school. They can also get subsidies for private school and school buses – and school books have become free. These are some of the measures that Punjab, the most populous of the four provinces in Pakistan, has used to get many millions of children into school. The girls in particular have flocked to the school bench. On a connection from the capital Islamabad, Izza Farrakh, who is a senior specialist at the World Bank’s education work in Pakistan, highlights the province as an example of both major challenges and the progress that is taking place in the country: Almost seven million children between the ages of six and 15 do not go to school in Punjab. But at the same time, 13 million more children have started school during the past couple of decades. – Over the past 20 years, the proportion of boys at school has risen by 15 percentage points, but for girls it is 24 percentage points, says Izza Farrakh, who emphasizes that Punjab is the province that has made the most progress. – But there is a trend that is happening across Pakistan, she says. Huge challenge Pakistan has a huge challenge in ensuring education for all children. They spend less money on education than other countries in the region, and this means that more than 20 million school-age children do not go to school. Almost four out of five Pakistani children cannot read well enough for their age. As a result, there are many millions of children who do not get access to the opportunity for a better life, which education provides. Because schooling is of great importance for everything from their future finances, health and opportunities to participate in societal decisions. But there is also progress in the South Asian country. Millions more children have started school and the gender gap is falling. In 1990, there were approx. 5 girls for every ten boys who attended primary school in the country. But in 2019 there were 9 girls for every ten boys. And the development has been even faster in older classes and in upper secondary school. Reforms and grants In Punjab there are several reasons for the great development. Izza Farrakh highlights firm political focus, investment in both books and new schools and better teacher training in Punjab. – At the beginning of the 2000s, the provincial government started reforming the education system in Punjab and it transformed schooling in the province, explains Izza Farrakh. Schooling itself is free in Pakistan, but with the reforms in Punjab, school books also became free. This means that it became easier for poor parents to send their children to school. Teacher training was changed so that it became less centralised, new teachers now get more practical experience and further training in the classrooms. Elsewhere in the country, teacher training has also been changed following Punjab’s example. She also explains that Punjab created an authority, which provides financial support to students who can start private school at a cheaper price, in places where there is no public school provision. The parents receive a “discount voucher” from the state, which they can redeem in private schools of their choice. At the same time, grants were given to establish schools in those areas where there were no schools. – Subsidies for the cheap private schools have produced great results, and it has secured schooling for 2.5 million children in Punjab, explains Izza Farrakh.
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Free school books and sms are given to students at the school in the Punjab province
