Public Sector : Strengthening the Public
Public sector , the word itself portrays a clear meaning " The exercise of the public authority and the implementation of public policy for the citizens of the state. " When we talk about the public sector, we are generally referring to the public institutions or the portion of the economy that is solely composed of government organizations.
According to Jane Erik Lane, author of The Public Sector: Concepts, Models and Approaches, Public sectors are defined as – “Government activity and its consequences”. Since the public sector comprises the organizations that are completely owned and operated by the government sector or institutions therefore their sole responsibility and aim is to provide services to the citizens of the state. When we talk about the services that the public sector provides then we generally talk about the services like health care, national defense, public education, Electricity, emergency Services, free services, gas and oil, infrastructure common law enforcement, police services, postal service, public transit, social services, waste management, water management and many other services that are compulsory for living a standard and a quality life. Unlike the private sector of society, the public sector does not generate any profit or seek to generate any profit from its citizens by providing all the services.
The public sector creates value that is valued above the profit motivation by society. These are the things that a society wishes to operate according to a set of values because they have something to do with the human condition, models for the experience. For example, a society may deem health, education, justice, defense, public space, natural resources, public safety, and environmental protection to be public services that are above the profit motive.
When talking about the private sector we know that the private sector solely aims to generate profit. As a matter of fact, we know that without the public sector, the private sector cannot exist as a single firm. In the past few decades, we have seen that there has been a great paradigm shift in the public sectors of Pakistan. Earlier, the public sector of Pakistan was neglected and no reforms were taken into consideration, if talking about any public policy then it was just a failure for both the policymakers and the public. Those policies would fail and there would be no implementation of such policies. With the changes in the political scenario, the current government of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf has worked effortlessly to bring different reforms in the public sector mainly the Education, Health, and economic sector.
Public Sector vs Private Sector?
Profitable businesses usually represent the private sector, whereas government agencies usually represent the public sector.
Ownership
In the private sector the entire business or the companies are owned by individuals or the group of individuals that are in a competition to generate maximum profit whereas, in the public sector, governmental organizations are not owned by individuals hence, and operated on the behalf of the entire public.
Production of Goods
Keeping in view the goods and services produced in both the sectors so the best example according to my point of view is the National Security, which is the public good and benefits everyone equally. Taxes are used to pay for these products, which are given by public sector organizations for individuals and corporations to profit from private products such as transportation, houses, or offices and each private item may only be consumed by one person or business. individuals and companies pay for them.
Employment
Working in the public sector has a lot of perks, including job security and a variety of high-quality benefits packages. Excellent retirement benefits and suitable insurance plans are among them. Except during situations of substantial budget deficits, public employees often have more job security than private employees. Furthermore, once a probationary term has been completed, many government posts become permanent hires. It is quite improbable that an employee will be laid off once this time period has passed.
In comparison to the more stable atmosphere seen in the public realm, a more competitive marketplace might entail longer hours and more challenging work situations. The market forces that exist in the private sector do not apply to government institutions.
The above table shows a clear difference between the two prominent sectors of the state and how both the sectors work and benefit the citizens in their own ways. Since the difference between the sectors defines that the public sector is more inclined towards the welfare of the society without aiming to acquire any profits, therefore, public sectors should be opted for running the government of the particular state.
Some of the eminent reforms made in the past few years by the existing government in the public sector reforms are as followed,
Health Care System
The government has brought immense improvement in the standard of public health facilities. The reforms aim to provide the best and quality healthcare facilities to people in the public sector hospitals. According to the press coverage in The Express Tribune, it has been clearly mentioned that the health sector has been increased by 118% during the last three years, adding that Rs369 billion had been allocated for the sector in the current financial year while Rs1.5 billion had been allocated for the purchase of the anti-coronavirus vaccine.
The National Health Card is one of the major reforms made in the public sector health care. Underprivileged segments of the population in all districts of Pakistan are enjoying quality healthcare services without any financial barriers. The program is set to cover the entire population of Pakistan under Universal Health Insurance soon.
There are a total of 1,279 government-run hospitals in the country, as per the Pakistan Bureau of Statistic’s 2018 report. Some of the renowned public hospitals that have adopted some reforms in the previous years to improve the quality of their service are as follows:
National Institute of Health, Ayub Medical Complex, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital, Jinnah Hospital, Fatima Memorial Hospital and Lahore General Hospital.
Education System
Education is a foundation for the development and progress of any society. It is a base upon which the whole building of human development stands. Similar to the reforms made in the health care unit of Pakistan, the education sector also stands in the same queue. According to Pakistan Education Statistics (2016 - 2018), The education system of Pakistan comprises 305,763 institutions accommodating 51,835,089 students and 2,073,433 teachers. The system is composed of 189,748 (62%) public institutions and 116,015 (38%) private institutions, which also include 31,115 Deeni Madaris. To make sure that the children of the state get quality of education and there should be no discrimination in the standards of education, the government is working on multiple education policies like the single national curriculum and many others.
“If we get public education right, everything else will follow. But if we get it wrong, not much else will matter.”
- Steve Kagen
Strengthening Pakistan’s Social Safety Net Program
Pakistan has made substantial progress in reducing poverty, and social protection programs have played an important role. Budgeted social safety net programs include Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM), and Social Security & Welfare while Zakat, Employees Old-age Benefit Institution (EOBI), and Workers Welfare Fund (WWF). Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) is the non-budgetary part of the program.
Pakistan is opening numerous opportunities to further reduce poverty. At the household level, for example, increasing the income of poor families allows for investments in education for children and economic opportunities for parents. At the institutional level, investment in establishing social protection systems will foster greater efficiencies—allowing Pakistan to do more with limited resources.
Digitalization in the public sectors
With the world moving towards adopting and excelling with the growing technology, Pakistan's public sector has also emerged in this walk of life and has worked effortlessly to adopt the technological framework for developing the economy. In the past few years the government of Pakistan has worked on different Digital innovations and has resulted in bringing forward the following prominent digital achievements in the light of the public sector:
Citizen Portal, NADRA, Pakistan Post, Digitizing tax collection, E- Taleem, and FBR.
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Since Pakistan is the world's fifth-largest populous country with a population of 220 million people, 24.3% of the population lives below the national poverty line. Looking at the realistic side of the picture, we know that 24.3% of the poor population can not rely on the private sector of the society where the general aim is profit-making. Therefore, the public sector and its reforms tend to be a beacon of hope for those who can not afford to live a private standard of life and depend on their government to provide them all the basic necessities to live a quality life.
Gul Rukh Khan - Bs 6th - Gpp
Very well written. Great job 👍
ReplyDeleteThanks ☺️
DeleteVery informative thanks for writing this blog 👌
ReplyDeleteThanks Yasir.
ReplyDeleteAccording to WB 42% parents prefer private institutions for education what yours opinion on it
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