Devolution of Power: Impact Assessment on Primary Education

Aijaz Ahmed Mahesar

doi:10.31384/jisrmsse/2008.06.1.3

Abstract

Devolution of power in Pakistan had been awaited since long. The old colonial system of governing from the top had failed to deliver and the services at local level had been deteriorating. There was a general feeling that the incapacity of the system to respond to the development needs is due to non-participation of the local community in the decision-making. Education amongst the other services had been affected badly since the inception of the country despite several attempts to formulate, review and implement newer policies at various intervals. It has been hoped that the service delivery will improve with the promulgation of Local Government Ordinance (LGO) 2001, which for the first time introduced a shift of paradigm to manage local government system with active participation of the community. The aim of this study is to explore whether the new governance model has made any positive impact on primary education, which now rests with the local governments. The research for the study is exploratory cum descriptive and qualitative in nature. The primary data has been collected in the field through discussions and interviews of the stakeholders on a pre-set questionnaire. Mostly, the data is qualitative in nature. However, the author has tried to analyze the data through descriptive statistical methods. Pie charts and bar charts have been applied for data interpretation to arrive at the result of the study.

Highlights

Devolution of power in Pakistan had been awaited since long
‘Devolution of power’ in Pakistan saw the dawn of the day on 14th August 2001 with the promulgation of Local Government Ordinances in all the four provinces of Pakistan
Most of them are generally aware about their responsibility to liaise with the district administration to resolve management issues and to supervise the attendance of both teachers and students as well as keep an eye on the enrolment of students, they have yet to work on their other as much important responsibilities like: help improve academic performance, review and provide for the co-curricular activities, generate funds to make the institute self sufficient, and most importantly to prepare annual development plan for the institution

Summary

Introduction

Devolution of power in Pakistan had been awaited since long. The old colonial system of governing from the top had failed to deliver and the services at local level had been deteriorating. Governance was centralized so that decisions about local level planning and development were taken at the higher level, with little reference to local needs and priorities. Devolution in Pakistan follows the principle whereby all functions that can be effectively performed at the local level are transferred to that level. This has meant the decentralization to the districts and Tehsils of many functions previously handled by the provincial governments. Alongside administrative and political decentralization, provisions have been made for transfer of funds to the local governments so that they can carry out their planning and development functions effectively.

Objectives

Results

Conclusion