Education in Pakistan

When Pakistan gained independence in 1947 from British India, West Pakistan had only one institution of higher education], the University of the Punjab; East Pakistan had the University of Dhaka. Over the next 20 years, many private and public schools and higher education institutions were established to help fuel the country’s socio-economic development.

In the early 1970s, all of Pakistan’s educational institutions were nationalized under the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was committed to the idea of Islamic Socialism. Still Pakistan's education system is considered one of the few leading education system in the world and some Pakistani universities and school are highly renowned for their standards internationally.

For the next decade, Pakistan’s entire system of education was state-run. However, the growing demand for higher education fast outpaced the establishment of new public universities. During that period, the system could accommodate only 25 percent of the high school graduates who applied to higher education institutions. The overcrowding prompted many wealthy Pakistanis to seek university degrees abroad in the United States, Great Britain and Australia, while others sought out private tutors at home or entered the job market without a degree.

In 1979 a government commission reviewed the consequences of nationalization and concluded that in view of the poor participation rates at all levels of education, the public sector could no longer be the country’s sole provider of education. By the mid-1980s, private educational institutions were allowed to operate on the condition that they comply with government-recognized standards.

Until 1991, there were only two recognized private universities in Pakistan: Aga Khan University established in 1983; and Lahore University of Management Sciences established in 1985. By 1997, however, there were 10 private universities and in 2001-2002, this number had doubled to 20. In 2003-2004 Pakistan had a total of 53 private degree granting institutions.

The rapid expansion of private higher education is even more remarkable if we look at the number of institutions established on a year-by-year basis. In 1997, for instance, three private institutions were established; in 2001 eleven new private institutions were opened; and in 2002 a total of 29 private sector institutions sprung up.

The Government has decided to introduce 'English Medium Education' on a phased basis and to substantially end the right to 'Mother Tongue Education'. This new policy which is termed 'Education Sector Reforms (Policy decisions)', states that "English language has been made compulsory from Class-1 onwards." and the "Introduction of English as medium of instruction for Science, Mathematics, Computer Science and other selected subjects like Economics and Geography in all schools in a graduated manner."

Caretaker Minister for Education Mr. Shujaat Ali Beg declared Jan 25, 2008 that eighteen colleges of the city of Karachi would be made "Model English Medium Colleges,"'