Investing in Education: Bridging Financial Gaps and Optimizing Resource Allocation

In collaboration with the Pakistan Institute of Education (PIE), PCE hosted a policy dialogue on the financial challenges facing Pakistan's education sector, anchored to the constitutional promise of Article 25-A and to SDG-4. Dr. Shahid Soroya (Director General, PIE) welcomed attendees, and the dialogue kept returning to a single stubborn fact: education spending sits at roughly 1.5% of GDP, well short of the 4% SDG-4 benchmark. Zehra Arshad (National Coordinator, PCE) set the context of the discussion, stressing on the importance of equitable financing.

The Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training, as chief guest, presented the ministry's initiatives: free meal programmes, health and hygiene initiatives, Early Childhood Education classrooms, school solarisation, pink bus services for female students, IT and STEAM labs equipped with robotics and AI, and unused hostels repurposed into IT labs, alongside public-private partnerships bringing educational fellows and specialists into the system. 

Dr. Zaigham Qadeer (Director, PIE Research Wing) gave a comprehensive overview centred on financing, budget-allocation efficiency, and equitable distribution across provinces and levels. The panel, comprising Qaisar Alam (Special Secretary, Elementary & Secondary Education, KP), Izza Farrukh (Senior Education Consultant, World Bank), Dr. Ahmed Ali (Executive Director, I-SAPS), Amjad Saleemi (Regulatory Reforms Consultant), and Zehra Arshad, framed the dialogue as an important step toward a well-funded, inclusive, and equitable system. 

Key discussions:

• Maximising value for money through efficient spending. Getting more learning out of every rupee by cutting waste and improving how existing funds are used.

• Transparent, updated data for effective allocations. Basing budget decisions on current, reliable data rather than outdated or incomplete figures.

• Real-time monitoring for accountability. Tracking spending and results as they happen, so gaps and leakages can be caught and corrected early.

• Re-evaluating inter- and intra-provincial education financing. Rebalancing how funds are distributed both between provinces and within them, so allocation follows genuine need.

• Community engagement in education-financing strategies. Bringing communities into how education budgets are planned and monitored, so spending reflects the realities on the ground.