Pakistan is among the signatories to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as the Dakar World Education Forum 2000. The Government of Pakistan has conceptualized the EFA National Plan of Action (2001-2015) based on the Education Sector Reforms (ESR).  

In addition to a list of policy strategies, the Education Sector Reforms recognize “The responsibility of the state to reach out where private sector options are inaccessible to the poor and that public sector provision must not be conceived as just opportunities for access but more importantly, quality Education For All (EFA) as a fundamental human right..”  

i)          Enrollment and Dropout Rates

In the period of 2002-2003 while most countries witnessed an increase in their GER, Pakistan showed a significant decline by 28 percentage points (Govinda et.al., 2005). School life expectancy is the lowest in Pakistan in the region.  

ii)         Gender Disparity

In terms of EFA, however, the GER of girls in Pakistan has improved from 4.8% in 1999-2000 to 44% in 2002-2003, which is comparatively the largest increase in the GER in ECCE in the region. (Global Education Digest, 2005) However a wide gender disparity against girls continues to exist in Pakistan in ECCE.  

iii)         Infrastructure

A study by the SPDC in 2002-2003 states that “a review of the physical conditions of public schools shows that 16% of them are without a building, 55% without a boundary wall, 79% without electricity, 44% without water and 60% without a latrine.” (SPDC, 2003: pg 16) 

iv)        Teacher Absenteeism

Teacher absenteeism plays a large role in contributing to low retention and high dropout rates as it directly affects the quality and participation in education. The teacher to student ratio is highly disproportionate with an estimated 40.6 students per primary school teacher in 2001.