PAKISTAN’s education system has struggled to evolve beyond traditional patterns where reproduction is prioritised over the application of knowledge and skills. Thinkers such as John Dewey and Paulo Freire have long argued that education should connect classrooms with lived realities, and be outcome-oriented. An Outcome-Based Education system (OBE) has gained currency globally over the last three decades, while Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) became popular in Pakistan after they were included in the National Curriculum of 2006, followed by the Single National Curriculum (SNC) of 2020. Unfortunately, the idea to make education more relevant was not implemented. Countries like the United States and South Africa have already experimented with this approach to education without much success in bringing about educational reforms. Pakistan has adopted a diluted version that focuses on changing assessments but overlooks pedagogical transformation.
Inspired by the works of John B. Carroll, Benjamin Bloom, and William Spady, who redefined learning, the OBE system was supposed to align learning with measurable results. Carroll argued that learning is not limited by innate ability but by the time invested and the quality of instruction. He suggests that with opportunity and support, most learners can achieve mastery. Bloom took the idea forward with ‘mastery of learning’ through translating subjects with formative assessments, and encouraging higher-order thinking. Spady presented OBE as a reinterpretation of the education process to ensure that learners achieve essential outcomes. This approach focused on clarity of focus, high expectations, and wider opportunities for students.
In essence, the OBE was conceived as a philosophy of empowerment, not a bureaucratic exercise in assessment. This demands that curricula, teaching, and assessment flow seamlessly from one another so that learning is not merely tested but understood and applied. Pakistan’s steps towards reforming education, however, have overturned this idea as a greater emphasis is placed on assessment rather than on pedagogy and philosophy. The result is a system where learning is measured before it is cultivated. Globally this method was not successful when it was put into practice.
Pakistan’s education system is one where learning is measured before it is cultivated.
In Pakistan, practice is divorced from the theory. The National Curriculum 2006 identified hundreds of SLOs across subjects, detailing what students should know and carry out. The SNC 2020 reinforced this model. But key systemic dimensions — alignment of teaching methods, resources, assessment systems, time allocation, teacher training, and professional development — are unchanged. Classroom teaching continues to be teacher-centric, learning by rote dominates, and instruction depends on textbooks alone. Examinations remain recall-based, especially in secondary and higher secondary levels. Teachers, often untrained in the curriculum principles and instructional methods, treat SLOs as bureaucratic checklists rather than guiding frameworks. Thus, the rhetoric of OBE reforms is visible on paper but classroom realities remain outdated. Pakistan’s effort to adopt SLOs-based education can, therefore, be seen as merely technical rather than a comprehensive and enforced policy. As a result, the range of outcomes has been limited to the lower rungs of Bloom’s categorisation, which means learning without critical thinking and skills. Teachers and students remain engaged in old practices with new labels.
For constructive educational reforms to happen, there is a need for the understanding and implementation of OBE without tampering with its fundamental philosophy that promotes higher expectations, multiple opportunities, and structural alignment around learner success. Real reform will depend on teachers who will always be the driving force of educational change. They need sustained professional development, conceptual clarity, and institutional support to implement this shift in both letter and spirit.
A country that is grappling with economic uncertainty, political instability and climate disasters cannot allow education to take a backseat any longer as it is the most crucial tool for crisis management. Undeniably, a shift from an education system that often fails to develop authentic learning is an uphill task. However, this path must be taken with resolve and political commitment so that the youth can participate productively in the country’s progress and prosperity.
Article (Opinion) Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2026.
