Education is the key to transforming a society and this book is particularly pertinent because of the use and misuse of education in Pakistan. The contributors support efforts at widening access to formal education but recognize that education has consequences and that while some, perhaps most, are beneficial, others can be highly damaging. Thus, while literacy in Pakistan has slowly but steadily improved, there has been a corresponding increase in social fragmentation and dissatisfaction. To illustrate their viewpoints, the contributors examine the profound impact of General Zias Islamization programmes in the 1980s, which continue to shape the scope of what is possible within formal education. The authors also examine the wide rift between the various state-funded and private schooling opportunities. State-funded education currently lags behind the UN Millennium Development Goals and this inadequate provision has left a vacuum for other groups to move in and introduce rival agendas.

All of the contributions focus on particular aspects of education across Pakistan. They identify a number of the issues involved in providing high quality mass education, including the language of instruction, source of financing, nationalist and religious agendas embedded within the curricula, gender role expectations, and historical legacies which have shaped the educational environment. Nestled in amongst the complex issues are examples of high quality education and dedicated educationalists who achieve daily miracles. Thus, this volume portrays a range of views on how education in Pakistan is, what it could be, and perhaps most importantly what it ought to be.