KPK only province so far to slash budget for education

In the recently unveiled budget for the year 2016 – 2017, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has allocated a budget of Rs. 11 billion 520 million. This figure is 31% less than what was allocated last year.

According to Dawn, In the year 2015 – 2016, most expenditure targets set in the budget were achieved, however, education suffered a shortfall of 46%. Based on last year’s experience and the current revenue expenditure, the coming year’s education target has been brought down by 31%. This makes KPK the only province so far to have reduced the budget allocated to education. But this does not mean the government is not interested in education related projects.

Rs. 12 billion 450 million have been reserved for primary and secondary education in the province. The provincial government has also decided to build 100 primary and 100 secondary schools in the coming year. During the budget presentation, a recommendation was given to turn 100 madaris into primary schools. Like the Punjab government, KPK is also focusing on education for children with special needs. In this regards, Rs. 1 billion 690 million has been reserved for special education.

Furthermore, KPK government has reserved Rs. 1 billion 970 million for Human Resource and Technical Education. 200 smart schools and 500 new Information Technology (IT) laboratories are to be constructed in secondary schools.

The budget of Science and IT also saw a reduction with only 690 million allocated for the year 2016 – 2017. Rs. 567 million of which has been allocated to 26 ongoing projects with Rs. 43 million reserved for 6 new projects. The government also plans to install open WiFi in public places and universities, promotion of academic research and a culture of science among the youth, development and innovation, and a portal for IT scholarships.