Education In Karachi
(Ata Rehman Zaki, Karachi)
Education in Karachi, Pakistan,
is divided into five levels: primary (grades one through five); middle (grades
six through eight); high (grades nine and ten, leading to the Secondary School
Certificate); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a Higher
Secondary School Certificate); and university programs leading to graduate and
advanced degrees.
Karachi has both public and private educational institutions from primary to
university level. Most educational institutions are gender based from primary to
university level.
All academic education institutions are the responsibility of the provincial
governments. The federal government mostly assists in curriculum development,
accreditation and some financing of research.
Pre-school
A child may begin his/her schooling at a pre-school at the age of 3. Over the
last few years, many new kindergarten (sometimes called montessori) schools have
also sprung up in Karachi. Usually pre-school Muslim children get Islamic
education of Quran and Hadis at home or local Masjid or Madrasahs.
Primary Education
There are many private and public schools in Karachi.
Secondary Education
There are many secondary schools in Karachi. The City School has a wide variety
of branches of Secondary Education in North Nazimabad, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, PECHS,
PAF Chapter, Clifton and Darakshah.
Higher Secondary Education
There are many schools in Karachi that are geared towards higher secondary
education. There are three schools where the elite of Karachi send their
children to, Karachi American School, Karachi Grammar School and Bay View
Academy. Since, Bay View Academy only consists of classes up to O-Levels the
students gain admission into either Karachi Grammar School, Bay View High
School, The Lyceum School or Southshore, the latter of the two are only A-Level
institutions.
Colleges & Universities
Most universities of Karachi are considered to be amongst the premier
educational institutions of Pakistan. For 2004-05, the city's literacy rate was
estimated at 65.26%, 3rd Highest in Pakistan after Islamabad & Rawalpindi,[1]
with a GER of 111%, highest in Sindh[2].