In anticipation of a forthcoming assignment, I recently attended “What’s Next for Education Reforms in Punjab”.  This event was hosted by the Centre for Global Development in London.  

Speakers from the #Punjab #School #Education #Department, #DFID, and The Citizens Foundation (#TCF) shared experiences and views on Punjab’s fast-paced and ambitious education reforms.

I have published a full report on my Linkedin page, and present a summary of the key points below:

• Pace of Change: Last year the Economist described Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous state, as “home to the most frenetic education reforms in the world, trying to make up for generations of neglect”.  
• The infrastructure gap: it is estimated that 80,000 new schools are needed in Pakistan.  Many existing buildings are crumbling and overflowing.
• Data is king: Pakistan has diligently gathered data on education for many years.  There is scope to use data more effectively as the evidence base for policy-making. 
• Quantity and Quality: there was much discussion about initiatives to improve teaching, the curriculum and assessment. Whilst Pakistan is making good progress at reducing poverty, improvements in human capital are falling behind some of its neighbours.
• Public and private alignment: the concept of the mission-aligned cooperation between the public and private sectors was discussed extensively. 

I would like to thank event organisers at Centre for Global Development, and the speakers for such an interesting discussion.

Full report at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/education-reforms-punjab-center-global-development-event-finnigan/