Education in Pakistan

Introduction                                                                                      

THE education is now become one of the most defining enterprises of the 21st century with the emergence of  globalization and increasing competition. In this fast world education and technology are the basic keys for survival and progress of Pakistan is determinded to respond positively to emerging needs, opportunities and challenges of globalization.                                                                                                                                                       

                  Educaion provides knowledge and skills to the population as well as shape the personality of the youth of the      provides knowledge and skills to the population as well as shape the personality of the youth of the nation.As you  know youth is the back bone of the nation,so Pakistan have a great edge because Pakistan is considered to be the 5th largest the world. 

    

Education in Pakisatn is overseen by the Federal Ministry of Education and the Provisional goverment(punjab,sindh,balochistan,khyber pakhtunkhwa) whereas the federal government mostly asists in curriculum development,accreditation and in the financing of research and development. 

Education is free and compulsary in pakistan for all child between age of 5 and 16 means up through grade 10.In article 25A of the pakistani constitution which states that "The state shall provide free and compulsary education to all childern of the age of five to sixteen years in such a manner as may be determined by the law"

The education system in pakisatn is generally divided in to six levels

• Pre-school
• Primary
• Middle
• SSC
• HSSC
• Undergraduate
• Graduate

Here we firstly discuss preschool education that is first footstep of a child

Pre-school:

Pre-school is integral part of pakistani education system now a days.There was a time when pakistani kids started their schooling at the age of 5.

• The age for pre-school from  3 to 5 
• It usually consist of three stages                                                                                                        

1. Play Group  
2. Nursery      
3. Kindergarten(or prep or KG)

• There is no uniform syllabus for pre-school in pakistan.Every school choose its own curriculum for its preschool classes
• Some schools have designed a syllabus that leaves no room for game-based learning for young kids.
• In pre-school almost every week school celebrating a special day e.g Book day,Green day,Fruit day,Vegetable day,winter day,Sunny day .

Primary:

Primary education is the first stage of free and compulsary education in pakistan.Primary education prepare child for further education and life long leaning.

• The age for primary school from 5 to 9
• English and Urdu two medium primary schools are available in pakistan
• It consist of five grades from 1 to 5
• There are four types of primary schools

             1)public          2)private                                       3)religious     4)self help schools

• In private sector co-education is common at primary level
• In public sector separate schools are available for girls and boys at primary level.                  

Middle:

After primary middle education started. Middle education make student confident, independent and well mannered.It enhance vocabulary and boosts reading skills.

• The age for middle school from 10 to 13
• It's include three grades from 6 to 8
• Here also english and urdu medium are available.
• The middle curriculum includes :                 
•  Urdu  
•  English 
•  Mathamtics
•  Arts
•  Computer or Arabic
•  Religious Education (Islamic  studies)
•  Science                   
•  Social Studies (Geography,History,Economics,Sociology)                                                                                          

SSC(Secondary School Certificate) or O level :

              After middle education student entered into secondary education.Secondary education is an

 important segment in every person's life.It polish the student to increase their confidence level and make them more creative.It raise a student economic status.  

• secondary School certificate is a public exam for classes 9 and 10 separately.
• Class 9 exam is called SSC PART I  and Class 10 exam is called SSC PART II 
• After end of each of the school years, students are required to pass a national examination administered by a regional Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education or BISE
• Every province has its own boards stationed in main districts of the province.
• The curriculum usually includes a combination of eight courses including

• Compulasry subjects

• English
• Urdu
• Isalmic Studies
• Pakistan Studies

• Elective subjects
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Computer
• Physics

• Practicals are compulsray for matric but after covid  practicals are cancelled, it is temporary decision of  goverment 

• Upon clearning both the SSC part I and SSC part II examinations, students are awarded with the offical secondary school certificate qualification.

O level(ordinary level):

                 After middle a student have option to select ordinary level in replace of matric.It is another domintating education system are  British standard called  General Certificate of Education(GCE).The students who are interested in studing abroad then O level is best option for them.

• If yor are studing a british system then after middle you will appear for O level exam.
• The General Certificate of Education(GCE)  is administered by the university of Cambridge, hence is a British Standard education system
• The completion of O levels is considered to be equivalent of completing matric
• In pakistan,O level are usually split into two years,known as O1 and O2
• In some schools it is divided into three years according for the ease of their student.

HSSC(Higher Secondary School Certificate): 

                  The Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) is als known as intermediate.Intermediate is a standard education system in pakistan.Intermadiate prepare students to face their future hardships.

• In intermediate college student complete grades 11 and 12.
• After HSSC students can take admission in any degree level programs in pakistan.
• Intermediate level have many streams that students can choose according to their intrest.
• Each stream consist of three compulsary subjects
• English
• Urdu
• Islamiat (grade 11)
• Pakistan Studies(grade12) 
• And with elective subjects we have different categories
• FSC  (pre - medical)
• The students who want to go for medical field or become a doctor choose pre- medical 
• The combination of elective subjects for pre-medical are                                                               Chemistry, Biology,Physics

• FSC (pre engineering)
• The students who want to go for engineering choose pre-eng
• The combination of elective  subjects for pre-eng are   

                  Chemistry,Mathematics,Physics

• ICS (Intermediate in computer Science)
• The students that are intrested in technology can go in ICS
• There are two groups in ICS

• ICS Stats
• ICS status groups suitable for mathematics lover
• The three elective subjects are Computer,Mathematics,Statistic

• ICS Phy

• ICS phy combination of computer and science subject 
• The three elelctive subjects are     Computer,Mathematics,Physics

• ICOM(Intermediate in Commerce)
• As a business-oriented student you can gain admission in ICOM 
• The combination of elective subjects are

• Business mathematics & statistics
• Principles of Accounting 
• Principles of Commerence 
• Economics

• FA(Faculty of Arts)
• If you are interested in humanities then FA is definitely for you
• There is a variety of elective subjects to choose are

• Civics
• Psychology
• Fine Arts
• Economics
• Homo economics
• Sociology
• After end of each year student  are required to pass a national exam administered by regional Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education
• Upon the completion of these examinations students are awarded the Higher Secondary School Certificate.                                                                                                                                                  

A level(Advance level):

                   A level is an advanced level.Once your O level have been cleared,then you will move on to A level.It is also pre university program.

• The completion of A levels is considered to be equivalent of completing Intermediate level
• A level divided into two years known as
• As level(Advanced Subsidiary)
• A2 level(Advanced level)

• A level is an internationally recognized qualification which offers a wide variety of subjects.

• In order to apply for universities locally,students must convert their GCE examination results into BISE standard results.
• The equivalence process administered by the Inter Board Committee Chairmen(IBCC)

Tertiary Education:

After earning their Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC),students may study in a professional institute for Bachelor's degree.Higher education is an instrument to reduce poverty and boosting shared prosperity.

• Higher education also known as tertiary education, refer to all post secondary education including both public and private sector
• There are two types of Bachelor courses in Pakistan.
• PASS degree  
• pass degree require 2 years of study,but now pass degree phased out for honours throught the country.
• Honors degree
• Honors degree require 4 years of study and students normally specialize in a chosen field according to their intrest.
• There are following feilds after Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) where students can go to keep in view their previous field and their passion.The fields are given bellow

• MBBS
• BDS 
• Pharma D
• BS programs
• LLB
• BBA
• MBA
• ACCA
• CA
• Engineering
• Journalism
• Fashion Designer (etc)

PHD(A Doctor of Philosophy):

                  PHD is a doctoral degree program with a minimum duration of 3 years.PHD is a globally recognized postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and higher education institutions to a candidate who has submitted a thesis based on original and extensive research in their chosen field. 

Goverment of pakistan release a new policy of allowing candidates to take up PhD degree programmes after their BS degree.Following point of new policy are given below

• The minimum requirement for admission to a PhD program shall be completion of the BS(or equivalent degree)
• According to the new policy student can also pursue the degree in another discipline
• The maximum duration of a PhD degree will be eight years
• To get admission in PhD a minimum CGPA of 3.0 out of 4.0 or 1st division in the most recent degree obtained is required  
• If a student has completed an MS/MPhill degree in the same discipline,the university can reduce 50 percent of their required credit hours for the PhD programme.

This is all about the eduaction system in Pakistan.I hope I have cover all important aspects of educational system in Pakistan.