F for education
Recent Class 9 examination results in Punjab, Pakistan, show a low pass rate of 46 percent, with significant disparities between public and private school performance. The report argues that despite various educational reforms, student outcomes remain stagnant.
Why it matters
It underscores the failure of systemic educational reforms to improve student performance and highlights the growing inequality between public and private education sectors.
Last week, all nine Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISEs) in Punjab released Class 9 results.
This year’s headline numbers are a provincial pass rate of 46 per cent – most students failed Class 9. Failure at a grade level is defined as failing in one (or more) subject by scoring less than 33 per cent (an abysmally low bar) in an exam or practical.
Broken down by gender, the pass rates for girls and boys this year are reported at around 58 and 35 per cent, respectively. By public and private schools, pass rates in Lahore BISE, the largest in Punjab, are 39 and 70 per cent, respectively. Similarly, for Faisalabad BISE, the pass rate breaks 45 and 73 per cent for public and private schools, respectively. Across almost all districts of Punjab, private schools have outperformed public schools by margins of 24-32 per cent.
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