Education Resilience in Pakistan: A Primer

Pakistan’s education system faces constant disruption from natural disasters, political instability, and socio-economic shocks. This primer makes the case for resilience: not just repairing damage after each crisis, but building schools, communities, and systems that can adapt, recover, and keep functioning through adversity. Drawing on the lessons of the 2022 floods—which destroyed school buildings and interrupted learning for millions—it sets out why resilience must become a core design principle of Pakistan’s education planning.

Key highlights/findings

27,000 schools were damaged in the 2022 floods and by mid-2024, most still hadn’t been repaired.

Girls face a double blow in disasters: they’re more likely to drop out and less likely to access online learning alternatives.

Pakistan used only 29% of the donor funds pledged after the 2022 floods, a coordination and bureaucracy problem, not a funding one.

Only 34% of households have digital access, making remote learning an unrealistic backup for most children during crises.