Pakistan's education expenditures fall

June 12, 2024 (MLN): The cumulative education expenditures by the Federal and Provincial Governments in FY23 amounted to approximately 1.5% of GDP as compared to 1.7% of GDP in the previous year, according to the Economic Survey 2023-24 released on Tuesday.

Expenditures on education-related activities during FY23 witnessed a 13.6% increase, reaching Rs1.25 trillion from Rs1.1tr.

According to the Labor Force Survey 2020-21, the national literacy rate remained at 62.8%.

During 2021-22, the PSLM Survey was not conducted by PBS due to the scheduled Population and Housing Census 2022.

Therefore, the figures for the latest survey regarding GER and NER may be considered for the analysis.

However, according to the Labor Force Survey 2020-21, the literacy rate was 62.8% in 2020-21 as compared to 62.4% in 2018-19, higher in males (increased from 73.0% in 2018-19 to 73.4% in 2020-21) than females (from 51.5% to 51.9% for the same period).

Area-wise analysis suggests literacy increased in both rural areas from 53.7% in 2018-19 to 54.0% in 2020-21, while in urban areas, it increased from 76.1% in 2018-19 to 77.3% in 2020- 21.

The male-female disparity seems to be narrowing down over time.

The literacy rate has gone up in all provinces, with Punjab (increased 66.1% to 66.3%), Sindh (61.6% to 61.8%), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (52.4% to 55.1%), and Balochistan (53.9% to 54.5%).

In the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) 2019-20, the Out-of-School Children (OOSC) rate was 32% in the country, with a higher rate of female OOSC (37%) than males (27%).

Punjab had a 24% OOSC rate, Sindh 44%, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 32%, and Balochistan 47%. In all provinces, more females were out of school than males.

Copyright Mettis Link News