Pakistan
Why are we here?
Pakistan has a massive education crisis. 26.8 million children are out of school primarily due to a shortage of teachers and schools. With the current population growth, the number of out-of-school children is forecasted to exceed 40 million by 2030.
At the same time, 50% of 6th graders fail the 2nd grade test, and there is little to no accountability for student teacher outcomes. The literacy rate is very low, with 40% of the population unable to read, write or do math.
This has a devastating impact on the country’s progress and all aspects of the life of its 252 million citizens—from income to health, to crime, to social wellbeing.
Our objective in Pakistan is to deploy solutions that enable anyone to read, write and do math at the 5th grade level. Overall, our aspiration is to eradicate illiteracy, reduce the number of out-of-school children, and improve the quality and accountability of schools. Based on significant experience over the last seven years, we believe our digital learning solutions can do so very effectively.
What we’re doing
We are dealing with a massive problem which will require all three of our solutions: MicroSchools for the out-of-school population, InSchool programs to improve quality in existing schools, and our AtHome program with smartphones, in areas where the other two programs are not feasible.
The MicroSchool and InSchool programs are going very well, thanks to a breakthrough program with the Sindh Educational Foundation supported by the Sindh Government. Under this program we are launching 100 MicroSchools and 25 InSchool programs. By December 2024, all these schools will be launched in Sindh’s major cities—Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur and Larkana.
Many of our Microschools are being sponsored by Corporate Pakistan or by individuals. We also have an InSchool program with CARE Foundation at 4 schools in Lahore.
Where we are today
Given the scale of the education crisis in Pakistan, we believe we must operate in a crisis mode. Our programs are designed to scale as rapidly as possible.
With the Sindh Education Foundation, we will be launching 200-300 MicroSchools in 2025 – 27 all over the province. We will also expand our CSR/ESG funded programs very significantly. Subject to funding, we will also launch many more InSchool programs with CARE Foundation as well as others.
We will also continue to pilot the AtHome program on smartphones; we plan to develop a highly scalable prototype in 2025 – 26.
111
MicroSchool programs
33
InSchool programs
13,500+
total students enrolled