ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday expressed satisfaction over the reduction in inflation after the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics reported it had dropped to single digits for the first time in three years, standing at 9.6 percent in August.
In recent months, Pakistan has witnessed widespread protests as citizens express frustration over the rising cost of living and escalating inflation.
Inflation has surged significantly in recent years, exacerbated by the government’s decision to implement stringent economic reforms recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for external financing. These reforms included reducing subsidies and increasing power tariffs, leading to an inflation rate that peaked at 38 percent in May last year.
Subsequently, organizations like the World Bank reported in April this year that 40 percent of Pakistan’s population had fallen below the poverty line.
“The 9.6 percent inflation rate in August reflects the government’s efforts toward economic improvement,” the prime minister said in a statement.
“The decrease in inflation is in line with the Ministry of Finance’s Economic Outlook Report, which predicted that inflation in August 2024 would remain between 9.5 and 10.5 percent,” he added.
Sharif said economic experts were already predicting a further decrease in the inflation rate in September.
“The positive results of the government’s economic reforms are beginning to reach the public in the form of prosperity,” he continued. “Achieving Pakistan’s development goals is not possible without making the life of the common man easier and ensuring their economic well-being.”
The prime minister said Pakistan’s economy had not only stabilized but was on the path to progress.
Pakistan PM applauds return to single-digit inflation as rate drops to 9.6 percent
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Pakistan PM applauds return to single-digit inflation as rate drops to 9.6 percent
- The inflation figure in August has been the lowest in the last three years, indicating economic improvement
- Shehbaz Sharif says the inflationary trend in the country was in line with the finance ministry’s prediction
Nearly 25% of Pakistan’s primary schools enrolling girls operate as single-teacher ones— report
- Pakistan needs over 115,000 more teachers in primary schools enrolling girls to meet global benchmark of one teacher per 30 students, says report
- Sixty percent of Pakistani primary schools enrolling girls are overcrowded, while 32% lack clean drinking water or toilets, says Tabadlab report
ISLAMABAD: Nearly 25% of Pakistan’s primary schools that enrolls girls operate as single-teacher ones, a report by a leading think tank said this week, calling on the government to devolve teacher recruitment powers, upskill underutilized teachers and introduce reforms to hire and promote faculty members.
Pakistan faces an acute education crisis which is reflected in the fact that it has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children, an estimated 22.8 million aged 5-16 who are not in educational institutions, according to UNICEF.
While poverty remains the biggest factor keeping children out of classrooms, Pakistan’s education crisis is exacerbated by inadequate infrastructure and underqualified teachers, cultural barriers and the impacts of frequently occurring natural disasters.
According to “The Missing Ustaani,” a report published by Islamabad-based think tank Tabadlab and supported by Malala Fund and the Pakistan Institute of Education (PIE), Pakistan needs over 115,000 more teachers in primary schools with girls’ enrolment to meet the basic international benchmark of ensuring one teacher per 30 children. Currently, the average Student-to-Teacher Ratio (STR) across Pakistan’s primary schools with girls’ enrolment is 39:1, it said.
“Approximately 60% of these schools are overcrowded, necessitating the recruitment of over 115,000 additional teachers nationwide,” the report said on Monday. “Compounding this, nearly 25% of primary schools with girls’ enrolment operate as single-teacher schools, placing immense pressure on the quality of education.”
It said the situation is more dire in Pakistan’s poverty-stricken southwestern Balochistan province, where nearly 52% of the schools are single-teacher only ones while the percentage decreases slightly in the southern Sindh province to 51 percent.
The report said while the STR improves to 25:1 at the middle school level, acute shortages of subject specialists emerge as the top-priority concern for quality education in these schools.
“Furthermore, around 32% of primary schools with girls’ enrolment and 18% of middle schools face ‘critical infrastructural shortages’— lacking clean drinking water or toilets in addition to high STRs— which significantly affects girls’ attendance and learning, particularly during adolescence,” the report said.
The report cited a set of priority recommendations to address Pakistan’s systemic teacher deployment challenges and improve educational equity for girls.
It urged the government to devolve recruitment authority to school or cluster levels to enable timely, context-specific hiring. It also called upon authorities to reform teacher transfer and promotion policies to introduce school-specific postings with minimum service terms.
This, it said, would reduce arbitrary transfers and improving continuity in classrooms. The report advised authorities to upskill surplus or underutilized primary teachers to support instruction at the middle school level, helping address subject-specialist shortages.
“Together, these reforms offer a pathway toward a more equitable, efficient, and responsive teaching workforce— one capable of improving learning outcomes and ensuring that every girl in Pakistan has access to a qualified teacher,” the report said.
To tackle Pakistan’s education crisis, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared an ‘education emeregency’ in September 2024, stressing the importance of education for all.
