Pakistan has missed the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) target of spending Rs2.86 trillion on health and education in the last fiscal year, as Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), and Punjab failed to meet their financial commitments. The total spent by the federal and provincial governments amounted to Rs2.84 trillion, falling short by Rs27 billion, The Express Tribune reported.
The figures revealed that expenditures were Rs240 billion lower than the targets outlined in the MOUs signed by the governments. Sindh, K-P, and Punjab missed their spending targets by higher margins, while the federal government and Balochistan exceeded theirs. Authorities attributed the shortfall to poor administrative structures and low absorption capacity.
The federal government spent Rs261 billion on health and education, exceeding its target of Rs248 billion. Punjab’s spending fell short by Rs35 billion, with Rs1.15 trillion spent instead of the target.
Sindh also failed to meet its target, spending Rs670 billion instead of Rs853 billion. K-P spent Rs545 billion, missing its Rs600 billion target. On the other hand, Balochistan exceeded its target by Rs25 billion, spending Rs206 billion.
Despite higher spending in the last quarter, the target was still missed. In the April-June period, the five governments spent Rs937 billion, surpassing the quarterly target of Rs713 billion. However, this late surge did not make up for earlier shortfalls.
The IMF had set quarterly and annual ceilings to ensure that health and education spending were not sacrificed in favor of other conditions, such as cash surpluses and budget balances. In May, Pakistani authorities assured the IMF they would work on improving provincial capacity in these sectors.
The IMF staff report stated that spending on health and education in Pakistan has declined since 2018, with governments aiming to increase spending to 2.4% of GDP. However, execution fell short, especially in Sindh and K-P, due to absorption challenges.
A recent World Bank report highlighted significant gaps in education access, with 26.1 million children, or 38% of the school-age population, out of school. Gender disparities worsen in higher education, and rural areas bear the brunt of these challenges, with 74% of out-of-school children being from rural areas.
