Universalization of Primary Education: Primary Education in Education Policies and Developing a Strategy for Universalization of Primary Education in Pakistan

The purpose of the study was to examine the status of primary education and aims to develop a strategy for universalization of primary education in Pakistan. All education policies, district level educational managers and primary school teachers comprised population for this study. Forty educational managers and 160 primary school teachers were randomly selected as a sample. Questionnaire was developed and administered to teachers, while educational managers were interviewed. Documentary analysis of the educational documents shows that UPE was the central objective of all education policies since 1947, but due to inconsistency in educational policies and poor financial mechanism, UPE target is still to be achieved. The findings of the study reveal that poverty of the parents, unawareness of the parents, scarcity of funds, political intervention, lack of commitment of the teachers, teachers? absenteeism, non-availability of trained female staff, accommodation of female teachers and poor curricula are the major constraints to universalization of primary education.