2024 Civil Society Spotlight Report on SDG 4: Climate Change Education in Pakistan

Developed with support from ASPBAE, this civil society spotlight report assesses Pakistan’s progress toward SDG 4—inclusive, equitable, quality education for all. With education spending stuck at 1.5% of GDP and Pakistan now ranked among the world’s five most climate-vulnerable countries, the report places particular emphasis on Climate Change Education: how it is being integrated into national policy, law, and curricula, and whether budgets match the rhetoric. It highlights the essential role of civil society in driving climate-resilient education reform where official responses have fallen short.

Key highlights/findings

Pakistan’s out-of-school children rose from 22.8 million to 26.2 million (2021-22, PIE) — the report attributes this partly to population growth outpacing enrolment and weak Right to Education Act implementation.

Public education spending is just 1.5% of GDP and 89% of it goes to recurrent costs like salaries, leaving under 11% for development and almost nothing for climate-resilient infrastructure.

The 2022 floods damaged 17,205 schools (6,225 fully, 10,980 partially per the PDNA) and disrupted education for 2.6 million children, including over a million girls — exposing how climate shocks erode SDG 4 progress.