The unfunded mandate of Pakistani universities |
Pakistan says it wants a “knowledge economy” – but it is starving the very institutions meant to build it.
Walking into any public university in Pakistan today reveals a troubling arithmetic: increasing salary expenditures, crumbling infrastructure, outdated laboratories, and a decline in both government funding and student enrollment. Vice-chancellors discreetly admit their struggles to meet payroll on time. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has cautioned that if the freeze on federal funding persists, students may face higher fees and reduced scholarships.
Pakistan allocates a smaller share of its national income to education than nearly any country aiming for serious development. Official data reveals that education spending has dropped to approximately 0.8 percent of GDP in FY 2024–25 for the entire education sector, not just higher education, marking a decline from already insufficient levels in previous years.
World Bank statistics indicate that Pakistan’s public expenditure on education stood at about 1.87 percent of GDP in 2023, compared to a global average of 4.4 percent. Regardless of the source, the conclusion remains the same: Pakistan invests roughly half the amount in education as most countries do as a percentage of their national income.
Furthermore, the development budget of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has been reduced by around 35 percent, falling from Rs 61.1 billion in FY 2024–25 to Rs 39.5 billion in FY 2025–26. This significant cut directly impacts scholarships and infrastructure projects, ultimately hindering university development and quality. This situation should not be characterized merely as “belt-tightening”; it amounts to a slow and deliberate suffocation of the education sector.
The underfunding of the education system occurs within a framework that is already inadequate for Pakistan’s youth. According to Pakistan Education Statistics 2022–23, the country has around 247 universities, yet only about 1.94 million students. UNESCO........