Higher education ‘becoming inaccessible’ in Pakistan as fees rise

“Very alarming” falls in university enrolments in Pakistan have been blamed on rising tuition fees, economic pressures faced by families and internal governance failures inside institutions. 

Numbers attending university in the country dropped by nearly 12 per cent in three years, according to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26. Enrolment fell from 2.23 million in the academic year 2020-21 to 1.96 million in 2023-24.

According to the survey, government spending on education also fell to only 0.8 per cent of GDP in 2024-25, down from 1.5 per cent in 2023.

Saima Muneer, assistant professor of education at the University of the Punjab, said the situation was “very alarming” but she could not identify “one single reason” behind the decrease.

“In the past four or five years, the country has faced a very rapid economic decline…in terms of GDP, in terms of funding in education, because the higher education funding for universities is also being decreased at the provincial level and at the overall budget level, so universities are not getting that much funding.”

Muneer said that both public and private universities in Pakistan have taken a hit. There are 278 universities in Pakistan, of which 163 are public and 115 are private.

To cover funding cuts, some universities have raised their tuition fees. For example, the University of Punjab raised tuition by an average of 28 per cent in 2025-26. It law programme experienced the highest increase at 59 per cent and it now costs PRs 7,800 (£20.92) more. Fees for the doctor of pharmacy programme increased from PRs 18,000 to PRs 23,000.

Muneer argued that, against this economic backdrop, higher education “is really becoming inaccessible to the masses now”.

“People are being pushed towards the poverty line in Pakistan and now the average Pakistani person cannot afford to send their children to higher education.

“Instead, they prefer that they get some kind of skill and they earn a living for their family so that they can have a better life.”

Fahad Jamil, career services coordinator at Ziauddin University, pointed to the many vacancies across medical and dental colleges in Pakistan as evidence of the higher education drop-off.

Despite relaxing eligibility criteria, 743 places out of 22,300 remained vacant in medical and dental colleges across Pakistan for the 2025-26 academic year. More than 140,000 students had registered for the Medical and Dental College Admission Test this year, and around 90,000 qualified for admission.

Jamil said the numbers taking the test show that the appetite for places is there but the shortfall is caused by people realising they “simply cannot afford [it]”.

“Quality medical education is still a luxury only a few can afford,” he said.

“In Pakistan, the purpose of pursuing an education isn’t to gain knowledge, it’s to make yourself more employable,” said Jamil. “That is the basis of why you choose that programme. It isn’t because of your passion, your interest, that is the reason.”

Saima Hassan, assistant professor at Kohat University of Science and Technology, said higher education in Pakistan is perceived to have a “low return on investment”.

With graduate unemployment in Pakistan hovering around 31 per cent, “students increasingly question the value of a four-year degree that does not lead to secure employment”, said Hassan. Instead, young people are turning towards gig work, freelancing and the digital economy, she argued.

Hassan added that administrative paralysis within institutions has potentially eroded parental confidence in higher education.

There have been widespread leadership vacancies across universities in Pakistan, and roughly 40 per cent of administrative and faculty positions across universities were vacant in 2025, according to a Higher Education Commission survey. 

“Without a permanent vice-chancellor, statutory bodies cannot meet, delaying curriculum approvals, thesis reviews, and graduations,” said Hassan. This affects teaching quality and erodes public trust. 

rosalind.skillen@timeshighereducation.com