Oxfam has been working in Pakistan since 1973 and is striving to address the key issues described above through different projects and programmes. It is currently implementing a specific programme on education, which aims to improve the Government policy environment, budget allocations and expenditure at national, provincial and district levels on education to ensure greater access and better quality of education for girls in Pakistan.
The programme is made up of a number of projects which address the issues of poor educational attainment – especially amongst girls – high pupil-teacher ratios, lack of appropriate facilities and other basic amenities, quality education both in terms of curricula and teaching, strengthening governance and accountability systems in education, and mobilising wider civil society organisations to demand accessible and quality education for girls in four provinces of Pakistan. Along with donors and implementing partners, Oxfam is taking an integrated approach to programming to tackle the range of issues that contribute to low literacy rates and low attendance and retention of girls in education.