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![handle is hein.crs/crsaisq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS22009
December 23, 2004
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Education Reform in Pakistan
K. Alan Kronstadt
Analyst in Asian Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Summary
Pakistan's primary education system ranks among the world' s least effective. The
Bush Administration, Congress, and the 9/11 Commission each have identified this
issue as relevant to U.S. interests in South Asia. Legislation passed by the 108th
Congress called for U.S. support to improve and expand access to education for all
[Pakistani] citizens and required the Secretary of State to report on Pakistan's
education reform strategy and the U.S. strategy to provide relevant assistance. This
report reviews education reform efforts in Pakistan and U.S. assistance, and includes
discussion of current policy. This report will be updated.
Problem Overview
U.S. policymakers have identified the poor quality of Pakistan's education system
as relevant to both immediate and longer-term U.S. interests in South Asia.1 The Bush
Administration states that the top U.S. policy goal in South Asia is combating terror and
the conditions that breed terror in the frontline states of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It also
contends that, Education is absolutely crucial to Pakistan's development as a moderate,
democratic nation. The 9/11 Commission Report recommends a long-term U.S.
commitment to provide comprehensive support for Pakistan, including in the area of
improving education. In passing the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act
of 2004 (P.L. 108-498), Congress endorsed this recommendation and included its own
call for U.S. support to improve and expand access to education for all [Pakistani]
citizens. In addition, Sec. 5108 of the Foreign Operations FY2005 Appropriations bill
1 Pakistan is one of only 12 world countries that spends less than 2% of its GNP on education.
The World Bank reports that the average Pakistani boy receives only five years of schooling; the
average girl just 2.5 years. The U.S. Agency for International Development claims that only two-
thirds of Pakistani children aged 5-9 are ever enrolled in school and only one-third will complete
the fifth grade. Pakistan's adult literacy rate is about 40% and is much lower among females.
The U.N. Development Programme's 2004 Human Development Report assigns Pakistan the
lowest education index of any country outside Africa. (See World Bank Group, Pakistan
Country Report, September 2004; USAID Grant Agreement No. 391-004-01; UNDP Human
Development Report 2004 at [http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2004/].)
Congressional Research Service **** The Library of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/crsaisq0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)