Effectiveness of Educational Policies in Provision of Quality Education for Marginalized Communities in Pakistan

Abstract

This study has been conducted under the Interpretivist paradigm using the Qualitative research approach to explore the effectiveness of Educational Policies in providing quality education for marginalized communities in Pakistan. There were five Education officers from public sector and five Education officers serving in NGO’s at South Punjab sampled purposively for the study. The data were collected with the help of a semi-structured interview protocol comprising 10 questions. The collected data were analyzed with the help of Thematic analysis. Findings reveal a chronic divide between policy and practice owing to systemic bureaucratic lapses, poor monitoring, weak infrastructure, and low accountability. These problems, coupled with policy attempts from 2000 to 2017, specifically target rural and female students. Solving these problems demands greater coordinated action, strategic community mobilization, increased public and private investment and collaboration. The persistent gap in education relative to other social markers for disadvantaged groups will become entrenched without sustained intervention.