Budgeting for Equality: Why Pakistan’s Education Budget Must Prioritize Girls

The upcoming education budget presents a crucial opportunity for Pakistan to translate its commitments on gender equality into tangible action. For a country with over 13.7 million girls out of school, a gender-responsive approach to education financing is not just necessary—it is urgent. This article presents a gender analysis of education budgets at the federal level and in Punjab and Sindh, and offers key recommendations to ensure that public investments in education serve both girls and boys equitably.

The Methodology

This analysis is grounded in a documentary review of the federal and provincial budgets (Punjab and Sindh), including the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), Annual Development Plans (ADPs), Medium-Term Budgetary Frameworks (MTBF), and Demands for Grants. Data was also reviewed from the Accountant General of Pakistan, alongside sectoral reports and relevant research publications. Wherever available, comparisons were drawn across primary, middle, high, and higher secondary education levels.

Key Findings

1. Girls Remain Disadvantaged in Access and Budget Allocation

Despite Pakistan’s stated policy goals around gender equality, education budgets continue to reflect a systemic bias in favour of boys’ schools. The overall out-of-school rate for girls stands at 41.5%, compared to 34.9% for boys. Alarmingly, 13.71 million girls are out of school from primary to higher secondary levels, highlighting the urgent need for targeted interventions.

2. Development vs. Current Expenditures

Across federal and provincial budgets, current expenditures (mainly salaries) dominate the education sector, leaving limited fiscal space for development activities such as infrastructure, missing facilities, and new school construction. While both types of expenditure are essential, development spending often includes investments that benefit girls directly—such as boundary walls, sanitation, or transportation services.

In both Punjab and Sindh, it was observed that detailed data on development vs. current expenditures disaggregated by gender is limited or inconsistently reported. Where available, girls’ schools were found to be underfunded in terms of operating and development budgets, especially at post-primary levels.

3. Drop in Girls’ Enrollment with Education Progression

In Punjab and Sindh, enrollment of girls drops significantly at each educational level. For example, from 9.44 million girls in primary school, enrollment decreases to 3.79 million in middle, 1.84 million in high, and just 1.09 million in higher secondary schools. The budget does not appear to be responding proportionately to this drop in participation.

4. Infrastructure Gaps in Girls’ Schools

School-specific budgets show a significant gap in repair, maintenance, and utilities for girls’ schools. For instance, Punjab’s ADP 2024–25 indicates many girls’ schools are still missing critical facilities like toilets, clean drinking water, and safe classrooms. Meanwhile, co-education facilities rarely specify gender-segregated budgets, making it difficult to assess how much is spent on girls’ needs within shared schools.

5. Vocational and Skills Development Remain Limited for Girls

While the federal Medium-Term Performance-Based Budget (MTPBB) mentions female enrollment in vocational fields such as commerce, IT, and dress design, the actual allocations for these programs remain modest and scattered. Moreover, girls’ access to polytechnic or technical institutes is still far from equitable.

Challenges in Gender-Responsive Budgeting

Although Pakistan has initiated discussions around gender-responsive budgeting (GRB), implementation remains fragmented. Key challenges include:

• Lack of disaggregated data: Most budgets do not report gender-specific allocations in a standardized way.
• Limited integration of gender analysis into the budget planning process.
• Insufficient monitoring of how funds impact girls’ education outcomes.
• No institutionalized GRB frameworks in provincial finance departments.

Pakistan’s First Gender-Tagged Budget: Progress and Contradictions

Pakistan’s introduction of gender tagging in the national budget is a welcome and progressive step, signaling a commitment to address gender disparities through targeted investments. However, a closer look at the 2025–26 budget reveals a concerning contradiction. The allocation for ‘Equality and Quality of Education’—a critical area for girls’ empowerment—has been reduced from Rs. 27.2 billion in 2024–25 to Rs. 22.9 billion in 2025–26. This nearly 16% cut undermines the very objective of gender-responsive budgeting. If we are to truly accelerate action for gender equality, such reductions must be reconsidered. Symbolic advancements must be matched with substantive and sustained financial commitments, especially in education, where the returns for girls, families, and the nation are profound.

Recommendations

1. Mandate Gender-Disaggregated Reporting
   All federal and provincial education budgets should clearly report allocations and expenditures by gender.
2. Prioritize Development Budgets for Girls’ Schools
   Allocate a higher share of development budgets to address missing facilities in girls’ schools, particularly at the middle and secondary levels.
3. Invest in Non-Salary Components
   Increase funding for transportation, stipends, female teacher recruitment, safety measures, and menstrual hygiene—all critical to retaining girls in school.
4. Support Gender-Responsive Budgeting Frameworks
   Equip provincial planning and finance departments with tools and training to apply GRB at all levels of education planning.
5. Monitor and Evaluate Impact
   Introduce gender-sensitive indicators in education sector plans and ensure regular monitoring and course correction.

Conclusion

Education financing is more than a fiscal exercise—it is a moral commitment. If Pakistan is to meet its constitutional and international obligations, it must put girls at the centre of education planning and budgeting. The upcoming budget is a critical test of that commitment. Investing in girls is not only about equality, it’s about the future of Pakistan’s economy, health, and stability. The time to act is now.