Tabadlab hosts Islahati Jaiza on education reforms

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Islahati Jaiza is the latest series from the think tank Tabadlab, focusing on past reforms from across Pakistan, in education, health, gender, social protection, and other key sectors.

As the country grapples with poly-crisis, the Islahati Jaiza series aims to understand how reforms have been attempted in the past, and what their impact has been.

By understanding the successes and shortfalls of these policies, programs, and institutions, the series aims to inform a clearer path for reform in Pakistan. The inaugural episode focuses on the past two decades of education policy in Punjab, since the introduction of a critical reform agenda in 2002. The panel – consisting of education expert Umbreen Arif, Malala Fund Program Director Javed Ahmed Malik, and World Bank Senior Education Expert Izza Farrakh – attributes the momentum of education reform in Punjab to a timely alignment between bureaucrats, political leaders, and sources of bilateral and multilateral financing.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic and the controversial Single National Curriculum distracted policymakers from substantive progress. This episode emphasises the need to bring learning to the centre of education reform, addressing the question: What should be retained from past reform efforts, and what should policymakers prioritise now?

The series pivots its focus to health for its second episode, with panellists Dr Razia Safdar, Dr Zulfiqar Bhutta, and Dr Zafar Mirza, and pays particular attention to the Sehat Sahulat Program piloted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The panel indicates that the increased autonomy in financial allocation and decision-making afforded to the provinces following the 18th Amendment greatly contributed to the development and implementation of the SSP.

As the episode looks to the future of health reform in Pakistan, it emphasises the power of data, and the importance of continuity for future success, reminding viewers that the SSP was built on the foundations of the Lady Health Worker Program. Pakistan is in urgent need of a comprehensive reform agenda to address its longstanding challenges and meet the needs of the future amidst shifting technologies and the ever-growing threat of climate change.

Tabadlab’s Islahati Jaiza is a timely intervention in the policy conversations of the present, drawing lessons from the past to inform future policy. To learn more about the country’s policy challenges and potential solutions, watch the series on Tabadlab’s YouTube.