The Pakistan Economic Survey 2025–26 opens its chapter on education with an encouraging portrayal of the country's educational progress, creating the impression that Pakistan has made substantial advances across every sector of education. However, a closer examination of the data tells a different story. Once one navigates through the maze of statistics, significant gaps, inconsistencies, and troubling trends begin to emerge. The reality is far less reassuring than the optimistic narrative presented at the outset. It is therefore important to look beyond the headlines and lift the fog that obscures the true state of education in Pakistan.

Let us begin with public spending on education, as it is perhaps the clearest indicator of the state's commitment, or lack thereof, to the sector. According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2025–26, education expenditure during July–March 2024–25 stood at Rs 899,619 million. During the corresponding period in 2025–26, it declined sharply to Rs 356,499 million, a staggering reduction of Rs 543,120 million. In practical terms, this represents a fall of more than 60.4 per cent in education spending within a single year.

This decline is not an isolated phenomenon but part of a long-term downward trend. Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP has steadily eroded over the years: 2.0 per cent in 2018–19, 1.9 per cent in 2019–20, 1.4 per cent in 2020–21, 1.7 per cent in 2021–22, 1.5 per cent in 2022–23, while no figure was reported for 2023–24. For July–March 2024–25, the Survey reports education spending at just 0.8 per cent of GDP.

Surprisingly, the latest Pakistan Economic Survey 2025–26 does not provide the corresponding percentage for July–March 2025–26. However, a simple........

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