The Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26 opens its chapter on education with an encouraging portrayal of the country's educational progress. However, a closer examination of the data reveals significant gaps, inconsistencies, and troubling trends. Public spending on education during July-March 2024-25 stood at Rs 899,619 million. During the corresponding period in 2025-26, it declined sharply to Rs 356,499 million, a reduction of Rs 543,120 million, representing a fall of more than 60.4 percent within a single year.
Long-Term Decline in Education Spending
This decline is part of a long-term downward trend. Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP has steadily eroded: 2.0 percent in 2018-19, 1.9 percent in 2019-20, 1.4 percent in 2020-21, 1.7 percent in 2021-22, 1.5 percent in 2022-23, while no figure was reported for 2023-24. For July-March 2024-25, the Survey reports education spending at just 0.8 percent of GDP. The latest Survey does not provide the corresponding percentage for July-March 2025-26, but calculations indicate it has fallen even further, reaching one of the lowest levels in Pakistan's history.
Out-of-School Children and Enrollment Trends
The Survey claims the proportion of out-of-school children has declined from 38 percent to 28 percent, but does not report the absolute number. Pre-primary enrollment fell from 11.8 million in 2022-23 to 10.6 million in 2023-24 and is estimated to decline further to around 10.4 million in 2024-25, meaning Pakistan has lost over one million children from pre-primary education in just two years. Net Enrolment Rates (NER) are also down: Primary NER stands at 54 percent (down from 64 percent last year), Middle NER at 23 percent (down from 37 percent), and Matric NER at 16 percent (down from 27 percent).
Literacy and Regional Disparities
The Survey reports the literacy rate has risen from 60.6 percent to 63 percent, but does not explain whether this results from genuine progress or methodological changes. Regional inequalities persist: Punjab records 68 percent literacy, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 58 percent each, and Balochistan 49 percent. Gender disparities remain: female literacy is 54 percent compared with 73 percent for males, and in rural areas female literacy is only 44 percent.
School Infrastructure and Human Development
Only 65 percent of schools have electricity, 76 percent have drinking water, 77 percent have toilets, and 75 percent have boundary walls. In Balochistan, public schools reportedly have almost no toilet facilities (0.3 percent). Pakistan's expected years of schooling remain at only 7.9 years, the lowest in South Asia, while mean years of schooling stand at 4.3 years. According to the author, Dr. Shahid Siddiqui, the Survey raises far more questions than it answers and should initiate a serious national debate on why Pakistan continues to lag on even the most fundamental educational indicators despite repeated promises of reform.
