Transforming Education in Pakistan: PIDE’s Research Perspectives

An array of challenges, solutions, and critical insights emerges from the research studies conducted by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) on various dimensions of education in Pakistan. These studies show a glowing picture of the country’s educational landscape, shedding light on issues ranging from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child education to the quality of professors in universities, the cost-benefit analyses of various education streams, and the efficacy of innovative teaching methodologies such as blended e-learning and STEM education.

The study on child education during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the pandemic’s disproportionate consequences on learning outcomes, with girls suffering more as compared to boys. The finding that millions of students are at risk of dropping out owing to economic hardship highlights the critical need for targeted measures to decrease the consequences of educational disruption. PIDE’s recommended reforms emphasize the importance of policies such as vaccination efforts, economic support systems for families, and curriculum adjustments in strengthening the education sector against pandemic aftereffects.

Equally significant is the exploration of Pakistan’s professorless universities, a crucial element in the academic ecosystem often overlooked in favor of infrastructural development. The study rightly questions the prevailing emphasis on physical infrastructure over faculty competence and calls for a recalibration of priorities toward investing in developing and nurturing a skilled academic workforce. PIDE’s recommendation to bolster professor training and recruitment efforts, including the recruitment of foreign professors, underscores the pivotal role of professors in shaping educational standards and fostering a culture of research excellence within higher education institutions.

The cost-benefit analysis of parallel education streams in the public sector provides insights into the efficiency of investments in different public sector educational institutions. By comparing the outcomes of Cadet Colleges and Islamabad Model Colleges, the advocates for addressing human resource shortages, enhancing teacher training programs, and promoting transparency in educational data underscores a comprehensive approach to enhance educational outcomes and system effectiveness in Islamabad Model Colleges.

The impact evaluations of blended e-learning and STEM education initiatives provide insight into the transformative power of innovative pedagogical strategies for increasing student engagement, critical thinking abilities, and learning outcomes. These studies advocate for improved educational technology access, infrastructural enhancements, and teacher professional development to maximize the benefits of digital learning tools and STEM instruction in schools.

Moreover, the research on the costs of lost talent due to emigration provides a comprehensive examination of the economic, social, and cultural ramifications of skilled individuals leaving Pakistan. This study underscores the imperative of devising strategies to retain and harness the talents of these individuals within the country to mitigate productivity losses and foster innovation. The findings call for proactive measures aimed at talent retention and creating an environment conducive to the growth and utilization of skilled human capital.

The discussion on education returns in Pakistan provides a compelling narrative about the economic benefits of investing in education. The research emphasizes education’s transformative power in unlocking economic opportunities and eliminating societal inequities by emphasizing its large impact on individual incomes and national productivity.

In a nutshell, PIDE’s research studies offer a thoughtful perspective on the challenges and opportunities within Pakistan’s education landscape. These studies underscore the critical importance of evidence-based policymaking, targeted interventions, and strategic reforms to address the complex issues affecting Pakistan’s education system. By implementing the recommendations presented in these studies Pakistan can pave the way for a brighter future where every child has access to quality education to realize their full potential.

Research Studies on Education

Child education in the time of pandemic: Learning loss and dropout

Issue

The disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the education sector at an unprecedented scale. In this regard, we assess the impact of COVID-19 on learning loss, school dropout, and the economic costs in terms of foregone earnings for children in Pakistan. The study finds a substantial decrease in Learning Adjusted Years of Schooling (LAYS) with worsening consequences for girls than boys. Likewise, the aggregate economic cost amounts to 107 billion dollars when adjusted for human capital utilisation. Besides, our simulation results suggest that about 7.2 million children drop out due to a reduction in household expenditure by 50 percent. In comparison, the dropout is more pronounced at the primary level of schooling.

PIDE’s Proposed Reform

Policymakers in Pakistan should implement effective strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of the pandemic and school closures. This includes identifying and mapping affected areas to minimize disruptions in student learning and dropout rates. The government must prioritize and expedite a nationwide vaccination program to facilitate the safe return to in-person instruction. Additionally, efforts should focus on stimulating economic activities and supporting marginalized families to prevent child labor and school dropouts. Lastly, the curriculum should be adjusted to include extra lessons for the most affected students, while investing in infrastructure to build a resilient and future-oriented education system. Professor-less Universities in Pakistan

Professor-less universities in Pakistan

Issue

Across the world, universities are about professors engaged in research. But, in Pakistan, it is common to think of universities as mere brick-and-mortar buildings without enough competent professors and innovative ideas. Politicians seek to please their constituencies by setting up universities without thinking about the overall quality of education institutions at these institutions. The Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) guidelines for a university are also focused on ‘land’ and don’t mention anything explicitly about ‘professors’ or the quality of education. This results in extremely poor-quality degree programs being taught at Pakistani universities

PIDE’s Proposed Reform

Shift the policy’s focus away from mere ‘brick and mortar’ to grooming professors. The PSDP should allocate more funds for the training and financing of professors. Also, given the high failure and dropout rates, human capital flight, and emitted peer review, HEC scholarships are an inefficient way of nurturing professors. Perhaps a better approach might be to develop a large-scale professor hiring program. Under such an initiative, foreign professors must be hired at competitive salary packages to spend time in Pakistani universities.