The government’s growing tendency to privatise or outsource public educational institutions raises a fundamental question: why is it easier to hand over schools and colleges than to reform and improve them?
Pakistan’s education system already faces serious challenges, including outdated curricula, weak administration and declining standards. These problems require meaningful reform, effective management and greater accountability—not simply the transfer of the state’s responsibility to the private sector. If public institutions cannot be managed efficiently, it reflects shortcomings in governance and administration that should be addressed rather than avoided.
Privatisation can also make education increasingly inaccessible to ordinary families already struggling with inflation. Equally concerning is the inadequate remuneration and limited job security faced by teachers in many private institutions. In some cases, schoolteachers reportedly earn around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 a month, while lecturers with master’s degrees may receive only Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000. With such financial pressures and limited job security, it is difficult to expect teachers to consistently deliver the quality of education students deserve.
There is also an urgent need for stronger regulation and accountability in the private education sector. The government should focus on modernising curricula, improving public institutions, ensuring fair remuneration for teachers, strengthening accountability and addressing the economic pressures that make quality education increasingly difficult for ordinary families to afford.
Ordinary Pakistanis should not be burdened with higher costs while receiving inadequate public services. Regardless of which political party is in power, the real test of governance is whether the lives of ordinary citizens actually improve.
Privatisation cannot be a substitute for the state’s responsibility to provide accessible, affordable and quality education.
