International Education Guide - Enterprise and Advanced Education ...

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INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION GUIDE for the assessment of education from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
In 2005, 16.8 million students, or about 86 per cent of the
target age group, were enrolled in 156,732 primary schools.
Due to a high dropout rate, only about 52 per cent of
children in the age group completed primary education. A
large gender gap remained in rural areas, where six female
students attended for every 10 male students. A variety
of factors have contributed to the low enrolment and high
dropout rate in primary schools, including poverty, child
labour, rapid population growth, poor access to schools
in rural areas, lack of essential teaching facilities, teacher
absenteeism, poor quality of education and the perceived
irrelevance of education for girls.
The language of instruction is usually Urdu, the national
language. Some schools teach in a regional language; for
example, there are many Sindhi-language schools in Sindh
province. Main subjects include:
• regional language
• Urdu (introduced at Grade 3 in schools teaching in a
regional language)
• arts and crafts
• mathematics
• science
• Pakistan studies
• Islamiyat/Islamiat (alternative spellings)
• health and physical education
Teaching at primary schools officially requires possession of
a one-year Primary Teaching Certificate, with entry based
on possession of the Secondary School Certificate. However,
about a quarter of primary school teachers are untrained.
Middle School Education
(Grades 6 to 8)
Middle school education lasts three years (Grades 6 to
8) and is geared to students aged 10 to 12. Although
middle school education is often grouped with Grades
9 and 10 under the general term “secondary education,”
the government plans to eventually integrate primary and
middle school education into one stage called elementary
education (Grades 1 to 8).
In 2005, approximately 5.2 million students, or about 52
per cent of the target age group, were enrolled in 39,370
middle schools. Due to the high dropout rate, only about
18 per cent of children in the target age group completed
middle school.
The language of instruction remains Urdu or a regional
language, and English is introduced as a compulsory
subject. Main subjects include:
• Urdu
• English
• regional language, Arabic, Persian, and so on
• mathematics
• science
• Pakistan studies or social studies
• Islamiat (for Muslims) or ethics (for non-Muslims)
Upon completion of their study, students take the Middle
Standard Certificate Examination administered at the
district level. Examination results are used for awarding
merit-based scholarships.
Teaching at middle schools officially requires possession
of a one-year Certificate in Teaching, with entry based on
possession of the Higher Secondary Certificate.
Secondary Education
(Grades 9 and 10)
Secondary education lasts two years (Grades 9 and 10)
following the completion of middle school and is geared to
children aged 13 to 14. In Pakistan, the term “secondary
education” may also be used to describe the combination of
middle school and secondary school (Grades 6 to 10) or the
entire post-primary school education (Grades 6 to 12).
In 2005, over 2.1 million students were enrolled at 22,909
secondary schools. Only about 11 per cent of children in the
target age group completed secondary school.
The language of instruction is Urdu. Students must study
a few compulsory subjects plus additional subjects based
on a chosen course group. On completion of their studies,
they sit examinations administered by the various Boards