A Dime a Day: The Possibilities and Limits of Private Schooling in Pakistan

Exploring the growth of private schools within rural areas of Pakistan and the vertical and horizontal limitations faced in expansion. 

The study aims to explore the role played by private sector education in Pakistan and the future opportunities and possibilities faced by the private schools in a country that is a far way from achieving its Millennium Development Goal of Universal Primary Education. Primary government data sources including population census and EMIS along with Learning and Educational Achievement in Punjab Schools (LEAPS) survey conducted by the researchers indicate that the fee charged by private schools in rural areas is less than a dime (Rs 6) per day whereby rural families continue to show inclination towards enrolling their children in private schools.

The study reveals that low cost of private schools arises as a result of employment of low paid primary school teachers from village vicinity and although the strategy by private schools is successful at primary level, it cannot be replicated at a secondary level as villages lack the necessary female population with desired secondary teaching education and skills. In light of the limitation of private school expansion, the authors recommend that a huge initial investment designed to create a group of educated women in every village can ultimately lead to sustainable growth within the education sector. This initial investment must stem from dynamic complementary activities between public and private sector of education.