Taking Action: Implementing Education Reform in Pakistan

Last year, the government of Pakistan with the support of the United Kingdom and United States established the Pakistan Education Task Force to improve access and quality in Pakistan’s schools. The creation of the task force signaled a renewed commitment by Pakistan’s government to deliver on policy pledges and to be accountable for achieving much-needed reform in the country’s education system. However, with the devastating July floods in Pakistan leaving almost one-fifth of the country underwater and destroying some 5,000 schools, has the momentum and progress on education reform been stalled for good?

On November 4, the Center for Universal Education at Brookings will host a discussion of education in Pakistan, focusing on the obstacles and prospects for reform since the summer’s devastating floods. Having returned from a recent visit to Pakistan, Sir Michael Barber, co-chair of the Pakistan Education Task Force, will offer a real-time assessment of the progress of education reform in the country. Teresita Schaffer, director of the South Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Brookings Senior Fellow Rebecca Winthrop, director of the Center for Universal Education, will provide responses based on their extensive work and expertise in the region.

Steve Inskeep, host of NPR’s Morning Edition, will provide introductory remarks and moderate the discussion. After the program, the panelists will take audience questions