Abstract
Pakistan‟s education system suffers from enduring issues of inequality, access, enrollment, quality, and opportunity at every level. It is a problem which has garnered quite a lot of attention over the years, particularly after the increased focus of other developing countries on combating the same issues, Education at the elementary level requires special attention because this is the most critical stage of an individual‟s entire academic trajectory, and has important implications for the country as well. The Punjab government has recently launched many new schemes in order to increase enrollment rates and to provide this basic facility to the vast millions deprived of it. The method chosen for this purpose has been public-private partnerships and privatization, with the help of millions of dollars in aid from international donor agencies. This paper argues that these projects initiated by the Punjab government are based on neo-liberal policies which challenge the spirit of public service and aggravates the imbalances already existing in our society. This paper improves upon the literature for governance practices in Pakistan, and uses the field of elementary education to discuss what the use of these new governing policies has meant for the education sector and all of its stakeholders. The paper concludes that the implementation of new public management policies has undermined the right of education for all, and has made the private sector responsible for the provision this right. The study recommends that these aspects require policy revisions in order to reverse the damage incurred through these reforms.
Keyword(s)
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