Statistical correction

This refers to the news report, ‘Punjab to spend more on health, education than Sindh, KP’ (June 16). While quoting the amount for education (including higher education) and health from budget documents of the provinces the report gave unfair advantage to Punjab by considering allocations from its current and development heads but relied on current allocations alone in the case of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ignoring the allocation made under the development head for education and health sectors. This resulted in an incorrect conclusion: that Punjab has allocated the highest percentage of its budget for education and health as compared to KP.
The report quoted the amount allocated by KP for education as Rs97.54 billion while in reality the total allocation for education (current and development) is Rs119.78 billion (pages: 23 & 25 of the KP budget white paper). This is 24.5 percent of the KP budget – much more than the percentage-wise allocation in Punjab for the education sector. Similarly, regarding the allocation for the health sector, the figures quoted in the report for Punjab include current and development allocations but for KP only current allocations have been highlighted. The actual allocation by KP for the health sector is Rs42.386 billion and not Rs29.95 billion as quoted in the report. In Punjab, the per capita allocation for education is approximately Rs2,980, while in KP it is approximately Rs4,600. Similarly, for the health sector, per capita allocation by KP is more than Punjab’s.
Anas Younus
Islamabad