The classroom was supposed to lift our children up, now it’s dragging their parents down.

In Pakistan, education has transformed from a stepping-stone to progress into a financial trap tightening around millions of households. Under the Constitution, public schools carry the primary responsibility of educating the nation. Yet they are collapsing under chronic resource gaps, poor governance, and eroding learning outcomes. Teacher absenteeism, nonfunctional facilities, and outdated curricula have created a trust deficit families can no longer ignore. As a result, private schools have expanded aggressively, now serving nearly half of Pakistan’s student population, a clear signal that the state’s education mandate is being outsourced by necessity, not design.

Yet this shift has exacted a heavy price. Private education has transformed into a high-margin business where children are the product and parents the hostage.The Competition Commission’s case against 17 established private school systemsciting forced branded materials and steep, unexplained fee increases reflects structural exploitation rooted in the absence of public alternatives. For many households, education now demands trade-offs with food, healthcare and basic survival.And when a basic right is sold like a luxury commodity, dignity withers, fairness collapses, and equal opportunity dies long before a child ever reaches the........

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