Civil Society Learning Event 2018: Civil Society's Role in Education Governance

PCE's 2018 Annual Civil Society Learning Event gathered coalition members from across Pakistan for two days on a single, foundational question: what is civil society's role in education governance? Rene Raya (Lead Policy Analyst, ASPBAE) opened on the guiding principles for private-sector involvement in education, the obligations that fall on the state, and the imperative of keeping education a human right within reach of every child, whatever their social, religious, ethnic, or economic background. Ahmed Ali (Institute of Social and Policy Studies) followed on education financing, pressing for the effective, need-based distribution of resources to schools in the country's remotest areas, and flagging the data gaps that leave a vacuum between ground realities and the plans each province produces. As he put it, the country has known its out-of-school numbers for years, yet still cannot say where the highest concentrations actually are.

For all that, Ali reminded members that progress, though gradual, was real, and urged them to steer clear of sweeping statements that paint the whole system as hopeless. The event closed with a diverse group of participants proposing region-specific initiatives they could lead using their own relative strengths, with the continued backing of PCE's national secretariat.

Held alongside the 9th Annual Convention.