WHILE basic education is a constitutional right of every child in Pakistan, millions of children and youth remain deprived of this fundamental means of living a quality life. The recently launched District Education Performance Index (DEPI) by the Ministry of Planning and Development represents a significant step towards comparing the state of education across 134 districts in Pakistan.

The findings of the report reveal severe disparities in both access to and quality of education, with a staggering 77 districts categorised as ‘low’ performers. Most of these districts are concentrated in Balochistan and Sindh, revealing deep-rooted interprovincial inequities. Despite its pioneering effort, the DEPI report raises important questions about the robustness of its design, methodology, and title.

A stark contrast emerges when comparing Islamabad and Rajanpur, two districts with nearly identical populations of 2.3 million. According to the DEPI, Islamabad ranks at the top of the 134 districts, while Rajanpur languishes far behind in 80th place. Despite both districts being part of the same country, their educational realities could not be more different. In Islamabad, 84 per cent of individuals........

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