Course: Foundations of Education (6411)

Semester: Spring, 2020

ASSIGNMENT No. 2
Q.1 Differentiate among aims, goals and objective. Give examples.
Aims, goals and objectives help to make your business successful day in and day out. Although
they are interrelated, aims, goals and objectives have important distinctions and their roles in
business are often confused. Aims relate to the end results, but goals and objectives help you
achieve these results. Goals are abstract ideas, while objectives are more tangible and concrete.
Plan, Articulate and Document Aims, Goals and Objectives
Taking the time to plan, articulate and document in writing your aims, goals and objectives
contributes to the success of your business. The three interrelated concepts concern future
intentions and all three must be set in motion if your plans are to have a realistic chance of
succeeding. You are more likely to reach a goal when you’ve planned and implemented
objectives to achieve it. You’ll also see greater success in your business if you share your aims
and strategies to achieve them with associates and employees who will be carrying out those
objectives. Keep in mind that aims, goals and objectives must be clear and specific as well as
realistic.
Aims Are Desired Outcomes
An aim is a purpose or the desired outcome. Aims tend to be more general than goals and
objectives because aims refer to the end results. But while they are general in nature, aims are
also bigger. They are the vision for your business. Aims are not always accompanied by goals
and objectives, but to achieve the desired outcome there must be an action plan in place. For
example, a person might state his or her aim is to be a successful entrepreneur, without setting
the goals and objectives that would help him or her to achieve this.
Set Specific Goals
Goals are specific statements of intent. For example, a company might have an aim to increase
profits so they set a specific goal to increase profits by 25 percent within one year. A goal is
usually broad and does not lay out the steps to achieve it. A goal is a target or destination.
Goals keep you focused on your aim and on track working to achieve it.
Objectives Are the Action Plan
Goals are destinations and objectives are the actions needed to arrive at that destination.
Objectives are measurable and there may be multiple objectives leading to your goals and
aims. If your overall goal is to get a more rewarding job, for example, you may have a set of
objectives that help you to achieve this. Such objectives might include sending letters to
companies you want to work for, brushing up on interview techniques and learning skills or
obtaining qualifications that would increase your employment prospects. Objectives are like a
road map, giving you direction as to what you what you need to do and when you need to do it
in order to achieve your business goals and aims.
A goal is typically broader in scope than an objective , but not as comprehensive as a statement
of purpose. Goals are designed to achieve an intention concerning one or more specific
business functions, such as profits, costs, human resources, operations or IT.
For example, a non-profit organization may set a goal of “serving 2,000 low-income families
in the greater metropolitan area over the next 10 years.” A manufacturing business may adopt a
goal of “cutting expenses across the board by 25 percent compared to the last fiscal year.” A
services business – for example, a law firm – may decide to “bill 100 more hours next month.”
As these examples of goals illustrate, a goal may be either short-term, like next month, or long-
term which could be over the next ten years. Goals may deal with financial operations such as
profits or costs, or they may be transactions, customers or contracts. Goals establish both a
clear direction forward and the desired endpoint.
As a result, goals help a business or organization make progress, grow and develop. However,
on their own, goals are insufficient to guide the day-to-day actions of employees or members
of organizations. Therefore, the business or group and its leaders will find it difficult to reach
that goal without setting objectives.
Objectives help translate goals into actionable items, tasks, needs and project plans. With
objectives, managers can create project timelines and decide on specific deliverables and
budget resources including employees, time and funds. Consequently, objectives are based on
the goals they seek to accomplish but they are more specific statements of how an individual,
company or organization can attain the goal in question.
The SMART framework  applies to both goals and objectives. SMART is an acronym that
outlines the basic characteristics of a good, workable objective. The acronym stands for:
 Specific: The objective should be specific and detailed.
 Measurable: It must be measurable so it can be objectively assessed.
 Attainable: Employees and others must be able to reach the objective.
 Realistic: Realistic objectives are more likely to be met.
 Timely: There should be a time frame and deadline associated with the objective.
Moreover, the fewer the objectives, the better. Too many objectives can diffuse a team or
employee’s efforts and energies. This scattered focus can lead to a lower likelihood of success
on any single objective. However, objectives can also be further broken down into sub-
objectives in order to help manage a project's progress.

Examples – These are intended to be a bit extreme, but

Definition perhaps you will get the points.

Students
Aims are general statements that provide direction or
will
intent to educational action. Aims are usually written in
understand
amorphous terms using words like: learn, know,
and become
understand, appreciate, and these are not directly
proficient at
Aims measurable. Aims may serve as organizing principles of
identifying
educational direction for more than one grade. Indeed
the different
these organizing principles may encompass the continuum
types of
of educational direction for entire programs, subject areas
spoken
or the district.
English.

Goals Goals are statements of educational intention which are Students

more specific than aims. Goals too may encompass an will be able
entire program, subject area, or multiple grade levels. They to identify
may be in either amorphous language or in more specific and use
behavioral terms. American
slang terms
and phrases.
(This
example is a
subset of the
aim above,
but the area
becomes
more
specific. This
goal moves
from generic
spoken
English to
the more
detailed area
of American
slang. One
verb used is
still
“identify,”
although this
goal does not
specify how
students are
to identify,
and the verb
“use” has
been added.
The
objectives
related to
this goal
 should
specify how
the students
will identify
and use new
knowledge.)

Objectives Objectives are usually specific statements of educational Objectives can

intention which delineate either general or specific be written in a
outcomes.There are advantages and disadvantages to number of
different types of objectives. ways. Currently,
·    Behavioral objectives most objectives
·    Holistic objectives are written in
·    Nonbehavioral objectives behavioral
·    Problem solving objectives terms.
·    Expressive activities that lead to expressive outcomes. Behavioral
All of the above are legitimate ways to write curriculum objectives
and lesson plans. However, currently, most objectives are usually employ
written in behavioral terms. Behavioral objectives usually observable
employ observable verbiage and can be divided into verbiage and
specific domains — cognitive (head), affective (heart), and can be divided
physical (hand) into specific
*Note: The examples to the right are meant to be a bit silly domains —
intentionally as to help my students remember them. Of cognitive
course I would not do this in a classroom, although I (head), affective
am sure students would think it rather fun! (heart), and
physical (hand).
Samples:
·    Cognitive:
Students will
identify and
 list 5 slang
terms they
have heard
from their
peers.
·    Affective:
Student will
choose 3 of the
most offensive
slang terms
from a list
developed by
the entire class.
·    Physical:
Students will
create
expressive
gestures to go
with their
favorite slang
terms.

Q.2 Explain process of stating behavioral objectives. Write down 10 general and specific
objectives.
"Instruction is effective to the degree that it succeeds in changing students in desired directions
and not in undesired directions."
"Intended change brought about in a learner." (Popham, et. al. 1969)
"A statement of what students ought to be able to do as a consequence of instruction." (Goodlad,
in Popham et al., 1969)
"Explicit formulations of ways in which students are expected to be changed by the educative
process." (Bloom, 1956)
"What the students should be able to do at the end of a learning period that they could not do
beforehand." (Mager, 1962)
"An objective is a description of a performance you want learners to be able to exhibit before
you consider them competent. An objective describes an intended result of instruction, rather
than the process of instruction itself." (Mager, 1975)
"Properly constructed education objectives represent relatively specific statements about what
students should be able to do following instruction." (Gallagher and Smith, 1989)
According to Guilbert (1984) in article entitled "How to Devise Educational Objectives" the
qualities of specific learning objectives are:
1. Relevant
2. Unequivocal
3. Feasible
4. Logical
5. Observable
6. Measurable
Characteristics of effective objectives as described by Westberg and Jason (1993) in
Collaborative Clinical Education.
1. Consistent with overall goals of the school
2. Clearly stated
3. Realistic and doable
4. Appropriate for learners' stages of development
5. Appropriately comprehensive
6. Worthy, complex outcomes
7. Not treated as if they were etched in stone
8. Not regarded as the only valuable outcomes
In educational psychology we define learning as a "change in behavior." This is a little confusing
but if a student could not answer a particular question on a pretest, then received instruction, and
then answered the question correctly on a posttest, a change in behavior is illustrated and
learning is considered to have occurred. Objectives specify the learning or expected behavior so
hence the term behavioral objective. Other names used for behavioral objectives include:
 Learning Objectives
  Outcomes
 Enabling Objectives
 Terminal Objectives
 Educational Objectives
 Curriculum Objectives
 Performance Objectives
 Operational Objectives
 Instructional Objectives
 Intents
 Aims
 Competencies
Behavioral objectives became known to many educators through a book entitled Preparing
Instructional Objectives, written by Robert F. Mager, that was published in 1962. It was during
the 60's and early 70's that many public school teachers were required to write behavioral
objectives as a critical component of their daily lesson plans. Many workshops for teachers were
conducted and the Mager model for writing behavioral objectives was taught.
The Mager model recommended that objectives be specific and measurable, and specified three
parts to an objective as follows:
1. It should have a measurable verb (an action verb)
2. It should include a specification of what is given the learner
3. It should contain a specification of criteria for success or competency
The debate about the value of objectives relative to the planning and delivery of instruction has
gone on for many years. Two articles that exemplified this debate were "Behavioral Objectives
Yes" and "Behavioral Objectives No." There is research to support the effectiveness of
objectives relative to increased learning and retention. Admittedly, there are also studies that
show no significant differences. However, behavioral objectives are widely accepted as a
necessary component of the instructional design process.
Purpose and Function of Behavioral Objectives
 Guide for the teacher relative to the design of instruction
 Guide for the teacher for evaluation/test design (e.g. written tests, OSCEs, etc)
 Guide for the learner relative to learning focus
  Guide for the learner relative to self assessment
 Statements of objectives tell others what we value.
 Causes careful thinking about what is to be accomplished through instruction.
 Helps relationship between teacher and learner because with explicit objectives the
instructor is viewed less in an adversarial role because students are not forced to guess
what is to be learned.
 Enhances possibility to create focused independent learning materials.
 Makes teaching more directed and organized.
 Communicates to colleagues what you are teaching thus enhancing collaboration and
teamwork with colleagues.
 Helps facilitate those situations in which we want students to demonstrate competency
(The objectives can be specified in such as way as to specify competency.)
 Aids in program evaluation
 Forces teacher to think carefully about what is important
 Helps avoid unnecessary repetitions in teaching
 Helps bridge the gap between vague, but relevant, and important, institutional goals and
actual instruction
 Provides visibility and accountability of decisions made by teachers and learners.
 Provides models for the creation of objectives by students
 Helps students make decisions regarding prioritizing
 Provides feedback to learners as objectives are accomplished.
3 Domains for Behavioral Objectives
Cognitive Domain
 Refers to intellectual learning and problem solving
 Cognitive levels of learning include: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis,
synthesis, and evaluation
 Example objective: The student will construct a treatment plan for a teenager newly
diagnosed with IDDM. The treatment plan must contain the following: ..............
Affective Domain
 Refers to the emotions and value system of a person
  Affective levels of learning include: receiving, responding, valuing, organizing, and
characterizing by a value
 Example objective: The student will demonstrate a commitment to improving case
presentation skills by regularly seeking feedback on presentations.
Psychomotor Domain
 Refers to physical movement characteristics and motor skill capabilities that involve
behaviors requiring certain levels of physical dexterity and coordination
 These skills are developed through repetitive practice and measured in terms of speed,
precision, distance, procedures, or execution techniques. Psychomotor levels include:
perception, set, guided response, mechanism, complex overt response, adaptation, and
origination.
 Example objective: The student will calibrate instrument X before performing procedure
Y.
Behavioral Objectives in Instructional Design
Tyler Model
1. The objectives or statement of the knowledge, attitudes, and skills which students ought
to have by the end of the course
2. The instructional activities or learning experiences which teaching faculty provide to help
students achieve those objectives
3. The evaluation or testing activities which attempt to measure knowledge, attitudes, and
skills
GNOME Model
G for Goals
N for Need (Needs assessment)
O for Objectives
M for Methods
E for Evaluation
Kemp Model
The Kemp Model is circular as opposed to linear. Many teachers like this instructional design
model because the circular design is closer to the way they actually go about the design of
instruction. The Kemp Model gives them permission to be intuitive but it also has a structure that
is systematic. For example, an instructor might write a set of learning objectives as the first step
in the instructional design process, then develop content based on those objectives but in the
process of developing/planning content he/she would revisit and modify the learning objectives.
On the other hand, an instructor might prefer to work on the content as the first step in the
instructional design process and then write the learning objectives. To develop the optimal
instruction, all components of the Kemp Model should receive attention and ideally, most of the
components should be visited more than once before instruction is delivered.
The Six Step Approach
Step 1: Problem Identification and General Needs Assessment
Step 2: Needs Assessment of Targeted Learners
Step 3: Goals and Objectives
Step 4: Educational Strategies
Step 5: Implementation
Step 6: Evaluation and Feedback
Q.3 Discuss the progress of education in the period from 2000-2019.
Education is widely accepted to be a fundamental resource, both for individuals and societies.
Indeed, in most countries basic education is nowadays perceived not only as a right, but also as a
duty – governments are typically expected to ensure access to basic education, while citizens are
often required by law to attain education up to a certain basic level.1
In this entry we begin by providing an overview of long run changes in education outcomes and
outputs across the world, focusing both on quantity and quality measures of education
attainment; and then provide an analysis of available evidence on the determinants and
consequences of education.
From a historical perspective, the world went through a great expansion in education over the
past two centuries. This can be seen across all quantity measures. Global literacy rates have been
climbing over the course of the last two centuries, mainly though increasing rates of enrollment
in primary education. Secondary and tertiary education have also seen drastic growth, with
global average years of schooling being much higher now than a hundred years ago. Despite all
these worldwide improvements, some countries have been lagging behind, mainly in sub-
Saharan Africa, where there are still countries that have literacy rates below 50% among the
youth.
Data on the production of education shows that schooling tends to be largely financed with
public resources across the globe, although a great deal of heterogeneity is observed between
countries and world regions. Since differences in national expenditure on education do not
explain well cross-country differences in learning outcomes, the data suggests that generic
policies that increase expenditure on standard inputs, such as the number of teachers, are unlikely
to be effective to improve education outcomes.
Regarding the consequences of education, a growing body of empirical research suggests that
better education yields higher individual income and contributes towards the construction of
social capital and long-term economic growth.
Education for All 2000-2015: Only a third of countries reached global education goals
Just one third of countries have achieved all of the measurable Education for All (EFA)
goals set in 2000.
Only half of all countries have achieved the most watched goal of universal primary
enrolment. An extra $22 billion a year is needed on top of already ambitious government
contributions in order to ensure we achieve the new education targets now being set for the
year 2030.
These are the key findings of the 2015 EFA Global Monitoring Report (GMR) “Education for
All 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges”, produced by United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Oranization (UNESCO) which has tracked progress on these goals for
the past 15 years.
“The world has made tremendous progress towards Education for All,” said UNESCO Director-
General Irina Bokova. “Despite not meeting the 2015 deadline, millions more children are in
school than would have been had the trends of the 1990s persisted. However, the agenda is far
from finished. We need to see specific, well-funded strategies that prioritize the poorest –
especially girls – , improve the quality of learning and reduce the literacy gap so that education
becomes meaningful and universal.”
Released today, one month before the World Education Forum in Incheon (Republic of Korea),
the Report reveals the following findings:
Goal 1. Expand early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable
children.
Forty seven percent of countries reached the goal and another eight percent were close. Twenty
percent were very far from the goal. Yet, in 2012, nearly two-thirds more children were enrolled
in early childhood education than in 1999.
Goal 2. Achieve universal primary education, particularly for girls, ethnic minorities and
marginalized children.
Fifty-two percent of countries achieved this goal; ten percent are close and the remaining thirty-
eight percent are far or very far from achieving it. This leaves almost 100 million children not
completing primary education in 2015. A lack of focus on the marginalized has left the poorest
five times less likely to complete a full cycle of primary education than the richest and over a
third of out of school children living in conflict affected zones.
There have been important successes: Around 50 million more children are enrolled in school
now than were in 1999. Education is still not free in many places, but cash transfer and school
feeding programmes have had a positive impact on school enrolment for the poor.
Goal 3. Ensure equal access to learning and life skills for youth and adults.
Forty-six percent of countries reached universal lower secondary enrolment.  Globally, numbers
in lower secondary education increased by 27% and more than doubled in sub-Saharan Africa. 
Nonetheless, one third of adolescents in low income countries will not complete lower secondary
school in 2015.
Goal 4. Achieving a 50 per cent reduction in levels of adult illiteracy by 2015.
Only 25% of countries reached this goal; 32% remain very far from it. While globally the
percentage of illiterate adults fell from 18% in 2000 to 14% in 2015, this progress is almost
entirely attributed to more educated young people reaching adulthood. Women continue to make
up almost two-thirds of the illiterate adult population. Half of sub-Saharan African women do
not have basic literacy skills.
Goal 5. Achieve gender parity and equality
Gender parity will be achieved at the primary level in 69% of countries by 2015. At secondary
level, only 48% of countries will reach the goal. Child marriage and early pregnancy continue to
hinder girls’ progress in education as does the need for teacher training in gender sensitive
approaches and curriculum reform.
Goal 6. Improve the quality of education and ensure measurable learning outcomes for all
The numbers of pupils per teacher decreased in 121 of 146 countries between 1990 and 2012 at
the primary level, but 4 million more teachers are still needed to get all children into school.
Trained teachers remain in short supply in one third of countries; in several sub-Saharan African
countries, less than 50 percent are trained. However, education quality has received increased
attention since 2000; the number of countries carrying out national learning assessments has
doubled.
Funding and political will
Since 2000 many governments significantly increased their spending on education: 38 countries
increased their commitment to education by one percentage point or more of GNP. However
funding remains a major obstacle at all levels.
“Unless concerted action is taken and education receives the attention that it failed to get during
the past 15 years, millions of children will continue to miss out and the transformative vision of
the new Sustainable Development agenda will be jeopardized,” said GMR Director, Aaron
Benavot. “Governments must find ways to mobilize new resources for education. International
partners must ensure that aid is distributed to those most in need.”
The GMR makes the following recommendations:
Complete the EFA agenda: Governments should make at least one year of pre-primary
education compulsory. Education must be free for all children: fees for tuition, textbooks, school
uniforms and transport must be abolished. Policy makers should identify and prioritize skills to
be acquired by the end of each stage of schooling. Literacy policies should link up with the needs
of communities. Teacher training should be improved to include gender-focused strategies.
Teaching styles should better reflect student needs and the diversity of classroom contexts.
Equity: Governments, donors and civil society must develop programmes and target funding to
meet the needs of the most disadvantaged so no child is left behind. Governments should close
critical data gaps in order to be able to direct resources to those most in need.
Post-2015: Future education targets for education must be specific, relevant and realistic. At
current rates, only half of all children in low-income countries are expected to complete lower
secondary education by 2030. In many countries even the core goal of achieving universal
primary education will remain out of reach without concerted efforts.
Close the finance gap: The international community, in partnership with countries, must find
the means to bridge the US$22 billion annual finance gap for quality pre-primary and basic
education for all by 2030. Clear education finance targets must be established within the
Sustainable Development Goals where none currently exist.
Q.4 Differentiate among formal, informal, non-formal and distance education.
Education derived from a Latin word 'educatum' refers to a process of bringing out the hidden
qualities of any individual/student by any method. These methods are further classified or
developed differently by various social institutions so that the process of education can be carried
out in such a way that it may ensure all-round development of child's innate qualities. Generally
all these method to provide education to the desired people are kept under the broad heading of
'agencies of education' which is further classified under 'formal', 'informal' and 'non formal'
system of education.
Formal agencies to provide education includes methods of imparting education which are strictly
designed and implied by men according to their needs and less deliberately by society. Formal
education agencies of providing education includes and determines a rigid and strict working
plan and procedure which has a least possibility to deviate from. These all plan and procedure
are classified in such a way that the achievement of pre determined objectives of education can
be evaluated at the end of the entire educational process. In simple words formal education
includes a strict and well planed method to provide essential educational experience to students
so that the desired educational objectives may be achieved. Educative agencies like
school,library,recreation centres, reading rooms, religious institutions comes under the heading
of formal agencies to provide education as they always follow a defined and particular method to
provide educational experience to the people who comes in contact with them.
On a similar note, 'informal' agencies of education includes informal or not certain methods to
provide education to the students. That is informal education system do not comprises any strict
or rigid plan to reach upto the desired and pre determined educational objectives. Although here
also educational objectives are clearly defined on the wide conotation, it is very much dependent
upon the person who experiences these experiences. Educative agencies like home or family,
religious organisations, drama and cinema, newspaper, radio etc comes under the informal
methods to provide education as they do not follow any specific or particular method to impart
educational experience to their students but provide education in some form which is distinctly
imbibed by its students.
Whereas 'non formal' agencies of education includes methods which are entirely dependent and
determined according to the students need and demand which is very much affected by the
situation in which process of education is being carried out . It includes the most flexible and
uncertain methods to reach up to the educational objectives determined by this process.
Generally in these methods and objectives keeps on changing according to the need and demand
of the people(particularly students) included in the educational procedure. Adult education,
education for specifically gifted, education for special children comes under the agencies of non
formal education as these includes people having different needs and demands which can never
be fulfilled following any specific or rigid educational procedure, and thus in all these
programmes methods, objectives and plan can be altered as per need and situation.
A simple Funda to understand formal education is perceiving knowledge in a systematic way
i.e attending regular school and achieving academic objectives.
Informal education is acquiring life skills and experiences in such a way that we learn many
things openly. In informal education we do not learn things in any classrooms or any systematic
way. Life values, manners, etiquette, justifying good or bad, family traditions, ethics and so.. In a
word every aspect we learn from nature and observations such education is informal
education.
Non-formal education is defined as neither formal
nor informal but knowledge is acquired through books, social media or digital media. For
example doing academic course through correspondence courses is known as Non-formal way
of learning. In Non-formal education there is no direct interaction with any teacher or student
but the learning process is nothing but self learning.
Concisely
Formal education is systematic learning in
Informal education is learning with experiences
Non-formal education is learning with the support of digital education where there is no direct
involvement of teachers but self help.
Formal Education is guided by a system, a frame work which has a fixed FORM. All the
obtaining systems come under the formal ones. It can also include the necessary syllabus, time
table, supervision,compulsory attendance, a policy making body and a host of such things.
In the informal type, most of the above aspects are relaxed or done away with, In the
correspondence all these physical conditions are relaxed to a large extent or even eliminated.
There is no insistence on physical presence or meeting in the appointed place and time. The
pressure of the frame work is just minimal and enough to carry on the system and implement the
accepted rules. The M Phil, the P Hd work , come under the informal ones.
Abraham Lincoln got all his education in his own way and became the President with a robust
common sense and a stellar one, at that. This is an instance of non formal system. People learn
music, painting, sculpture etc., on their own. This comes under the non formal category.
The brilliance of the non formal educant must be achieved either through formal one or the
informal one must be achieved for the people and the country to move forward.
To illustrate the difference I’ll list all of them with their specifics:
1. Formal education
a. primary school -> university + specialization
b. structured
c. graded
d. formal(ised) specialization
e. hierarchical
2. Non-formal
a. educational activity outside of the established formal system
b. usually without any credentials and short term (but not always)
c. individual centred
d. more practical
e. flexible
3. Informal
a. non-targeted learning (aka “it just happens”)
b. e.g. practicing English because you were traveling
c. daily experience
d. using resources from your environment

Q.5 Identify the problems and issues relating literacy in Pakistan.

The literacy rate in Pakistan is 60%. It means that 40% people are illiterate. In rural areas, people
are un-educated because they are in pursuance of their livelihood instead of getting education in
schools. Resultantly, our country is slow towards progress. Illiterate people do not know how to
react on things. They are always rude towards others. The most common cause of illiteracy is our
agriculture based environment in which education is not considered a priority. There is no job for
un-educated people. That is why the crime ratio is high in our society due to illiteracy. Rural
people face problems for employment because they are totally un-educated. But on the other
hand, those people who are literate they are also un-employed due to the shortage of jobs.
Government should take steps to create job opportunities for the educated people. Government
should also take steps to establish schools and colleges in villages so that children who are living
in villages may not travel to cities to get education. Education system of Pakistan:
The education system of Pakistan is comprised of 260,903 institutions and is facilitating
41,018,384 students with the help of 1,535,461 teachers. The system includes 180,846 public
institutions and 80,057 private institutions. Hence 31% educational institutes are run by private
sector while 69% are public institutes.
 
Analysis of education system in Pakistan
Pakistan has expressed its commitment to promote education and literacy in the country by
education policies at domestic level and getting involved into international commitments on
education. In this regard national education policies are the visions which suggest strategies to
increase literacy rate, capacity building, and enhance facilities in the schools and educational
institutes. MDGs and EFA programmes are global commitments of Pakistan for the promotion of
literacy.
 
A review of the education system of Pakistan suggests that there has been little change in
Pakistan’s schools since 2010, when the 18th Amendment enshrined education as a fundamental
human right in the constitution. Problems of access, quality, infrastructure and inequality of
opportunity, remain endemic.
 
Issues
A)    MDGs and Pakistan
Due to the problems in education system of Pakistan, the country is lagging behind in achieving
its MDGs of education. The MDGs have laid down two goals for education sector:
 
Goal 2: The goal 2 of MDGs is to achieve Universal Primary Education (UPE) and by 2015,
children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary
schooling. By the year 2014 the enrolment statistics show an increase in the enrolment of
students of the age of 3-16 year while dropout rate decreased. But the need for increasing
enrolment of students remains high to achieve MDGs target. Punjab is leading province wise in
net primary enrolment rate with 62% enrolment. The enrolment rate in Sindh province is 52%, in
Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KPK) 54% and primary enrolment rate in Balochistan is 45%.
 
Goal 3: The goal 3 of MDGs is Promoting Gender Equality and Women Empowerment. It is
aimed at eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005 and in all
levels of education not later than 2015. There is a stark disparity between male and female
literacy rates. The national literacy rate of male was 71% while that of female was 48% in 2012-
13. Provinces reported the same gender disparity. Punjab literacy rate in male was 71% and for
females it was 54%. In Sindh literacy rate in male was 72% and female 47%, in KPK male 70%
and females 35%, while in Balochistan male 62% and female 23%.
 
B)    Education for All (EFA) Commitment
The EFA goals focus on early childhood care and education including pre-schooling, universal
primary education and secondary education to youth, adult literacy with gender parity and
quality of education as crosscutting thematic and programme priorities.
EFA Review Report October 2014 outlines that despite repeated policy commitments, primary
education in Pakistan is lagging behind in achieving its target of universal primary education.
Currently the primary gross enrolment rate stands at 85.9% while Pakistan requires increasing it
up to 100% by 2015-16 to fulfil EFA goals.  Of the estimated total primary school going 21.4
million children of ages 5-9 years, 68.5% are enrolled in schools, of which 8.2 million or 56%
are boys and 6.5 million or 44% are girls. Economic Survey of Pakistan confirms that during the
year 2013-14 literacy remained much higher in urban areas than in rural areas and higher among
males.
 
C)    Vision 2030
Vision 2030 of Planning Commission of Pakistan looks for an academic environment which
promotes the thinking mind. The goal under Vision 2030 is one curriculum and one national
examination system under state responsibility. The strategies charted out to achieve the goal
included:
(i)                  Increasing public expenditure on education and skills generation from 2.7% of
GDP to 5% by 2010 and 7% by 2015.
(ii)                Re-introduce the technical and vocational stream in the last two years of secondary
schools.
(iii)             Gradually increase vocational and technical education numbers to 25-30% of all
secondary enrolment by 2015 and 50 per cent by 2030.
(iv)              Enhance the scale and quality of education in general and the scale and quality of
scientific/technical education in Pakistan in particular.
 
Problems: The issues lead to the comprehension of the problems which are faced in the
development of education system and promotion of literacy. The study outlines seven major
problems such as:
 
1)      Lack of Proper Planning: Pakistan is a signatory to MDGs and EFA goals. However it
seems that it will not be able to achieve these international commitments because of financial
management issues and constraints to achieve the MDGs and EFA goals.
 
2)      Social constraints: It is important to realize that the problems which hinder the provision
of education are not just due to issues of management by government but some of them are
deeply rooted in the social and cultural orientation of the people. Overcoming the latter is
difficult and would require a change in attitude of the people, until then universal primary
education is difficult to achieve.
 
3)      Gender gap: Major factors that hinder enrolment rates of girls include poverty, cultural
constraints, illiteracy of parents and parental concerns about safety and mobility of their
daughters. Society’s emphasis on girl’s modesty, protection and early marriages may limit
family’s willingness to send them to school. Enrolment of rural girls is 45% lower than that of
urban girls; while for boys the difference is 10% only, showing that gender gap is an important
factor.
 
4)      Cost of education: The economic cost is higher in private schools, but these are located in
richer settlements only. The paradox is that private schools are better but not everywhere and
government schools ensure equitable access but do not provide quality education.
 
5)      War on Terror: Pakistan’s engagement in war against terrorism also affected the
promotion of literacy campaign. The militants targeted schools and students; several educational
institutions were blown up, teachers and students were killed in Balochistan, KPK and FATA.
This may have to contribute not as much as other factors, but this remains an important factor.
 
6)      Funds for Education: Pakistan spends 2.4% GDP on education. At national level, 89%
education expenditure comprises of current expenses such as teachers’ salaries, while only 11%
comprises of development expenditure which is not sufficient to raise quality of education.
 
7)      Technical Education: Sufficient attention has not been paid to the technical and
vocational education in Pakistan. The number of technical and vocational training institutes is
not sufficient and many are deprived of infrastructure, teachers and tools for training. The
population of a state is one of the main elements of its national power. It can become an asset
once it is skilled. Unskilled population means more jobless people in the country, which affects
the national development negatively. Therefore, technical education needs priority handling by
the government.
Poverty, law and order situation, natural disasters, budgetary constraints, lack of access, poor
quality, equity, and governance have also contributed in less enrolments.
 
An analysis of the issues and problems suggest that:
The official data shows the allocation of funds for educational projects but there is no
mechanism which ensures the proper expenditure of those funds on education.
 The existing infrastructure is not being properly utilized in several parts of the country.
 There are various challenges that include expertise, institutional and capacity issues,
forging national cohesion, uniform standards for textbook development, and quality
assurance.
 The faculty hiring process is historically known to be politicized. It is because of this that
the quality of teaching suffers and even more so when low investments are made in teachers’
training. As a result teachers are not regular and their time at school is not as productive as it
would be with a well-trained teacher.
 Inside schools there are challenges which include shortage of teachers, teacher
absenteeism, missing basic facilities and lack of friendly environment.
 Out of school challenges include shortage of schools, distance – especially for females,
insecurity, poverty, cultural norms, parents are reluctant or parents lack awareness.
 
Solutions
There is a need for implementation of national education policy and vision 2030 education goals.
An analysis of education policy suggests that at the policy level there are several admirable
ideas, but practically there are some shortcomings also.
It may not be possible for the government at the moment to implement uniform education system
in the country, but a uniform curriculum can be introduced in educational institutes of the
country. This will provide equal opportunity to the students of rural areas to compete with
students of urban areas in the job market.
Since majority of Pakistani population resides in rural areas and the access to education is a
major problem for them, it seems feasible that a balanced approach for formal and informal
education be adopted. Government as well as non-government sector should work together to
promote education in rural areas.
The government should take measures to get school buildings vacated which are occupied by
feudal lords of Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab. Efforts should be made to ensure that proper
education is provided in those schools.
The federal government is paying attention to the vocational and technical training, but it is
important to make the already existing vocational and technical training centres more efficient so
that skilled youth could be produced.
Since education is a provincial subject, the provincial education secretariats need to be
strengthened. Special policy planning units should be established in provinces’ education
departments for implementation of educational policies and formulation of new policies
whenever needed. The provincial education departments need to work out financial resources
required for realising the compliance of Article 25-A.
Federal Government should play a supportive role vis-à-vis the provinces for the early
compliance of the constitutional obligation laid down in Article 25-A. Special grants can be
provided to the provinces where the literacy rate is low.
Pakistan is not the only country which is facing challenges regarding promotion of literacy and
meeting EFA and MDGs commitments. Education remains a subject which is paid least attention
in the whole South Asian region. UNDP report 2014 suggests that there has been an
improvement in other elements of human development such as life expectancy, per capita
income and human development index value (in past 3 years); but there has been no progress in
the number of schooling years. The expected average for years of schooling in 2010 was 10.6
years but the actual average of schooling remained 4.7 for all South Asian countries. In the year
2013 the expected average of number of years increased to 11.2 but the actual average of years
of schooling of South Asian countries remained 4.7.  Regional cooperation mechanism can also
be developed to promote literacy in South Asian region. Sharing success stories, making
country-specific modifications and their implementation can generate positive results.

Illiteracy is a big problem because the illiterate people are unable to understand the new
techniques of social life. They do not enjoy the life. They do not understand the new policies.
Every individual has right to get education in better institutions. Illiteracy minimizes the social
relations in the society which leads to less development of resources. Illiterate person is unable to
read books, magazine, articles, and other reading materials.  
He cannot participate in platforms of educated people. The society does not develop, if there is a
number of a person un-educated. Illiteracy is a barrier in the social progress among people for
betterment of the society. To bring them out of this illiteracy, they should be provided
information through mass media of communication and educated people should explain the
impacts of being literate. If we want to overcome on illiteracy, government should teach the
illiterate people in good institutions with good teachers. To fulfil the dream, we should get good
education. Education is a good tool which benefits all along the life. In fact, education is very
important tool for everyone to succeed in life.