TRANSFORMING EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN EVALUATION OF A UK AID PROGRAMME

Abstract

Right after partition, Pakistan had to face a lot of socio-economic problems, as the industrial infrastructure was almost non-existent and education facilities were scarce. The meagre resources available to the state were not enough to facilitate a sustained economic growth and development. Resultantly, Pakistan had to rely on foreign aids, loans and grants in various fields of social development process. Education is the backbone of development for any country, but unfortunately it could not get its due share of focus, neither in the form of substantial and requisite share in GDP nor in the policy priorities of successive governments. Pakistan has been seeking foreign aid and assistance to achieve 100% literacy rate and an internationally accepted standard in education. Efforts have been made, both from within the country and by international aid agencies, to uplift education sector of Pakistan. One key aspect in this regard is to spread awareness about education and demand an increase in education spending. UK aid through DFID initiated a special ‘Transforming Education in Pakistan (TEP)’ programme in order to raise awareness among parents and community for increasing demands to politicians to enhance education spending and provide quality education in Pakistan. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the TEP programme of DFID, using qualitative research approach, based on document analysis. The study revealed that most of the objectives of TEP were achieved; however, a few are still to be accomplished.