School education ignored in manifestos of major parties

ISLAMABAD: Major political parties in the country have made only a passing reference to school education reforms in their manifestos, a local media outlet reported on Saturday.

The Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) has stated that it would try to ensure Pakistan becomes a world leader in higher education by establishing high quality universities and research institutes. The party intends to raise education budget by 0.5 per cent of GDP and establish the National Academy for Higher Education support the top ten universities in the country and raise them to be among top 100 in Asia and 500 in the world.

The PML-N manifesto makes no mention of early education in the country despite the fact that 22.84 million children are considered out of school.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) manifesto mentions that its previous stint in power saw the passing of the Right to Education Article 25-A. The party intends to raise the education budget to 5 per cent of GDP by 2025 and boost enrollment in universities. The manifesto focuses on youth and argues for the revival of student unions and youth councils. Like the PML-N, the PPP manifesto barely makes any reference to early education.

The Awami National Party (ANP) plans to raise the education budget to six per cent of GDP and declare an educational emergency on a national level.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is expected to announce its election manifesto on July 9.