NUMBERS tell the story like little else. And the numbers related to private education are as interesting as they are astounding. Based on the data of Pakistan Education Statistics 2014-15 released by the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) under the joint umbrella of the Academy of Education Planning and Management and the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, the numbers are conservative and basically represent the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

There are 312,000 students enrolled with private-sector institutions of higher learning. On an average, such institutions charge no less than Rs60,000 per semester which means Rs10,000 per month. Collectively, it comes to Rs3.12 billion per month and Rs37.44bn per year.

Likewise, there are 366,000 students in private Intermediate colleges. At the average rate of Rs5,000 per month, it means Rs1.83bn per month and Rs21.96bn per year. At the school level — Class I to X — there are 5,192,000 students. The fee ranges in a wide band across the country, but the claim of All-Pakistan Private Schools Federation (APPSF) is good enough to have a feel of the iceberg. Its president has been reported as saying that 98pc of private schools in Pakistan charge a monthly fee of less than Rs2,000. Even a fee of Rs1,500 means Rs7.788bn per month and Rs93.456bn per year.

Together, the three categories sum up to Rs152.856bn. And the numbers are seriously conservative. And, lest it be forgotten, these do not include the lucrative market of pre-schools, coaching centres and home-based tuitions that are integral to assessing the size of private-sector turnover and profit in the education sector. In effect these numbers are just what they are; tip of the iceberg.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2016