PPP criticised as Sindh records drop in literacy rate after 16 years of rule

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) faced backlash on social media following the release of the Pakistan Economic Survey 2024–25, which shows a decline in Sindh’s literacy rate, despite the party’s 16-year-long rule in the province.

According to the survey, Sindh’s literacy rate dropped to 57.54% in 2024–25, down from 58% in 2008, when PPP assumed power. Even more alarming is the sharp decline from last year’s rate of 61.6%, representing a fall of over 4 percentage points in just one year, signaling a deteriorating trend in education.

In a recent article, author and former head of Citigroup’s emerging markets investments, Yousuf Nazar criticised the province’s declining education standards, arguing that while PPP continues to make ambitious claims about progress in literacy and development, the ground reality paints a very different picture.

Meanwhile, Punjab's literacy rate increased substantially , from 60% in 2008 to 74% in 2024. In contrast, Sindh lags behind in gross enrolment ratio as well, standing at 78%, compared to Punjab’s 95%.

The crisis is further underlined by the rising number of out-of-school children in Sindh. The province accounts for 7.2 million of Pakistan’s 20.3 million out-of-school children, up from 6.7 million, with 56% of them being girls.

Despite an increase in Sindh’s education budget, from Rs111 billion in 2012–13 to RS405 billion in 2024–25, education spending still makes up just 2.8% of the GDP, far below UNESCO’s recommended minimum of 4%.

The current literacy rate in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stands at 51.09%, while Balochistan lags further behind at 42.01%.

Sindh Education Failures: When PPP took office in 2008, Sindh’s literacy was about 58%—69% for males, 45% for females. The Pakistan Economic Survey 2024-25 reports Sindh’s literacy rate at 57.54% https://t.co/dLQdWPALoC

— Yousuf Nazar (@YousufNazar) June 25, 2025

Corrupt to the core: lowering Sindh’s already criminally low literacy rate means no progress can be made at all. A party of bandits and thugs has nothing to show for its politics https://t.co/IxqcOWXz8T

— fatima bhutto 🇵🇸🇱🇧 (@fbhutto) June 26, 2025

Even India's poorest state of Bihar has a literacy rate of 74% compared to Sindh's 57.5% @MiftahIsmail https://t.co/RTJjNAdGOG

— Yousuf Nazar (@YousufNazar) June 26, 2025

Economic Survey literacy rate, 2013:
Punjab: 62%
Sindh: 60%
KPK: 52%

Economic Survey 2024-25:
Punjab: 72%
Sindh: 58%
KPK: 51%

Three provinces lead by three different parties - three different stories.

— Junaid Sahi (@Junaid_Sahi) June 26, 2025

Two stories from Pakistan this week:

-Literacy rate in Sindh under PPP down from 58% in 2008 to 57% today

-Forced eviction of farmers in Gujranwala to build DHA

World is competing in technology, while Pakistan is wasting resources due to incompetence & land mafia. Shameful!

— Ammar Ali Jan (@ammaralijan) June 26, 2025

This is the data on Sindh's literacy rate from 1990 to 2025: Punjab has improved a lot compared to Sindh. In 24 & 25, Sindh's literacy rate has decreased significantly — Alarming: As a result, 1.7 million children are out of school which is a matter of concern @BBhuttoZardari pic.twitter.com/PFhOmW4Ur0

— Azad | آزاد (@AzadAli7786) June 27, 2025