Not the right questions

Pakistan's recent budget season concluded without the productive conversations needed to address inter-governmental development priorities and structural reforms. Such opportunities for meaningful dialogue are rare, with the last significant public discussion occurring months ago following the KP chief minister's visits to Lahore and Karachi.

While a brief period saw discourse on governance and performance between Pakistan's provinces, the focus quickly shifted away from substantive issues. Policymakers, elected officials, and media figures often fail to ask or address the right questions, particularly during budget deliberations. This year was no exception, with discussions on education largely centering on the inauguration of new university buildings.

The article highlights the neglect of elementary and secondary education, despite constitutional mandates. Instead of focusing on improving literacy rates, reducing the number of out-of-school children, or enhancing primary and secondary education funding, the discourse favors expensive higher education infrastructure. Similarly, healthcare discussions concentrate on inaugurating large hospitals, overlooking the critical need for basic healthcare and public health efforts to address preventable deaths.

This misplaced focus on superficial achievements, such as building new facilities, distracts from assessing genuine progress in key areas like graduate employment, academic research, university affordability, and public university rankings. The author argues that such a narrow approach allows for governmental lethargy and fails to challenge policymakers to improve performance in crucial sectors.