Special and Inclusive

Education in Pakistan

Provinces / Administrative Units Land Area

Administrati Total & Population
% of
Populatio % of
ve
Region/Provi
nce
Balochistan
Punjab
Sindh

Area in
km

Pakistan
Land
Area

Pakistan
Populatio
n
4.8 %
53.7 %
22.2 %

8%

6.6 Million
80 Million
30.4
Million
17.7
Million
1.5 Million

Khyber
Pakhtunhwa
Gilgit
Baltistan
(FANA)
FATA
Azad
Kashmir

74,521

8.5 %

72,971

27,220
13,297

3.1 %
1.5 %

3.5 Million 2.3 %

4.6 Million 2.5 %

347,190 43.6%
205,344 23.3 %
140,914 16 %

12.9%
1.5%

including Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Salamanca

Declaration. The Current Policy framework The National Policy for
Persons with Disabilities (2002) & National Plan of Action (2004) reflect
international commitments. The National Policy for Persons with
Disabilities (2002) stresses the following vision:
To provide, by 2025, an environment that would allow full
realization of the
potential of persons with disabilities through their inclusive
mainstreaming and
providing them full support of the government, private sector and
civil society
Education is Provincial Subject since 18th amendment to the
constitution in 2008.
Very low public expenditure on education. Punjab spends only 1.5 % of
its total budget on education.
Lowest Literacy Rate with high gender disparity in the region; currently
60%
School Infrastructure is very Poor. Balochistan- Punjab
The school systems are segregated under two different ministries.
Regular schools are controlled by Ministry of education and Special
schools by Ministry of social Welfare.
Slide
Teaching methods are focused on enhancing literacy and numeracy
of
11
individual child. System favours rote learning and frontal teaching.

Expenditure on Education Punjab

Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) & Literacy Rate

Punjab

Slide 4

Infrastructure of Public Schools

Balochistan

Infrastructure of Public Schools

Balochistan

Infrastructure of Public Schools Punjab

Infrastructure of Public Schools Punjab

Slide 4

Slide
13

National Policy for Persons with Disabilities

(2002)
Ensures they are involved in planning and implementing
educational, training and
rehabilitation programmes for themselves, their families and
communities;
Ensures that they are able to enjoy their rights and opportunities as
other citizens do;
Ensures that they have equal opportunities and access to medical,
education, social,
psychological, vocational training, employment and rehabilitation,
without any discrimination;
Ensures that the legislation relating to employment and
rehabilitation of persons with
disabilities is adequately formulated and is strictly enforced;
Expands service infrastructure which is adequate to accommodate
and cover all persons with
Slide
disabilities both in urban and rural areas;
4

Some Basic Data About Persons with

Disabilities
1998 Population Census
Total number of persons with disabilities: 2.49 % nearly 3.2
million
Number of females: 1.37 million females
Number of males: 1.99 million
Number of below age 14: 37.2% nearly 1.19 million
Total enrolled in special schools: 2.4 % nearly 28560 (Bureau of
Statistics,
1998).
World Health Organization
10 % 10.6 million
World Bank Data 2005
Only 28% of persons with disabilities are literate,
14 % of persons with disabilities are employed,
70 % are reliant on family members for financial support

Number of Institutions; Enrolment and

Teachers for the Disabled
Enrollment

Teachers

Level of
Education

#of
Institutions

Boys

Girls

Total

Pre-Primary

1349

660

2009

Primary

26

1086

581

1667

Middle

15

290

165

455

High
Higher
Secondary
Total

83

50

133

2
51

16
15
2824 1471

31
4295

Femal
Male
e
Total

155

192

347

Number of Centers for the Disabled by Provinces

Hearing
Impairm
Location ent
Punjab
5
Sindh
2
NWFP
2
Balochista
n
1
Islamabad 1
AJK
1
FANA
1
TOTAL
13

Mental
Retardat
ion
5
2
3

Visual
Impairm
ent
5
3
2

Physically
Handicapp
ed
5
3
3

Total
20
10
10

1
1
0
0
12

0
1
0
0
11

2
1
1
0
15

4
4
2
1
51

Inclusive Education- Debates

The opponents of inclusive education argue that:
Inclusive education is a product of particular social processes
rooted in Western context and might not be a good idea for a
country like Pakistan having its own social and cultural tradition
and needs and limitations.
No one knows what inclusion means at theory and practice level.
In the absence of clearly established sets of practices it might
confuse teachers who already are not well trained and are poorly
equipped.
The current institutional infrastructure and countrys economy
does not have the capacity for inclusion and there are no resources
available for improvement.
Majority of teachers, administrators, professionals and parents do
not know about inclusive education. Those who know are uncertain
of its impact on schools and children

Inclusive Education- Debates

The proponents of inclusive education believe that:
The government's goal of Education For All cannot be achieved
without inclusion of 10 % of children with disabilities.
Disabled children living in institutions are particularly vulnerable
to neglect, and to physical and sexual abuse.
It is more expensive to set up special schools than to train
existing teachers, and provide learning aids for children with
disabilities in regular schools.
Construction of ramps and classroom re arrangement can be
accomplished within limited budgets.

Way Forward
Increase in public expenditure on education on emergency basis. At least 10% of the
GDP.
Improve coordination between of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social
Welfare and Special Education with the ultimate aim of shifting the portfolio of education
of children with disabilities and other marginalized groups to the Ministry of Education.
National sample surveys should provide a comprehensive database on the magnitude
and educational status of children with disabilities in terms of types of disability, age, sex,
location, etc. Care should be taken to involve trained personnel in data collection.
Departments of special education at university level should be assigned the task of
training teachers working in regular schools through short training courses and
workshops.
School organization reforms, so that schools could accommodate a wider range of
students
Curricular reforms- The current curricula promotes only rote learning and crude
summative assessments.
Orientation and awareness programmes for teachers and parents