June 07, 2006	Wednesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 10, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, June 6: The federal budget for 2006-07 has laid more emphasis on higher education when government spokesmen and documents appeared to be more concerned about the poor state of primary and secondary education.

The budget allocates Rs16.3 billion for higher education, which caters to just three per cent of the country’s total student population, and Rs18.778 billion for the primary and secondary sector when there are 52 million children who don’t attend school.

Of those who do attend, 45 per cent drop out before finishing the primary level, Federal Education Minister Lt-Gen (retired) Javed Ashraf Qazi lamented at the National Education Conference last week. Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan did not even mention primary and secondary education in his budget speech on Monday, what to say of his government’s accomplishments in the field.

He only talked about the billions to be invested in producing PhDs.

Interestingly, the Pakistan Economic Survey 2005-06, released on the eve of the budget, acknowledged that “access to education is the right of every individual” and that it is “the most important element in enhancing human capabilities and in achieving economic development”.

“Education is the vehicle for nation building,” it said, adding that the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper “views education as a strong policy instrument in bringing poverty down”.

The 53 per cent literacy rate shown in the survey is far below the target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations, the country’s Education Reform Action Plan 2001-05 and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper.

The literacy target of the UN MDGs is 80 per cent by 2015, while 60 per cent literacy rate is to be met under the Education Reform Action Plan and PRSP.

According to the budgetary documents, higher secondary education would get the bigger chunk of the total allocation of Rs12.6 billion for the primary and secondary education. Primary education would get Rs6.18 billion, less than half of the money allocated to secondary and higher secondary education and about one third of that for the higher education.

The government has also announced allowances of Rs50, Rs500, Rs700 and Rs1,000 monthly for teachers according to their qualifications. Those who are teaching at the primary level come into the category of Rs50 and 500.