Within Two Decades, Twice as Many Kids Are Attending School Here!

Over the last 20 years, the province of Punjab in Pakistan deployed considerable effort to increase the number of children attending school, and today, 26 million kids have access to primary education, including an impressive growth among girls.

Education was accessible to 13 million children aged 6 to 15 in 1998, and by 2020, that number doubled, reaching 26 million. Among girls, there has been a 24% increase in enrolments; among boys, that increase was 15%.

Since 2003, large investments – the World Bank alone invested $1.5 billion – have been made in education and human development programs. Since 2003, education has been free for all – no tuition and free textbooks. The province also implemented strategic financial investments in worthy programs, such as one designed to allocate and distribute operational funds to schools on a discretionary basis. The Punjab government also reached out to parents and households through a school council mobilization program. Through conditional cash transfers for girls’ education and regular attending, middle school enrolment for girls increased by 10% in two short years – 2003 to 2005 – and completion rates increased by 4.5%. The reform program put forth by the Punjabi authorities has been dubbed the “most frenetic education reform in the world.”