ISLAMABAD, Jan 22 (APP): Speakers on Monday termed the Educational Statistics Report 2021-22 of Pakistan Institute of Education a data bank for policy-making organizations to take effective measures in improving educational facilities for out-of-school children.
Speaking as a special guest at the report’s launching ceremony, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani emphasized the need to address poverty, health issues, social, and societal problems to bring out-of-school children back into the education system.
Wani highlighted the crucial role of the education sector in controlling the population and advocated for conditional financial assistance from the Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal and the Ehsaas Income Support Programme to enroll children in schools.
Commenting on the report, Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani mentioned that the teaching ratio in Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir was commendable, but efforts were required in other provinces as well.
He stressed the need to work on educational matters at the provincial level, as provinces were more aware of educational affairs in their regions.
He highlighted the concept of home schools introduced in Gilgit-Baltistan, emphasizing its benefits in bringing out-of-school children into the education system.
Wani stated that collaboration between the ministries of education, health, information technology, and population, along with individual efforts, was necessary to enhance educational practices at the grassroots level.
He compared it to diagnosing a disease, stating that with the diagnosis in hand, the report provided insights into the problem, and now efforts must focus on addressing it effectively.
PIE Director-General Dr Muhammad Shahid Sardar, in his remarks, mentioned that the Institute had compiled its report after five years.
He said the officials of PIE gathered data from all four provinces, including Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and over 100 stakeholders using a global standard methodology. Four SDG 4 indicators had been considered in the data.
He stated that after the report’s release, the Institute would hold consultative sessions, intending to solidify policymaking and implement actions to bring out-of-school children into the education system.
According to the Pakistan Institute of Education’s report, despite challenges such as COVID-19, the country witnessed an increase of 12.28 million children in enrollment from 2017 to 2022.
The total number of educational institutions, including public and private schools, stands at 313,418, with a breakdown of 227,506 (73%) formal schools, 43,613 (14%) religious schools, 25,106 (8%) non-formal basic education institutions, 10,087 (3%) education foundations, 4,182 (1%) technical and vocational institutes, and 2,487 (1%) degree colleges, 220 universities, and 217 teacher training institutions.
Out of the total 313,418 educational institutions, 176,184 (56.2%) are affiliated with the government sector, while 137,234 (43.8%) belong to the private sector.
The report reveals a total registered student population of 54,870,964, with 29,359,376 (53.5%) students enrolled in government institutions and 25,511,588 (46.5%) in private institutions.
The report further provides insights into the number of teachers, with 889,885 (42%) belonging to government institutions and 1,249,746 (58%) to private institutions.
It also highlights the challenges in enrolling new students in primary education, revealing that in Punjab, 74% of eligible children are enrolled, 55% in Sindh, 68% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 35% in Balochistan, and 91% in Islamabad Capital Territory.
The report indicates that the global standard of 30 children per class in classrooms is being pursued, with the current student-teacher ratio improving to 37 in the academic year 2021-22.
The officials from Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, World Bank, Foreign Commonwealth Development Organization, UNESCO, UNICEF besides other stakeholders, attended the event.
The provincial education departments officials also joined the event through video links.
