Pakistan has a population of about 188 million people. As Pakistan continues to strive for universal basic primary education, it faces the related challenge of increasing access to learning opportunities at the secondary and tertiary levels. 

School-age Population by Education Level1

31,624,636

 

20,964,647

Secondary

 

Tertiary

 

 

Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Secondary Education
for the school year ending 20181

39.2%

 

45.9%

Female

 

Male

 

 

Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Tertiary Education
for the school year ending 20181

8.3%

 

9.6%

Female

 

Male

 

 

Percentage of female teachers in 1

60.5%

 

n/a

Secondary (2018)

 

Tertiary

 

 

1. UNESCO Institute for Statistics Data Centre, retrieved in March 2020

 

Literacy rate (2012)1

42%

 

67%

Adult (15+) literacy rate
Female

 

Adult (15+) literacy rate
Male

 

 

Economic Activity (2010)1

23%

 

85%

Adult (15+) economic activity
Female

 

Adult (15+) economic activity
Male

 

 

Political Decision Making (2014)1

21%

Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament

 

 

Life expectancy (2012)1

66

 

64

Female

 

Male

 

 

1. COL gender country profile April 2015 

 

1.3 72.6
Fixed-telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants1 Mobile-cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants1

 

 

  
0.9 29.2
Fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants1 Mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants1

 

 

  
16.2 15.5
Households with a computer (%)1 Individuals using the internet (%)1

 

 

1. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ICT Eye Country profile, retrieved in March 2020

Highlights

The Commonwealth of Learning’s (COL) work in Pakistan includes the areas of technology-enabled learning, higher education and the schooling and skilling of girls, through the GIRLS Inspire initiative.

Aptus

COL’s Aptus technology is an off-grid, offline virtual classroom – a classroom without walls. The Qatar Foundation: Reach Out to Asia, in collaboration with COL, ran a project in 2016 using Aptus in the Swat District. The project saw marked improvement in academic performance among the students involved. Learn more about Aptus.

GIRLS Inspire

GIRLS Inspire is a special initiative that provides vulnerable and hard-to-reach women and girls with opportunities for completing schooling and receiving skills training resulting in sustainable livelihoods. The initiative aims to end harmful effects of child, early and forced marriage in rural communities and address other barriers that prevent girls' full participation in society. In Pakistan, COL is working in partnership with the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child and Bedari. Learn more about the GIRLS Inspire initiative.

Higher education

COL’s Higher Education initiative works to develop human resources for social and economic development across the Commonwealth. It supports higher education institutions and ministries in capacity building, policy development and curriculum reform. COL is working with Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) to offer the Commonwealth Executive Masters in Business Administration and Commonwealth Executive Masters in Public Administration (CEMBA/CEMPA) Programme. AIOU also holds a seat on the Executive Governing Board and Academic Board of the programme. Learn more about the Higher Education initiative. 

Partners

Partnerships are fundamental to COL’s work. Strategic partnerships allow COL to broaden its reach and engage at global, regional and national levels, while implementation partners support COL’s work in communities and institutions across Commonwealth Member States. Partners include multilateral organisations, regional bodies, national governments, government agencies, foundations, civil society organisations, public and private (not-for-profit) institutions and the private sector.

COL's partners in Pakistan include:

  • Allama Iqbal Open University
  • Bedari
  • Higher Education Commission
  • Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child
  • Virtual University of Pakistan