Speaking at a policy roundtable, the minister stated that strengthening the capabilities of policymakers through deep analysis is crucial for solving the education crisis. She said her ministry is committed to reducing the school dropout rate, especially for young girls, by using effective new tools. The roundtable was convened by the Data and Research in Education-Research Consortium (DARE-RC) to align its research with Balochistan’s education policies.
Provincial Education Minister Highlights Lack of Data to Tackle the Issue
The minister, Ms. Durrani, said, “I am grateful to DARE-RC for approaching us, and we hope that DARE-RC’s work will help us achieve our goals.” The event brought together representatives from government, academia, and development partners to discuss emerging evidence and integrate research insights into provincial priorities.
The consortium is a partnership between Oxford Policy Management (OPM), Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED), and Sightsavers, with funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Throughout the discussions, policymakers and researchers emphasized the critical need to build a practice of data utilization within the education sector to improve access and quality of learning for all children. Salim Salamah, an education policy adviser at the British High Commission, said a bridge is needed between research and reform. He noted that there is a lot of important and interesting research being done by brilliant Pakistani academics and dedicated policymakers are working to advance critical reforms, especially for out-of-school children.
Balochistan School Education Department Secretary Asfandyar Khan Kakar said such dialogues are essential to connect government work with academic insights. He added, “Research isn’t generally encouraged in the public sector, and this gap between academia and government needs to be bridged with the help of such dialogues.” The consortium’s program director, Saima Anwer, said the organization’s mission is to make academic work more relevant to officials on the ground. She said, “The spirit of DARE-RC is to bridge the gap between research and policymaking so that the research being carried out in universities is relevant to the government’s work.”
