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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Pakistan
Index
At independence, Pakistan had a poorly educated
population
and few schools or universities. Although the education
system
has expanded greatly since then, debate continues about
the
curriculum, and, except in a few elite institutions,
quality
remained a crucial concern of educators in the early
1990s.
Adult literacy is low, but improving. In 1992 more than
36
percent of adults over fifteen were literate, compared
with 21
percent in 1970. The rate of improvement is highlighted by
the 50
percent literacy achieved among those aged fifteen to
nineteen in
1990. School enrollment also increased, from 19 percent of
those
aged six to twenty-three in 1980 to 24 percent in 1990.
However,
by 1992 the population over twenty-five had a mean of only
1.9
years of schooling. This fact explains the minimal
criteria for
being considered literate: having the ability to both read
and
write (with understanding) a short, simple statement on
everyday
life.
Relatively limited resources have been allocated to
education, although there has been improvement in recent
decades.
In 1960 public expenditure on education was only 1.1
percent of
the gross national product
(GNP--see Glossary);
by 1990 the
figure had risen to 3.4 percent. This amount compared
poorly with
the 33.9 percent being spent on defense in 1993. In 1990
Pakistan
was tied for fourth place in the world in its ratio of
military
expenditures to health and education expenditures.
Although the
government enlisted the assistance of various
international
donors in the education efforts outlined in its Seventh
Five-Year
Plan (1988-93), the results did not measure up to
expectations.
Data as of April 1994
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