Press release

Making Free Education Meaningful: National Conference Calls for Greater Investment in Girls’ Education

DTC PRN · 10 November 2026

Islamabad, November 10, 2026: The National Girls Education Financing Conference 2026, under the theme “Hazir: She’s Here. Is the Budget?” organized by the Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE) in collaboration with Malala Fund was held in Islamabad. The conference highlighted the gap between public education financing and the costs families bear to keep girls in school. Discussions focused on recognising these costs in education planning and budgets, strengthening domestic resource mobilisation, and ensuring that a girl's access to education should not depend on her family's ability to pay.

Dr Nishat Riaz, Chief Executive Officer, Malala Fund, while speaking on the occasion said that every budget must account for the real costs of keeping girls in school and address the intersecting barriers that limit their access, participation and transition. “While resource scarcity remains a constant challenge, governments must mobilise innovative financing, prioritise equitable allocations and ensure that every investment translates into meaningful opportunities for girls.”

Zehra Arshad, Executive Director, Pakistan Coalition for Education stated that the decline in public education financing has shifted the cost onto families, who now spend an average of 13% of their household income to keep a daughter in a public secondary school. “When families bear the cost, the right to education stops being a right and becomes a compromise. Yet these out-of-pocket expenses remain invisible in public education budgets, which must account for the actual cost of keeping girls in school.”

A girl-led panel discussion was also part of the proceedings. During this session, secondary-school-going Girl Champions provided first-hand accounts of financial and other barriers that affect girls' ability to access and remain in school. The session was chaired by MNA Asia Naz Tanoli, who demanded a reduction in the education-related financial burden on households, improving school facilities and enhancing public investment in education

During the policy session, Domestic Resource Mobilization for Girls’ Education: What Does “Free Education” Actually Mean? representatives from federal and provincial school education departments shared how each region had made efforts in FY2026-27 to enhance public investment in education but agreed that budgetary constraints remained the leading hurdle in realizing key education outcomes. MPA Ms. Nausheen Adnan, Parliamentary Secretary for Education, Punjab said, “Key education stakeholders including legislators and high level decisionmakers do not fully understand the economics of education. The education system needs to be fully decentralized to ensure that grassroots level actors are independent to make decisions in line with the unique realities of their specific area.”

The conference also witnessed the launch of the report, “The Real Cost of Educating a Daughter: Out-of-pocket Costs of Girls’ Secondary Education in Pakistan’s Public Schools.” The study found that despite being constitutionally free, families must spend a minimum of Rs. 5,899 each month to keep their daughter in school.

The conference called for education financing that goes beyond enrolment commitments to address the real costs of attendance, participation and completion. Its message was clear: when a girl is ready to learn, public financing must be ready to support her.