The present Government has accorded full recognition to
the fundamental responsibility of providing universal access to Primary Education through
a sector wide approach in seven thrust areas. These areas have been earmarked through
targeted time bound programs. Seven thrust areas are: (i) Universal Primary Education
(UPE) (ii) Adult Literacy (iii) Technical Stream in Secondary Education (iv) Establishment
of Polytechnics (v) Public Private Partnership (vi) Quality Assurance (vii) Mainstreaming
Madrassahs. The year 2003 is a watershed year for Education Sector Reforms Action Plan
2001-2005. This year has witnessed growing ownership and continuity of reforms and policy
directions, by the newly installed national and provincial governments. All provincial
governments have deliberated consciously on the education sector, undertaken critical
situation analyses, prioritized key areas of improvement and developed sector strategies.
These strategies are reflected in their poverty reduction strategy papers and EFA plans at
provincial and increasingly at district levels.
Development Partners in ESR:
Currently many programs have been initiated in all provinces
supported by bilaterals and multilaterals. These include, the USAID, World Bank, Asian
Development Bank, UN Agencies, DFID, NORAD, CIDA and the European Union to implement ESR
inclusive of Early Childhood Education, school up-gradation, primary and secondary school
strengthening and public private partnerships. There is a simultaneous focus on areas of
decentralization, district based planning, local governance in education and quality
support.
Planning And Implementation of Education Sector
Reforms:
Planning and implementation of Education Sector Reforms in
Pakistan has been in consonance with the Constitutional provision guaranteeing the
fundamental right to education. All basic education targets for primary schooling, adult
literacy and gender equality are within the framework of Dakar Declaration and the
Millennium Development Goals. Education Sector Reforms continues to be based on iterative
planning, engaging in consultation at sub national and national levels, with the inclusion
of NGOs, research institutions, experts and local governments. Micro planning at the
community level is well under way. Challenges in the planning of ESR include inter-state
disparity, and the need to reach remote and disadvantaged groups who are discriminated on
account of gender and socio-economic parameters.
Governance and Capacity for Decentralization:
It is fully recognized that expertise in areas such as
planning, budgeting, personal development, management, decision making, education
leadership and improvement, change management strategies, information analysis, monitoring
and assessment is not evenly spread and lacking in most of the rural areas. Capacity
issues are a serious barrier to the implementation of education reforms. Necessary
provisions are being made for developing appropriate capacity at local levels along with
the institutional rules and practices that enable the organization to function
effectively. This is our current challenge and work is in progress.
ESR also attaches great importance to the
governance of education. The reforms reflect the importance of education governance as a
consequence of several forces (I) meager resources for education seek amelioration in more
effective and efficient management (ii) moving the decision making process as close to the
source of action as possible (iii) demand for increasing participation in choosing and
managing education by the communities and the children. In response to these forces,
Government of Pakistan is developing responsive, participatory and accountable system of
educational Governance and management through empowering the local government and also
engaging the civil society in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of strategies
for educational development.
