n one hand, our education system faces some serious challenges of access, quality and relevance; on the other hand, it suffers from extremely low allocations of funds. A report, Public Financing in Education Sector 2022-23, based on primary data has been released in this regard by Pakistan Education Institute. The report says that in 2023 only 1.5 percent of the GDP was allocated for education. This, apparently, is the lowest allocation for education by any country in South Asia. It clearly falls short of the 4-6 percent recommended by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and other global organisations. The allocations are certainly not sufficient to deal with the challenges of 26.09 million out of school children and a 38 percent dropout rate by Grade 8.

The 2009 Education policy had stated that a minimum of 4 percent of GPD was needed to be allocated to education and efforts would be made to increase this allocation. Instead, the allocations for education declined. In 2018-19 the allocation for education was 2.0 percent of the GDP. In 2019-20, it declined to 1.9 percent. In 2020-21, it slumped to an all time low of 1.4 percent. In 2021-22, it was 1.7 percent and in 2022-23 1.5 percent. The decline in allocations for education is quite disturbing. Meanwhile, the number of students has been increasing and their increasing needs require more funds.

Another concern is the decreasing share of education in the budget. The Public Financing in Education Sector report (2022-23) highlights a decline from 13 percent in 2019-20 to 11 percent in 2022-23. This reflects a reduced national prioritisation of education as compared to other sectors. The distribution of education budgets across regions and provinces is also uneven showing varying levels of commitment. In the provincial budgets, the allocations for education dropped as follows: in the Punjab from 20 percent to 13 percent; in Sindh from 18 to 14; in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 27 to 25; and in Balochistan from 18 to 16. On the one hand, these reductions suggest a lack of interest in education; on the other, they are responsible for inadequate resources at provincial and district levels.

Low allocations are just one aspect of the problem. A related problem is the actual utilisation. Though national utilisation averages around 94 percent, provincial discrepancies reveal more unevenness in budget management, e.g., the Punjab 99 percent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 82 percent, Sindh 93 percent and Balochistan 96perent in 2022-23. The lower budget utilisation in some regions could be attributed to administrative delays, lack of planning and ineffective monitoring mechanisms.

In 2018-19 the allocation for education was 2.0 percent of the GDP. In 2019-20, it declined to 1.9 percent. In 2020-21, it slumped to an all time low to 1.4 percent of GDP. In 2021-22, it was 1.7 percent and in 2022-23 1.5 percent.

A third dimension of the problem is that Pakistan’s education financing strategy is ridden with a perennial limitation of the disproportionate focus on recurring expenses, such as salaries and operational costs. At National level, 88 percent of the education budget goes to recurring costs and only 12 percent is allocated for development projects. Provinces show similar patterns, with the Punjab have a recurring budget 91 percent and a development budget of 9 percent; Sindh, recurring budget 93 percent and development budget 7 percent; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recurring budget 89 percent and development budget 11 percent; and Balochistan recurring budget 89 percent and development budget 11 percent. This dominance of recurring costs leaves little space for important investments in infrastructure, school facilities, curriculum and teacher training.

When the issue of low allocations for education is raised in seminars and conferences, government representatives tend to dismiss the demand for more funds on the pretext of lack of capacity. While capacity building is a genuine need, the capacity building process to requires funds. The state has to work on both fronts, i.e., providing sufficient funding and enhancing the capacity of educational institutions to utilise those.

Low allocations for education have direct implications for systemic educational deficits, e.g. making the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals harder. This is particularly true of SDG 4, which focuses on quality education. Low allocations hamper the country’s ability to address issues of poor infrastructure, insufficient teaching resources and limited access for marginalised communities.

There are significant disparities in education financing across regions and education levels. The federal government allocates resources mostly for tertiary education, which receives 80 percent of its budgets. Secondary education commands most attention in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh. This leaves primary and pre-primary education underfunded, even though they represent foundational stages in students’ academic careers. Inequalities are also evident in Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan, where budget allocations are often lower than the national average. The lack of focus on non-formal education for out-of-school children further intensifies educational inequalities and contributes to high dropout rates, especially in rural and underserved communities.

Low investment in education hinders Pakistan’s ability to meet international obligations. Despite commitments to achieve the SDGs and improve education outcomes, the funding is insufficient for realising these goals. The technical and vocational education, considered crucial for economic and workforce development, is often overlooked. This leads to lack of opportunities for the youth to gain practical skills necessary for labour market needs.

This situation calls for some immediate measures including allocation of at least 4-6 percent GDP for education. To improve budget utilisation, provincial governments need to implement stronger monitoring and accountability systems to ensure timely release and appropriate use of funds. Effective utilisation requires capacity-building initiatives for local administrators to improve planning and execution processes. A regular monitoring system, together with an effective accountability mechanism may help improve appropriate management of funds, crucial for the improvement of education.

The writer is an educationist. He can be reached at: shahidksiddiqui@gmail.com