1. Capacity & Participation Issues in
Pakistan's Education System
Assuming that the enrolment at each level (stage) of education in Pakistan represents the capacity of
the system to accommodate students, this means that almost half (49.3%) of the capacity of the entire
education system is devoted to primary education.
NEC/NEMIS data show that Pakistan's education system focuses strongly on primary education.
Despite this concentration, however, there are still many children between 5 to 9 years of age that are
not attending school and it would appear that the primary system needs to expand if universal
primary enrolment is to be achieved. Other countries reviewed have significantly larger
proportions of children of primary age in their primary education programmes. At the same time,
the system's ability to accommodate students who wish to continue their education beyond the
primary level is relatively low, which has both economic and social implications for Pakistan's
future. Balancing growth at the primary level with growth at the higher levels of education should
be a priority.
In 2005/06, Pakistan's education system accommodated over 36 million students. Of these, 95% (34
million) were studying at basic education levels, pre-primary through higher secondary.
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Higher Secondary includes Intermediate Colleges; Non-formal Basic Education and Deeni Madaris. Enrolment has been added and d
istributed
by level according to enrolment in public and private schools.
Table 2: Percentage of Students by Level of Education, 2006
Source:
3
“Pakistan Education Statistics, 2005-06” AEPAM/NEMIS Statistics Study No. 215, Ministry of Education, Table 0.1
1,765,828
Postsecondary
4.9
34,331,609
Sub-total Basic Education
95.1
Preprimary
Primary
Middle Elementary
Secondary/Trade Voc.
Higher Seconda