Education

National Academy of Performing Arts, Karachi

According to the constitution of Pakistan, it is the state’s responsibility to provide free primary education. At the time of independence Pakistan had only one university, the University of the Punjab, founded in 1882 in Lahore. Pakistan now has more than 132 universities of which 73 are public universities and 59 are private universities.

Education in Pakistan is divided into five levels: primary (grades one through five); middle (grades six through eight); high (grades nine and ten, leading to the Secondary School Certificate); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a Higher Secondary School Certificate); and university programmes leading to graduate and advanced degrees.Pakistan also has a parallel secondary school education system in private schools, which is based upon the curriculum set and administered by the Cambridge International Examinations, in place of government exams. Some students choose to take the O level and A levelexams through the British Council.

Literacy Rate - Pakistan

There are currently 730 technical & vocational institutions in Pakistan.he minimum qualifications to enter male vocational institutions, is the completion of grade 8, and for female is grade 5.English medium education is to be extended, on a phased basis, to all schools across the country.Through various educational reforms, by the year 2015, the ministry of education expects to attain 100% enrolment levels amongst primary school aged children, and a literacy rate of 86% amongst people aged over 10.Pakistan also has madrassahs that provide free Islamic education and also offer free boarding and lodging to students who come mainly from the poorer strata of society.

After criticism over terrorists using them for recruiting purposes, efforts have been made to regulate them.In 2004 only 46.6 percent of adult Pakistanis were literate. Male literacy was 60.6 percent, while female literacy was 31.5 percent. Literacy rates also vary regionally, and particularly by sex, for instance in tribal areas female literacy is 3%.The government launched a nationwide initiative in 1998 with the aim of eradicating illiteracy and providing a basic education to all children.