Pakistan has a parallel secondary school education system in private schools, which is based upon the curriculum set and administered by the Cambridge International Examinations, in place of government exams. Some students choose to take the O level and A level exams through the British Councils.
There are currently 730 technical and vocational institutions in Pakistan. The minimum qualifications to enter a male vocational institutions, is the completion of grade 8, and for female is grade 5.
English medium education is to be extended, on a phased basis, to all schools across the country. Through various educational reforms, by the year 2015, the Ministry of Education expects to attain 100% enrolment levels amongst primary school aged children, and a literacy rate of 86% amongst people aged over 10.
Pakistan also has madrassahs that provide free Islamic education and also offer free boarding and lodging to students who come mainly from the poorer strata of society. After criticism over terrorists using them for recruiting purposes, efforts have been made to regulate them.
The fact that we have three parallel systems (not to mention the network of schools run by NGO’s which is also another parallel unregulated system) is leading to many problems. We would do well to come up with a national regulation policy which monitors these systems to eliminate irregularities and the inequity that they ultimately lead to. Since it is not possible to eliminate them, we should at least integrate them.
SANA SULTAN
Faisalabad
