126
Figure 3.3.1: Distribution of Institutions by Sector (2015-16)
Source: Pakistan Education Statistics 2015-16
There is now a vibrant evidence base within Pakistan that showcases some key findings about
the ‘explosion’ of private provision within the country. There is now evidence that indicates that
many poor parents are willing to pay for private schooling. Even in environments where parents
are poor and where they can access free government schooling, the evidence appears to suggest
that they are willing to pay for private schooling. Other factors, such as reduced distance to
school through accessing private schools also play an important role. A recent paper from rural
Pakistan (Carneiro, Das and Reis, 2016.) strongly corroborates this finding. Parental willingness
to pay for private schooling for girls also stems from the predominant female teachers that are
typically found in these schools. The authors of the aforementioned study, for example, find that
the elasticity of demand with respect to female teachers is positive for girls and negative for
boys and on average girls’ parents are willing to pay an additional $2.8/year for an increase of
10 percentage points in the proportion of female teachers in the school, which corresponds to
about 20% of average annual school fees in a private school (p. 30). This, the authors note, is a
large amount and ‘is consistent with the fact that the average proportion of female teachers is
close to 90% in schools attended by girls.’ (p. 31). Proximity of private schools, a conducive
environment for female students, a client-focused business approach, better learning outcomes
and parental preferences for fee-paying schools have also been cited as contributing to low cost
private schools’ competitive advantage according to a recent study in Pakistan (ILM IDEAS,
2014).
There is also evidence to indicate that students in ‘private’ schools typically perform as well as
students in the state sector (if not marginally better) and they do so at significantly lower per-
pupil costs (Aslam 2009, Ashley-Day et al. 2014, Aslam 2016). However, whilst private schools
show better learning outcomes than state schools, many children are not learning regardless of
the type of school they are attending, suggesting that problems of quality are endemic (Alcott
and Rose, 2015). The ability of private schools to provide similar (and sometimes better) quality
education as state counterparts at a significantly lower cost stems from their ability to attract a
pool of arguably less-qualified teachers who are paid a fraction of the salaries paid to
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90%
Primary Middle High Higher Sec.
Percentage
Institutions
Public Private