By Yousuf Ibnul Hasan
Pakistan is a developing country with limited resources and enormous educational challenges. Yet, over the years, we have developed an education culture in which foreign examination systems are often perceived as inherently superior to our own national qualifications.
O Level and A Level education have increasingly become symbols of status, privilege and educational distinction. But Pakistan must ask itself a fundamental question: Why should a Pakistani family spend substantially more on a foreign examination system when, for admission to Pakistani universities, those qualifications ultimately have to be converted into equivalents of Matriculation and Intermediate?
This is not an argument against O Level or A Level students. They work hard, and many receive an excellent education. Nor should parents be criticised for choosing the system they believe offers the best opportunities for their children.
The real question is about cost, fairness, national priorities and opportunity. In a country where millions of children still struggle to obtain even basic education, can Pakistan afford to allow quality education to become increasingly associated with expensive foreign qualifications?
The High Cost of Educational Prestige
O Level and A Level education can be considerably more expensive than the conventional Matriculation and Intermediate system. Families may have to bear higher school fees, examination charges, textbooks, transportation expenses, private tuition and other educational costs.
For many middle-class families, educating even one child through this system can consume a significant portion of household income. Parents often make these sacrifices because they genuinely believe that an international qualification will provide their children with a better future.
That belief deserves to be examinednot because international qualifications have no value, but because Pakistan should be capable of providing high-quality education without making families pay a premium for educational prestige.
There is also a foreign-exchange dimension that warrants serious study. It would be inaccurate to suggest that every rupee spent on O and A Levels leaves Pakistan. Schools employ Pakistani teachers, operate in Pakistani buildings and purchase many goods and services locally.
However, international examination fees, curriculum-related services and certain imported educational materials may involve foreign-exchange payments. Pakistan should therefore conduct an independent annual assessment of the total expenditure associated with O/A Level education and determine what proportion, if any, represents an actual outflow of foreign exchange.
Good policymaking requires facts, not assumptions.
The Equivalence Question
Perhaps the most important issue is the relationship between foreign qualifications and Pakistan’s university admission system.
O Level qualifications are assessed for equivalence with Matriculation, while A Level qualifications are assessed for equivalence with Intermediate or FA/FSc for various admission and educational purposes.
This creates an unusual situation.
A student may spend years studying an international curriculum, pay substantially higher school and examination fees, work extremely hard to achieve excellent grades and then enter a university admission system in which those qualifications are converted into Pakistani equivalence marks.
The conversion process can also affect the competitive position of students, particularly where university admissions depend heavily on aggregate percentages and merit lists.
This raises a fundamental question:
If Pakistani students ultimately need an Intermediate-equivalent qualification for admission, why are we not making Intermediate itself world-class?
That should be the real national debate.
The Problem Is Not the Child – It Is the System
A Pakistani child studying Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics or English through the national education system is not inherently less intelligent or less capable than a child studying the same subjects under an international examination board.
The difference is usually found elsewhere: the quality of teaching, curriculum design, assessment methods, learning environment, teacher training, resources and educational expectations.
Pakistan has no shortage of intelligent and talented young people. What we lack is an education system capable of consistently identifying, developing and rewarding that talent.
The psychological dimension of the problem may be even more serious.
We have gradually created an impression that O Level represents “quality education”, while Matriculation represents ordinary or inferior education. In some social circles, the qualification itself has become a marker of class.
This perception is damaging.
A national qualification should not become synonymous with second-class education simply because it is affordable.
Make Matriculation and Intermediate World-Class
Pakistan should not respond to the popularity of O and A Levels by banning or restricting them. Parents should remain free to choose the educational pathway they consider best for their children.
The better response is to make Matriculation and Intermediate so strong that families choose them because they are excellentnot merely because they are affordable.
That requires fundamental reform.
The curriculum should be modernised and reviewed regularly. Students should receive meaningful exposure to:
- Science, technology and innovation
- Artificial intelligence and digital skills
- Financial literacy
- Entrepreneurship and economics
- Communication and presentation skills
- Critical thinking and problem-solving
- Research and practical learning
- Arts, creativity and civic responsibility
English proficiency should also be substantially improved. A Pakistani child should not need to attend an expensive O Level school simply because the family wants the child to develop strong English communication skills.
Reform the Examination System
Curriculum reform alone will not be enough.
Pakistan’s examination system also needs serious transformation. For decades, excessive emphasis has been placed on memorisation and the reproduction of textbook material. A modern education system should test whether students actually understand what they have learned and can apply it in real situations.
Examinations should increasingly assess:
Comprehension. Application. Analysis. Creativity. Communication. Research. Problem-solving.
A student who can memorise an entire textbook but cannot explain, analyse or apply its concepts should not necessarily be considered better educated than a student who understands the subject deeply.
If Pakistan wants internationally competitive graduates, it must first create internationally credible schools, curricula and examinations.
Education Must Create Social Mobility
The central principle should be simple:
A child’s future should depend on ability and hard worknot on the wealth of the parents.
Imagine an intelligent child from a low-income family studying in a government school. That child should eventually be able to compete for university admission, scholarships and employment with a child who attended an expensive private O/A Level school.
That is genuine meritocracy.
Education should be the country’s greatest instrument of social mobility. It should help talented children rise above economic circumstances, not reinforce existing class divisions.
When educational quality is closely linked to family income, society loses twice: poor families lose opportunities, while the country loses potentially talented doctors, engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs, teachers, artists and leaders.
What About Studying Abroad?
Supporters of O and A Levels often point to their international recognition and argue that these qualifications make it easier for students to pursue higher education abroad.
There may certainly be advantages in particular circumstances. But Pakistan should be careful not to create the impression that O Level and A Level are the only pathways to international education or professional success.
Foreign universities consider many factors, including academic performance, subject requirements, entrance examinations, English proficiency, extracurricular achievements, financial resources and scholarship opportunities.
A Pakistani student with an excellent Matriculation and Intermediate education should also be capable of competing internationally.
If Pakistani qualifications lack sufficient recognition in some international markets, the answer should not be to encourage every Pakistani family to purchase foreign qualifications.
The answer is to improve our qualifications and build their international credibility.
A National Qualification Should Inspire Confidence
Pakistan needs to restore confidence in its own education system.
This does not mean claiming that Matriculation and Intermediate are already perfect. They are not. Nor does it mean dismissing the genuine strengths of international examination systems.
Instead, Pakistan should learn from the best features of different systems and incorporate them into its own national education framework.
Our goal should be neither to pull O Level and A Level down nor to criticise the students who pursue them.
Our goal should be to lift Matriculation and Intermediate up.
We Need Evidence, Not Assumptions
Pakistan should undertake a comprehensive, independent national review comparing the costs and outcomes of O/A Level and Matriculation/Intermediate education.
Such a study should examine:
- Total expenditure borne by families
- School and examination fees
- Additional tuition and educational expenses
- Foreign-exchange implications
- Academic outcomes
- University admission outcomes
- Employment and professional opportunities
- International recognition
- Access to scholarships
- Impact on social mobility
- Quality of teaching and assessment
The findings should be made publicly available.
Parents, educators and policymakers deserve reliable evidence. Educational choices should be based on quality, outcomes and individual circumstancesnot simply on social prestige.
The Bigger Question
The debate is ultimately much bigger than O Level versus Matriculation or A Level versus Intermediate.
It is about what kind of country Pakistan wants to become.
Do we want an education system in which high-quality education is primarily available to families who can afford expensive schools?
Or do we want a system in which a talented child from a poor village can compete on equal terms with the child of a wealthy family in Karachi, Lahore or Islamabad?
The answer should be obvious.
Education is not a luxury. It is the foundation of national development.
Pakistan cannot afford to allow its national education system to become the poor cousin of foreign examination systems.
We should respect O Level and A Level students. We should recognise the hard work of their teachers and parents. International qualifications can have legitimate value, and parents should remain free to choose them.
But we must also restore quality, confidence and dignity to our national qualifications.
Make Matriculation and Intermediate so good that Pakistani parents choose them because they are excellent, not merely because they are affordable.
Pakistan does not need an education system in which prestige is purchased by the wealthy.
It needs an education system in which talent is discovered, developed and rewardedregardless of family income.
Do not make poor education cheap. Make quality education accessible.
Do not merely make foreign qualifications prestigious. Make Pakistani qualifications respected.
Above all, give every Pakistani child an equal opportunity to succeed.
The columnist is a Program Consultant in Islamic Banking and Applied Finance, teacher, trainer, author, banker and broadcaster. He can be reached at pride4pen@gmail.com.
