AME EDUCATION
SECTOR PROFILE
Pakistan
Education Structure
Education System Structure and
Enrollments 2004
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Education Structure
Compulsory education in Pakistan consists of grades 1-5.
Education Configuration and Enrollment Percentages
Classification
Pre-primary
Level/Grade
Ages
2004
2007
Pre-school
3-4
39%
--
Primary, grades 1-5
5-9
65%
66%
Pre-university Lower Secondary, grades 6-8
Upper secondary, grades 9-12
Tertiary
% Net Enrollments
Undergraduate study
10-12
35% 42%*
13-16
25% 21%*
N/A
N/A
N/A
Post graduate study
*Gross Enrollment Rate
Source: UNESCO UIS
Education Access: Pre-university
•Primary enrollment has increased slightly.
•General secondary enrollment increased 10% in five years.
Enrollment Rates Pre-University Education
70.0
60.0
2001
Enrollment (%)
50.0
2006
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Pre-primary
Source: UNESCO UIS
Primary
Low
Secondary
Upper
Secondary
Gen
Secondary
Education Access: Tertiary
University enrollments have more than doubled in the last five years.
University Enrollments
Number of Students
1200000
1000000
800000
600000
400000
200000
0
2002
Source: UNESCO UIS
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Education Access: Gender
Girls’ enrollments lags behind boys’ by more than 15% but the gap
is narrowing slightly.
Net Primary Enrollments by Gender
80
% Enrollments
70
60
50
40
Female
30
Male
20
2001
Source: UNESCO UIS
2003
2004
2005
2006
Education Access: Gender
•Boys’ secondary enrollments are increasing steadily.
•Girls’ enrollments have experienced uneven progress at the secondary
level.
Secondary Gross Enrollments by Gender
60.00
50.00
Enrollments (%)
40.00
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
2003
2004
Lower secondary, Female
Lower secondary, Male
Source: UNESCO UIS
2005
2006
2007
Upper secondary, Female
Upper secondary, Male
Education Quality: Completion
•Girls are making steady progress at improved completion rates.
•Boys’ rates have stalled at 70%.
Primary Completion Rates
Completion rates (%)
80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
2005
2006
Male
Source: World Bank EdStats
Female
Total
2007
Education Quality: Testing
Pakistan does not participate in any international student
achievement testing.
Source:
Education Equity: Academic Disparities
•Pakistan’s system is not heavily dependent on the vocational system
at the secondary level. Only about 2% of students attend vocational
secondary education.
Percentage Vocational Enrollments at Secondary Education
2004
2005
2006
2007
General
Secondary
97.7%
97.2%
97.6%
97.8%
Vocational
Secondary
2.3%
2.8%
2.4%
2.2%
Total Students
5,609,431
5,436,123
5,691,715
6,272,536
Source: UNESCO UIS
Education Efficiency: Expenditure
Pakistan spends the majority of its education budget on primary
education in order to get the foundation level built up again.
Share of Total Expenditures in 2002 (%)
45.9%
26.8%
5.7%
12.1%
Primary
Source: World Bank
Secondary
Technical/Vocational
Tertiary
Education Efficiency: Repetition
Pakistan spends a relatively small amount of its GDP on education
and the system is not efficient in reducing repetition rates in relation
to its investment.
Public spending on education and primary repetition rates MENA
14
% GDP
12
Repetition
Percentage
10
8
6
4
2
0
Morocco Jordan Pakistan Lebanon Yemen
Source: World Bank EdStats
MENA
OECD