Education underfunded

Express Tribune

25-06-2025

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The federal education budget has fallen to an all-time low of 0.8% of GDP, reflecting utter disregard for something that should be among every government's top priorities. The number has steadily declined since 2018 — when it was 2% of GDP. That year is significant because it was when the PTI government took office, and despite its promises to improve life for the masses, funding for education saw only nominal increases in real terms, with the actual share of GDP actually contracting.
The PDM and PML-N governments criticised the PTI for this, only to do the exact same thing when they came to power. In fact, despite Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's much-publicised "education emergency" declaration last year, the government has actually slashed education expenditure by 29% in the first nine months of FY25, allocating a paltry Rs899.6 billion against Rs1,251.06 billion a year earlier. It is worth noting that the UN has called on all countries to spend between 4% and 6% of GDP on education.
This collapse in education funding coincides with a 20% hike in defence spending — the largest increase in a decade — following border clashes with India. While national security is vital, underfunding education will create even more security risks tomorrow. Studies show each additional school year boosts individual earnings by 9% and national productivity exponentially.
But it should not be forgotten that the biggest drain on the budget is actually debt servicing, which now accounts for over half of the federal budget, leaving social services, the bureaucracy and the military fighting over the rest. While it is important to keep the debt in check, the most reliable way to actually bring it down in the long term is to build a future where economic growth is guaranteed — such as by having an educated workforce. Unfortunately, our leaders either cannot, or will not, plan that far ahead.