ISLAMABAD, Jan 14: Pakistan has a total of 245,682 educational institutions in all categories, including 164,579 (i.e. 67 per cent) in the public sector and 81,103 (i.e. 33 per cent) in the private sector, reports the National Education Census (NEC-2005).

The census -- jointly conducted by the Ministry of Education, the Academy of Educational Planning and Management (AEPAM) and the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) -- reveals that the number of private-sector institutions has increased from 36,096 in 1999-2000 to 81,103 in 2005, i.e. by 25 per cent.

The census data was collected from all over the country including Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata), Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Northern Areas and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

Enumerators, particularly recruited for the census assignment, visited all government, private and religious institutions and collected data on a questionnaire.

According to the NEC-2005, of the total number of educational institutions, 115,311 (47 per cent) were located in Punjab -- 66,770 (58 per cent) in the public sector and 48,541 (42 per cent) in the private sector.

Sindh has 59,312 (24 per cent) institutions, out of which 46,738 (about 79 per cent) were in the public sector and 12,574 (21 per cent) in the private sector.

There are 40,706 institutions (17 per cent) in the NWFP. Of them, 29,430 (72 per cent) are public-sector institutions and 11,276 (28 per cent) are private-sector institutions.

Balochistan has 11,492 (4.7 per cent) institutions, of which, 9,742 (about 85 per cent) are in the public sector and 1,750 (15 per cent) in the private sector.

There are 1,348 (0.5 per cent) institutions in ICT. Out them, 598 (44 per cent) belong to the public sector and 750 (56 per cent) to the private sector.

Fata’s 5,344 (2.2 per cent) institutions included 4,704 (88 per cent) in the public sector and 640 (12 per cent) in the private sector.

In Northern Areas, there are 4,366 (1.8 per cent) institutions, of which 1,505 (34.5) belong to the public sector and 2,861 (65.5 per cent) to the private sector.—APP