Dr Zafar Khan Safdar<\/p>\n
Every child should have the freedom to dream of a better future, but not every child has an equal chance of achieving it. In Pakistan, the circumstances into which a child is born often determine the education they receive and the opportunities available to them later in life. For an affluent family, education may mean choosing between an expensive private school and an elite institution. For a poor household, it may mean choosing between sending a child to school and putting food on the table. When poverty determines who gets to learn and who is left behind, education ceases to be the great equaliser and becomes a means of reproducing the very inequality it is supposed to overcome.
\nPakistan\u2019s latest household survey offers a revealing picture. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics\u2019 Household Integrated Economic Survey 2024-25, the national literacy rate rose to 63%, while 28% of children aged five to 16 remained out of school. Male literacy stood at 73%, compared with 54% for females. Although these figures indicate progress in some areas, they expose persistent inequalities across gender, region and socioeconomic background. Behind every national average are children whose opportunities remain limited by poverty.
\nThese disparities cannot be explained by household income alone. Gender discrimination, inadequate school infrastructure, distance, disability and regional disadvantage all matter. Poverty, however, magnifies almost every obstacle. A child may attend a government school without paying tuition, yet still need uniforms, books, transport, examination fees and daily meals. For families struggling with food, rent, electricity and healthcare, these expenses can turn a constitutional right into an unaffordable burden.
\nThe opportunity cost is equally important. When a household depends on a child\u2019s earnings or unpaid labour, school attendance competes directly with survival. Children may work in workshops, shops, farms or domestic settings, while girls often shoulder household responsibilities and care for younger siblings. Even parents who value education may struggle to prioritise its uncertain long-term returns over the immediate needs of their families. Poverty therefore does not merely prevent children from entering school. It can force them out before they complete their education.
\nThe divide becomes more pronounced as children grow older. Pakistan\u2019s Economic Survey 2024-25 reported completion rates of 67% at primary level, 47% at lower secondary level and just 23% at upper secondary level. The figures suggest that enrolling children is only part of the challenge. Keeping them in school long enough to acquire the qualifications needed for further education and employment is equally difficult. Every stage of the journey presents another opportunity for financial hardship to push disadvantaged children behind.
\nThe quality of education further widens the gap. Affluent families can pay for smaller classes, trained teachers, English-language instruction, computers, private tuition and examination preparation. Their children are better positioned to compete for admission to prestigious universities and scholarships. Poorer children may attend overcrowded schools with inadequate facilities and limited learning materials. Both groups may formally possess the same right to education, but they do not enjoy equal opportunities to benefit from it.
\nDigital access has added another dimension to this inequality. HIES 2024-25 reported household internet access of 70%, while individual internet use stood at 57%. Connectivity alone, however, does not guarantee educational opportunity. A household may have internet access but lack a computer, reliable electricity, sufficient data or a quiet place to study. When learning depends on digital resources, these disadvantages can determine which children progress and which fall further behind.
\nPublic financing remains central to the problem. Pakistan\u2019s Economic Survey reported education expenditure of approximately Rs962 billion for FY2024-25, equivalent to around 0.8% of GDP. This remains far below the internationally referenced benchmark of 4-6% of GDP for education. Underinvestment affects poor children disproportionately because affluent families can purchase alternatives when public schools fail. Low-income households have little choice when schools lack teachers, functional toilets, electricity or adequate learning materials. A system intended to reduce inequality can end up reproducing it.
\nAddressing this imbalance requires more than increasing enrolment. Public funding must be directed towards districts and communities facing the greatest educational deprivation, with particular attention to rural girls, children with disabilities and families living in poverty. School meals, free textbooks, transport assistance, targeted cash transfers and stipends for girls can reduce the financial pressures that push children out of education. Better teacher deployment, stronger accountability and early childhood education are equally important.
\nThe state must also look beyond attendance figures. A child sitting in a classroom without learning has not received the full benefit of education. Literacy, numeracy, school completion and access to further education must be measured alongside enrolment. Scholarships should offer talented students from disadvantaged households a genuine chance to advance, while vocational education must provide credible routes into skilled employment.
\nUltimately, economic inequality becomes entrenched when a family\u2019s income determines not only how comfortably a child lives, but also how much that child can learn and achieve. Education cannot eliminate every difference in wealth, but it can prevent poverty from becoming a permanent inheritance. Pakistan cannot promise equal opportunity while allowing the circumstances of birth to determine the possibilities of life. The real test of its education system is not how many children enter classrooms, but whether a poor child has a fair chance of building a future beyond poverty.<\/p>\n
The writer is Ph.D in Political Science from Griffith University Brisbane, and is visiting faculty at QAU Islamabad. His area of specialization is political development and social change. He can be reached at zafarkhansafdar@yahoo.com and on X @zafarkhansafdar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dr Zafar Khan Safdar Every child should have the freedom to dream of a better future, but not every child has an equal chance of achieving it. In Pakistan, the circumstances into which a child is born often determine the education they receive and the opportunities available to them later in life. For an affluent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[13031],"class_list":["post-574074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-article","tag-dr-zafar-khan-safdar"],"yoast_head":"\n