Why Policies and Reforms fail in Pakistan? Recommendations to make polices and Reforms successful in Pakistan

Why Policies and Reforms fail in Pakistan				government should give them scholarships. So their
Recommendations to make polices and Reforms				trained professionals should not go out to lose the
successful in Pakistan				money of country.
Introduction and Background
				We are mindful of the fact that resources are limited.
Pakistan educational system has checkered past of				Therefore, pertains to area where changes can be
high idea promises and dismal record of				made within existing resources. This involves
achievements.				improving managerial efficiency and monitoring
				systems, reorienting energies towards more
Pakistan still has one of the lowest literacy rates as				important areas and establishing proper systems of
cited by Memon (2007) from a report by Human				governance and financial management.
Development centre which states that "with a per
capita income of over $450 Pakistan has an adult				Equal attention should be paid to primary and
literacy rate of 49% while both Vietnam and India				secondary levels. Because concreted reform effort at
with less per capita income has literacy rates of 94%				the level of higher education will create a demand for
and 52 % respectively."				better quality secondary and elementary education
The Pakistani educational system is characterized by				thus provides inventories.
low primary school participation, a shortage of both
secondary and higher level universities, technical and				There should be continuous and effective
vocational training centers and insufficient access of				arrangements for in services training of teachers and
female education. The adult literacy rate in Pakistani				knowledge should be updated according to use of
education is unlikely to achieve the adult literacy				modern instructional technologies.
target by 2015. Progress is slow (UNESCO 2007).
				There should be more interaction between public and
The objective of paper is to find out the reason that				private universities through seminars workshops and
why educational reforms regarding to the higher				lectures.
education has been failed in Pakistan?. This
assignment also offers some recommendations to				Knowledge based society should be created by
make successful reform and proposes the use of				increasing the quality of production of knowledge
Force Field Analysis and later on process of change				industry including ICT skills and more democratization
management {assess, create, implement and nurture}				and administrative autonomy, nobility in the
to bring changes in higher education.				universities should be insured with transparent, simple
				and clear transaction.

Why educational reforms fail in Pakistan?				It is important to setup evaluation criteria and
				programs for any reform effort that is initiated. While
To complete this assignment the research				it is understood that not everything can be measured
methodology was taken from previous assignment				quantitatively, it is vital that progress be monitored.
which was based on to the problems of Pakistani				This is important not only so that implementation can
educational system. Survey was conducted. through				be kept on track but also because this is where
a questionnaire (Appendix A) which was filled by				design learning will come from. Reform is not a
Beacon House School System and BNU in private				once-off initiative; it is an ongoing process. Constant
sector and Punjab University in public sector. The				vigilance and evaluation for the purpose of learning
questions were structured in this manner to quantify				and keeping the process on track is necessary.
the results and develop a meaningful basis for further				Conclusion:
analysis of education system.
				Higher education has always been an important
Through survey the result (Appendix B) which I				component of the social agenda, but it has acquired a
found was that 100% audience believe that the				new importance today. In the emerging
extremely low level of the public investment specially				‘knowledge economy', if our nation will fail at
in higher education is the major failure of education				creating a decent learning environment will lag behind,
system and 80% audiance believe that decline in the				and may end up becoming virtual colonies of those
quality of primary and secondary education is the				that do succeed in this regard. The TFHE (p. 12)
main failure.				report puts it very well:

Public expenditure on education remained less than				The world economy is changing as knowledge
2% of GNP before 1984-85. In recent year it has				supplants physical capital as the source of present
increased to 2.2% Memon (2007). In addition, the				(and future) wealth…. As knowledge becomes more
allocation of government funds is skewed towards				important, so does higher education…. The quality
higher education so that the benefits of public				of knowledge generated within higher education
subsidy on education are largely reaped by the upper				institutions, and its accessibility to the wider
income class. The results suggest that minimum levels				economy, is becoming increasingly critical to nation
of enrolment at primary and secondary level				competitiveness….
represent a necessary condition for the development				The system needs massive investment and change
of functioning higher education.				to increase the number of educational institutions and
				to train and recruit adequate numbers of educators
Another result of analysis is that the strong				at all levels unless the deteriorating Pakistani economy
differences between educational institutions at				improves. There is hope for a significant qualitative
secondary level many by determined for tertiary				and quantitative change in Pakistani Universities only
education quality Katherine (2006). The Pakistani				by analyzing and evaluating the problems in higher
government has limited financial resources, which are				education and nurturing the best positive solutions in
inadequate for number of professionals to meet the				the system.
needs of the country in different field, which has
been a major hindrance to the nation's economic				Appendix A
development.				SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
				TOPIC: The Failure of Educational Policy &
US Aid's education program in Pakistan provides				Problems Faced By Education System in Pakistan.
training, technical assistance and infrastructure for				Name:
government officials citizen and the private sector to				____________________
deliver high-quality education throughout the country.				Occupation: ____________________
"USAID also provide funding for needs-based				The objectives of our current policy are:
scholarships for higher education and grants for				 To attain respectable level of literacy by
Fulbright scholarships for post graduate degrees.				universalizing basic education.
UNESCO (2007). But it is not fully ensured that the				 Providing quality education and reducing the
U.S. taxpayer money is contributing to economic and				gender disparities at all levels.
human development in Pakistan.				 Encouraging private investment and making
				education purposeful and job oriented.
The traditional approaches to higher education				 Reforming the examination system and evolving
planning and decision making have failed to build into				an efficient decentralized management structure.
their development and reform strategies appropriate				Note: Read each question carefully and answer it
mechanism to evaluate risks and deal with				precisely.
uncertainties.
				1. Do you think that our educational system is fulfilling
While there have been many ill-fated attempts at				all above mentioned objectives. (tick the one that
higher education reform in the past, they have all				applies)
suffered clearly from being ad-hoc and selective,				- Yes
limited by their very own vision, scope and application.				- No
World Bank {2000}.				- Don't Know
				2. Do you feel that our education is productive and
Higher education in Pakistan results upon a primary				producing skilled man power?
and secondary education system with some of the				- Yes
lowest participation rates in the developing world, and				- No
with very limited opportunities for many children, in				- Don't Know
particular girls in rural districts. The seventh Five
year plan 1987 envisioned that every child five years				3. The basic flaw of our educational system is limited
and above would have excess to either a primary				vision, scope and application of educational policy by
school or a comparable, but less comprehensive,				responsible people.
mosque school. However, because of financial				- Yes
constraints, this goal was not achieved.				- No
				- Don't Know
The next Eighth Five Plan in 1992, the government
therefore reiterated the need to mobilize a large				4. Following is a list the main flaws of our education
share of national resources to finance education. To				system .Number them in order of importance. (Kindly
improve excess to schools, it was planned to				arrange in order of Priority starting with 1 for most
transfer control of primary and secondary schools to				prioritized one)
NGO's. But no schedule was specified for achieving
this ambitious goal.

The vision of higher education according to the
Government of Pakistan in {2002}, Transformation
of our institutions of higher education into world class
seats of learning, equipped to foster high quality
education, scholarship and research, to produce
enlightened citizens with strong moral ethical values
that build a tolerant and pluralistic society rooted in				1. Wide disparities between regions and gender
the culture of Pakistan.				2. Lack of trained teachers.
				3. Deficiency of teaching materials.
But this was only an ambitious goal so the problem at				4. Poor physical infrastructure of schools.
hand requires a process that is both strategic and				5. Unskilled policy makers.
systematic rather than drawing up long lists of good				6. Old traditional curriculum.
things that could be done and then hope that some				7. Poor examination system.
of them would be implemented, it is important that a				8. Failure in the implementation of the policies.
minimum ‘critical set' of tasks be identified and
all of them be implemented.				Please specify, if there is any other then the ones
				mentioned above?
What should be done to make policies and reforms
successful in Pakistan?				___________________
				5. Do you feel the public and private sector have
According to the Niccolo Machiavelli {} "There is				access to equal educational opportunities?
nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful,				- Yes
nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new				- No
order of things." It means change is never easy. It is				- Don't Know
likely to be particularly difficult in the case of
education reform in Pakistan. Yet, it is abundantly				Explain Why?
clear that a new order of things is desperately				_______
required at all levels of education in Pakistan, with
higher education being no exception.				6. English medium (private sector) & Urdu
				medium (public sector) have developed social and
ADB suggests in evaluation report that "a drastic				economic division in the society.
improvement in planning and reform management is				- Yes
required if Pakistan is to meet its millennium				- No
development goals (MDG's)." The Primary purpose is				- Don't Know
to bring successful reform on higher education of				Please do elaborate in case of any answer.
Pakistan.
				_______
I believe to bring change in the field of higher
education Force Field Analysis by Kurt Lewn is use full				7. Public school students are unable to compete in job
and practical because in this way we can assess the				market against the leading private schools.
present status of higher education and find out the				- Yes
resistance in it.				- No
				- Don't Know
Desired Change: Taking corrective measures to				Explain Why?
improve the quality of higher education.
Driving Forces				_______
Restraining Forces				8. The extremely low level of public investment in
The burden of higher education in public universities,				higher education is the major cause of the poor
which are affordable by most Pakistani's.				performance of education system.
				- Yes
Quality is low in the field of academic, administration,				- No
research and equipment.				- Don't Know
				Explain with reasons.
Higher education builds societies, compete knowledge				_______
economy and achieve lastly poverty reduction.				9. In education the quality of primary and secondary
Ineffective governance and management structure				education has declined.
and practices.				- Yes
Poor recruitment practices and inadequate				- No
development of faculty and staff.				- Don't Know
Government realizes that equal attention needs to be				Explain with reasons
paid to the primary and secondary level to access				_______
higher education.
				10. Do you think the modern curriculum / syllabus
Low enrolment gender and Class disparities, teacher				meets the challenges and requirements of the new
absenteeism and outdated curriculum.				era?
Private sector is expanding and contributing to				- Yes
increase at least 10% literacy rate.				- No
The weakness is most glaring in technological				- Don't Know
revolution and no significant social and technical skills.				If your answer is no then explain why.
				_______
Majority of students emerge from Pakistani				11. Is it true that below mentioned factors are
universities with no significant knowledge, social				responsible for the present state of our educational
technical and professional skills. Lack of laboratories,				system? (Pick the 3 most important options starting
libraries and no use IT.				with first as the most important)
Political government launches reforms regularly

No skilled man power for implementations and				a. defective curricula.b. dual medium of instruction.c.
especially lack of funds and resources.				poor quality of teachers.d. cheating in the
				examination.e. over crowded class rooms.
After using Force Field analysis change model I
believe a set of measures and criteria should be				12. Is the government working on the statement
developed to monitor the quality of higher education				"EDUCATION FOR ALL IN THE COUNTRY"
in Pakistan and how well goals are being achieved				effectively?
according to uzma javed (2008, handouts types of				- Yes
change, ambiguity complexity: developing strategies).				- No
"The approach to change management mirrors				Any other comments?
management's mindset and value by, creating				_
program and then implementing." Before moving to
recommendations for change, it is useful to spell out
a clear vision of what the reform process seeks to				Bibliography
achieve, and to articulate a set of explicit goals that
actualize that vision. Following suggestions focus on				Bilal (2000). Higher Education in Pakistan from
the quality of who goes into the universities, and				Web.mit.edu/bila/www/education/educator_report.pdf
produced by universities.				Curtis, L. (2007). U.S. Aid to Pakistan: Countering
				Extremism through Education Reform. Retrieved
Recommendations:				December 26, 2008 from

The students in the country should be assured the				Government of Pakistan (GoP). 2000. Census of
very best education in the country in the basis of				Private Educational Institutions in Pakistan 1999-2000
merit and irrespective on financial constraints.				from.
				(Accessed in March 2007).
Universities should be able to meet minimum defined
standards of quality, procedural reliability and fiscal				Katharina (2006) Journal of Management and Social
solvency.				Sciences Vol. 3, No. 1, (Spring 2007) 47-55

Caters of higher education should be recognized by				Memon, G. R. (2007), Education in Pakistan: The Key
individuals and institutions for producing students and				Issues, Problems and The New Challenges. Journal of
research of a demonstrably and reliably high quality.				Management and Social Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 1, (Spring
				2007) 47-55
It is important to identify and nurture those cohorts
within the system that can be agents of positive				UNESCO Islamabad. (2007). Universal Periodic Review
change i.e. the fact that students who graduate from				(UPR) of Pakistan (2007).
Pakistan educational system routinely do well so

K-12 Education

Why Policies and Reforms fail in Pakistan? Recommendations to make polices and Reforms successful in Pakistan