he Supreme Court ordered the relevant authorities in the year 2024 to fill the vacant positions of the vice-chancellors of all public universities. The order was passed after the filing of a writ petition before the apex court in April 2024. The petitioner submitted that out of the 147 public sector universities, about 60 were functioning without regular vice-chancellors. The court directed the authorities to fill the positions within three months. As a result, several universities got permanent vice-chancellors. Why are delays in appointment of vice-chancellors a recurring feature in Pakistan? There is no apparent reason why the decision-makers can’t start the selection process in time.

The second important happening in 2024 was the announcement of an Education Emergency by the prime minister on April 30. The Education Emergency was formally notified on May 7 with 14 tasks to be completed within stipulated deadlines. A task force was formed on June 25 under the chairpersonship of the prime minister. However, it has met only once. Progress on the fourteen tasks has been slow and far from satisfactory. The Education Emergency Report of 2011 had highlighted that there were 25 million out-of-school children and spending on education remained low at 2 percent of the GDP. It is unfortunate that the situation deteriorated further. The number of out of school children increased to 26.09 million and the spending on education dropped to 1.5 percent of GDP in 2023.

The third important happening was in the realm of madrassa education. According to official reports, the number of madrassas ranges between 30,000 and 40,000. Out of these, 17,738 madrassas, with a total enrollment of 2,249,520 students, are registered with the Ministry of Education and Professional Training. What the future holds for the students of madrassas not registered with the Ministry is unclear. Several political parties led notably by the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, are demanding notification of a law already passed by the parliament that will allow the madrassas to register as charities and threatening street protests if the demand is not met. The final decision will have a long-lasting impact on the future of millions of students belonging to madrasas.

The fourth major development during the year was in the higher education sector. Provincial governments tried to impose stricter controls on the universities. In Sindh, the provincial cabinet has approved amendments to the Universities Act, including dropping the PhD requirement for the position of vice-chancellor. This amendment can have serious repercussions as it will open the door for bureaucrats to take charge of universities. The second important change is that the tenure of the VC will be four years, extendable by a similar term. It is feared that possibility of extension will cause some VCs to be on the right side of the government. Drastic amendments have also been made in the Act of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa universities. One major amendment is that now the chief minister, instead of the governor, will be the chancellor of the universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Another change mandates that a panel of shortlisted candidates for the position of VC will be sent to the CM in alphabetical order. In the past, it was sent in the order of merit. Another change is that the tenure of the VCs will now be four years, instead of three years in the past. This is superficially a positive change. The catch is that after two years there will be a performance evaluation. Based on that the VCs’ tenure will be either ended or extended.

The fifth major event in 2024 was the government’s decision to hand over public schools to private sector institutions under the Public Schools Reorganisation Programme. Two phases of the programme have been completed so far. In the first phase, 5,863 primary schools were outsourced. In the second phase, 4,789 schools were outsourced. Applications for the second phase were received until December 9. The third phase is expected to be completed during the 2025 summer vacation.

This is an apparent deviation from the constitutional provision that the state is responsible for free and compulsory education. How can schools sustain the teaching-learning process amidst financial instability? Who will safeguard the right to education for the vulnerable children enrolled in these programmes? There is a serious and urgent need to focus on public sector schools and initiate a comprehensive programme of reforms, especially in the area of governance to uplift them without the crutches of private sector.

It is important to reflect on the overall challenges. Even at the end of 2024 we face the problem of a large number of out-of-school children; a very high dropout rate; questionable quality; and very low allocations for education as a percentage of GDP.

The writer is an educationist. He can be reached at: shahidksiddiqui@gmail.com