The annual budget invariably revives the familiar debate about Pakistan's low investment in education. This year's budget is no exception. Public expenditure on education, already at a meagre 0.8 per cent of GDP, has declined even further, reaching the lowest level in Pakistan's history. This should concern everyone who believes that education is the foundation of economic growth, social mobility and democratic development.

Yet inadequate funding tells only part of the story. Equally important is how the limited resources are spent. In a country where financial resources are scarce, every rupee carries an opportunity cost. The central question, therefore, is not simply whether Pakistan spends enough on education. It is whether the little that it spends is invested in the country's most urgent educational needs.

Pakistan today faces an unprecedented demographic challenge. With one of the youngest populations in the world, millions of additional children require access to schools every year. The government also claims that enrolment has increased at almost every stage of education. If both these trends are true, the country's public-school system should be expanding rapidly. Yet the official figures reveal precisely the opposite.

Between 2020–21 and 2024–25, the number of primary schools declined from 180,217 to 154,964, representing a reduction of more than 25,000 schools in just four years. Middle schools also declined from 47,182 to 43,931, while the overall number of educational institutions fell from 275.6 thousand to 268.3 thousand.

This contradiction raises an obvious question. If more children........

© The Friday Times