Pakistan Needs Urgent, Scalable Solutions to Education Crisis: Teach the World Foundation President
News Lead: Teach the World Foundation President Arshad Anis has called for urgent public-private partnerships and technology-driven learning initiatives to tackle Pakistan’s out-of-school children crisis, saying conventional schooling alone cannot meet the scale of the challenge.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan needs innovative and affordable education models to reach millions of children who remain outside the formal schooling system, according to Arshad Anis, president of Teach the World Foundation (TTWF).
Anis, who also became chairman of The Searle Company Limited in January 2026, said the country’s longstanding failure to prioritise education had developed into a national challenge with serious social and economic implications.
He stressed that the scale of the problem required immediate action alongside conventional efforts to expand schools and educational infrastructure.
According to figures cited by Anis, Pakistan has more than 26 million out-of-school children, making it essential to develop alternative learning arrangements that can reach underserved communities without requiring extensive infrastructure.
Digital MicroSchools Offer Alternative Learning Model
TTWF is promoting Digital MicroSchools that use tablets, interactive educational content and locally recruited facilitators to provide foundational literacy and numeracy skills.
The initiative operates through small, community-based learning facilities, with women from surrounding areas serving as facilitators. The approach is intended to encourage local participation while creating learning opportunities for children who cannot easily access conventional schools.
Anis said the model also uses solar power to support learning activities in communities where electricity, internet access and other infrastructure may be limited.
He argued that such approaches could help bridge the education gap while governments and other organisations continue investing in formal schools and teaching facilities.
More Than 25,000 Children Enrolled
Anis said more than 25,000 children were studying in TTWF’s MicroSchools, with enrolment continuing to increase.
He added that approximately 6,000 students had transitioned from the foundation’s learning centres to secondary schools over the preceding 18 months. Students who had exceeded the age limit for secondary-school admission had pursued vocational training or apprenticeships, according to him.
The foundation is also working on a system to monitor students’ educational progress after they leave its programmes, in addition to the learning assessments already conducted at graduation.
Government and Private Sector Partnerships
Anis described collaboration between the public and private sectors as essential to expanding alternative education models nationwide.
He said TTWF had established approximately 250 MicroSchools in partnership with the Sindh Education Foundation, a government-linked organisation in Sindh. A further 300 schools were expected to be established over the following 12 months, according to his account.
The foundation is also seeking private-sector partnerships to extend the initiative to other parts of Pakistan.
Anis maintained that the country’s education challenge could not be addressed by any single institution or sector. He called for coordinated action to bring children into learning environments and provide them with essential literacy skills.
Technology and Community Participation
The TTWF president said technology-enabled learning could be particularly useful in remote and disadvantaged areas where constructing schools and recruiting sufficient numbers of trained teachers posed difficulties.
He argued that education providers needed to complement infrastructure development with flexible solutions capable of reaching children immediately, rather than waiting for conventional facilities to become available.
Looking ahead, the foundation aims to expand its learning network, upgrade its technology and establish training centres across Pakistan. Anis said its immediate priority was to ensure that out-of-school children gained access to learning opportunities and foundational literacy.
He emphasised that addressing the challenge required urgent national attention, effective partnerships and education models that could be expanded sustainably.
Source and Verification Notes
- Original source: Business Recorder, BR Research — interview with Arshad Anis, President of Teach the World Foundation.
