Access to Quality Education at the Midpoint of the Sustainable Development Goals: Progress, Gaps, and Challenges

Nasir Ahmad^1*Thabet Bin Saeed Al-Kahlan²Mohamad Ahmad Khasawneh²Sajjad Hussain¹Nasir Shaheen¹

• ¹University of Swat, Swat, Pakistan
• ²King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia

The study investigated Pakistan’s education outcome at the midpoint of Sustainable Development Goals with the focus on access, retention, gender parity and progression. The study used secondary data from Pakistan Education Statistics 2015-16 and 2022-23. Descriptive comparative analyses were conducted to capture disparities in four key indicators: Out-of-school children, Gender Parity Index, Survival rate to Grade 5, and Effective Transition Rate to Grade 10. The study reveals measurable decline in access to education at the primary level reflected in the raised of Out-of-school children, and uneven increased in access to education at the secondary level warrants cautious interpretation. It also found that gender parity improved slightly at primary level and to, a great extent at secondary level, though equal enrollments opportunities does not imply equal capabilities. The overall gender and regional disparities indicate the gap between equitable provision of educational capabilities and policy commitments relevant to SDGs 4,5 and 10. The study recommended the need for equity driven reforms and targeted investment to strengthen access to quality education at the core of planning and implementation by aligning them with the targets set by sustainable development goals.