Message from Federal Minister

Education is the main source of human capital formation and a pre-requisite for socio-economic development of a country. The Prime Minister’s vision for a prosperous and progressive Pakistan hinges upon rapid human resource development. It is state’s obligation to ensure access and quality education to the masses, so that the citizens may realize their potentials and contribute productively at the national and international level. Availability of information/data plays a critical role in educational planning and decision making. Therefore, it is imperative to have complete, reliable and timely information/data. I am delighted to see that National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), working in the Academy of Educational Planning and Management (AEPAM), has compiled national education data and publishing Pakistan Education Statistics 2017-18. The report is a valuable and comprehensive document, which provides insight to the policy makers at national, provincial and even at international level.

The present government is fully cognizant of the nexus between education and human resource development. Therefore, it has identified four priority areas, which include out of school children, uniform education system/National Common Curriculum, quality education and skill development.

It is expected that this report will be an authentic source of information for all stakeholders to understand the current educational landscape along with challenges in Pakistan and to evolve effective strategies to tackle these challenges. The empirical evidence will not only help decision makers to address issues pertaining to access, equity, quality and governance of education sector, but also, facilitate them in monitoring the outcomes of various interventions. Human resource development is a pre-requisite to actualize the dream of knowledge based economy as well as for economic development and to compete in the globalized world.

I appreciate the NEMIS team for compiling such a comprehensive report. I also express my special thanks to UNICEF, Pakistan for providing technical and financial support for preparation and launching of this report.

   

   

Mr. Shafqat Mahmood  

Federal Minister for  

Federal Education and Professional Training  

Government of Pakistan  

Islamabad