Role of State in Education

States have the legal responsibility and authority to provide public Education for their citizens. How each state fulfills its responsibility varies. Whether state education agencies are supporting education reform efforts, providing technical assistance, defining and controlling educational content, or assessing the outcomes of education. It is generally agreed that state is  there to assure that colleges and schools are providing quality opportunities to adults and children, and in a manner that meets the standards the state has set for achievement.

A variety of studies provide evidence that the s of college-educated persons  have fundamental effects on state and local economies through its association with wages, economic  growth, personal incomes, and tax revenues. As a result, policymakers in many countries try to increase the percentage of the state’s population (or workforce) that has a college degree through the use of various higher-education policies that have the potential to influence the supply side of the labor market. Several types of policies related to the finance and production of graduate and undergraduate education within a state, including expansions in degree production and scholarships to encourage attendance at in-state colleges are discussed.  More research is needed to identify the causal effects of the policies on the behavior of students and to sort out the responses by students and institutions to make changes in state policies. Following are the areas where states play a vital role:

Financing: The basic role of Sate is to finance the education set up, since countries spent a considerable amount of their GDP in education which ranges from 4% to 12% , at the end a data sheet is attached which shows the investment on education by developing countries of the region, may be this indicate why these nations are still developing.

Providing Policies: State provides the basic infrastructure and policies to be followed on, as the private sector also plays its part along with the public sector. So in our country State provide the Education Polices. It is interested to note here that after independence  state has given the policies showing different perspective , and we have experience Nationalization, Islamization and Privatization in a short period of time, and now we are experiencing public private partnership in education .

Curriculum Planning

 Curriculum is that pivot on which all the system of education reveals, it also affects the future of the nations, too hence the basic theme of primary & secondary education is conceived and produced by the state. As in our country Federal Bureau of Curriculum Islamabad gives the guideline in the light of Federal Government Policies while provincial bureaus of curriculum function under the directions of Federal Bureau of Curriculum. In Sindh province Bureau of Curriculum & Extension Wing Jamshoro is responsible for the preparing the curriculum of primary and secondary classes while Sindh Text Book Board helps in providing test books .

Scholarships & youth exchange programs

 Another important role of state is to provide national and international scholarships for deserving students like in our country Higher Education Commission (HEC) did in recent years. Moreover world wide youth exchange programs are developed to broaden the vision of upcoming generation.

 

Profit Share of States Investment in Education

 Plato was the first philosopher who declared Education as a state matte, he said that providing free education is the states responsibility. Since then it is the responsibility of States, but in return the State gets the following benefits:

o      Increase in per capital income

o      Increase in individual earnings

o      Increase in earning capacity

o      Highly skilled professionals and labour

o      More taxes

o      High efficiency

o      Economic growth

o      No unemployment risk

o      Increase in human capital asset

o      Search for new resources

o      Better social system

o      More social return

o      National prosperity

Pakistan’s Investment in Education

According to World Bank statistics, Pakistan spends only 2.3% of its Gross National Income (GNI) on education and this figure is very low even among the poor countries. Even the average for South Asian countries is 3.6%. Well, one do not need to be an expert to understand that if a country does not invest on education then it is bound to have high rate of illiteracy and Pakistan has an illiteracy rate of 58.9%. It is surely among one of the highest rates in Asia and with such a high rate of illiteracy, no country can dream of improving its economy.

Fortunately, Pakistani decision makers have understood the value of investment in education and it is expected that in the next annual budget, allocation for education will be substantially increased. The increase in investment should touch both primary education and higher education. On the one hand, there should be more teachers in the primary education in Pakistan while on the other hand, there should be more fund for carrying out research in the university level.

Recent Position of Pakistan’s investment in Education

The very scale of Pakistan’s education sector -- more than 150,000 public education institutions serving over 21 million students and a huge private sector that serves another 12 million – presents formidable challenges.

Literacy in Pakistan rose from 45 to 54 percent between 2002 and 2006, and net primary enrollment rates increased from 42 to 52 percent. But Pakistan’s participation rates remain the lowest in South Asia and there are wide male-female, inter-regional and rural-urban disparities:
 Only 22 percent of girls, compared to 47 percent boys, complete primary schooling
Female literacy in rural Balochistan is only 32 percent compared to high urban male literacy rates (80 percent among urban male in Sindh).

School dropout rates are high starting, especially, at the secondary level:
 Only 30 percent of Pakistan’s children receive secondary education
 Only 19 percent attend upper secondary schools

Expanding and modernizing vocational and tertiary education
Better access, teaching and research are needed at the tertiary level to equip graduates with the high-level skills needed to build a knowledge economy. Currently
 Tertiary enrollment rates are less than 5 percent of the eligible age cohort (17-23).
 Less than 8 percent of the work force receives formal training.

 Education quality and governance
The above mentioned challenges call for improvements in governance and greater accountability on the part of education service providers. This requires:
- Continued government commitment to education and policy reforms.
- Capacity building in institutions delivering education services.
- Increased investment in education which, currently at 2.3 percent of GDP, is among the lowest in South Asia.