“Education via Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Model”- A Candle In Dark Pakistan’s Academia”

 

Pakistan is facing a serious challenge to ensure all the children, particularly the most disadvantaged and impoverished to attend, stay and learn in school. The Covid-19 pandemic has already proven that Pakistan has an inadequate public education system that fulfills demand-supply equilibrium, as the access to quality and equitable education remains very low. Currently, Pakistan has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children (OOSC) with an estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16 not attending school, representing 44 percent of the total population in this age group. In the 5-9 age group, 5 million children are not enrolled in schools. After primary-school age, the number of OOSC doubles, with 11.4 million adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14 not receiving formal education.

Disparities based on gender, socio-economic status, and geography are significant. In Sindh, 52 percent of the poorest children (58 percent girls) are out of school, and in Balochistan, 78 percent of girls are out of school. Nearly 10.7 million boys and 8.6 million girls are enrolled at the primary level and this drops to 3.6 million boys and 2.8 million girls at the lower secondary level. Gender-wise, boys outnumber girls at every stage of education. Poverty and parental attitudes to girls’ education in distant areas are the leading causes of girls not attending school. Rag-picker children are also deprived of this blessing of education.

Socio-cultural demand-side barriers combined with economic factors and supply-related issues (such as availability of school facilities), together hamper the access and retention of certain marginalized groups. Schools’ infrastructure in remote areas of Pakistan is much poor, as girls’ schools lack basic facilities such as toilets, water, or electricity.

Gaps in service provision at all educational levels are the major constraints to education access. The government education sector is incapable to provide holistic education and enroll all the children of Pakistan at the same time. On the other hand, the Private sector is affordable and in a range of just a few limited people of the country. Governance challenges and poor teaching quality make education delivery even more complex.

  

What is Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Model?

Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is defined as “a long-term contract between a private party and a government entity, for providing a public asset or service, in which the private party bears significant risk and management responsibility, and remuneration is linked to performance” (The World Bank, 2019). The roots of PPP can be traced back to Leibenstein (1966) who introduced the concept of “X-efficiency”, explained the productivity differences between public and private firms with intangible “X-factors” such as labor-management relations, organizational structures, incentive systems, and selection of workers. In line with Leibenstein's (1966) suggestions, PPP can be necessary for governments and public firms to reduce the inefficiencies which occur in their organizational structures. “Indeed, PPPs may both increase the amount of capital for infrastructure investments and the efficiency of any operation through the transfer of private sector expertise” (Ahwireng-Obeng & Mokgohlwa, 2002; Bajwa et al., 2018). While there are various potential benefits of PPP in several areas of economic and social life. Such an alternative source of funding, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model has become increasingly popular in recent decades as a mechanism to support infrastructure or other related investment activities of low-income and developing countries.

Reasons Behind Acquisition Of “PPP” Model In Developing Countries

Budgetary constraints, high levels of the national debt, and lack of sufficient funds are often identified as reasons why low-income and developing countries seek to find an alternative method to finance their infrastructure or to make better their socio-economic life. Also, Macroeconomic stability is often cited as a significant factor in implementing PPP projects. Macro-economic stability in terms of PPP projects means the relationship between macroeconomic variables (i.e. GDP, per capita income, general government balance, total debt, inflation, money supply), PPP activity by using World Development Indicators (WDI), and The Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI). The PPP model is reported as beneficial for the whole economy as well as for both public and private parties. Several studies find that “PPP” provides several advantages and opportunities in terms of fiscal stabilization, fund flows, and efficiency gain to the developing countries due to a long-term partnership between public and private actors with the aim of mutual benefits. Countries with large budget deficits were more likely to use PPP whereas countries with natural resource endowment were less likely to use PPP.

 

PPP Model With Respect To Developing Pakistan

The decision for governments and private firms to engage in a PPP project may be very challenging in developing countries (Kamasak, Yavuz, and James, 2019), as in any business model, the satisfaction of both parties, in particular the private partner, and the effectiveness of the project remain aspirational and may not be guaranteed unless a careful evaluation is conducted about the potential factors that may affect PPP success. By taking into account the complex dynamics of developing countries like Pakistan, it is imperative that private firms and governments which target potential PPP projects should have a thorough understanding of the relationship between economic factors and PPP arrangements. This is not only important for the efficiency of PPPs but also for the mutual benefit of the partners. Without a well-organized PPP system that also considers good timing, the probability of failure might be higher than the probability of success.

  

How could Pakistan Benefit From PPP Model In Education?

The education sector in Pakistan has been a hub for educational experiments with new products being launched from time to time. Instead of waiting for the ‘next big thing’, it might be worthwhile to learn lessons from and adapt what has worked in similar fragile contexts. PPPs offer the flexibility to incorporate community-supported education programs and have the capability to match the scale of the public sector. The model has the potential to offer responsive and cost-effective learning for students, especially for girls and rag-picker children. While public-private partnership (PPP) initiatives have the potential to increase the supply of schools, more effort is needed to increase demand.

How Can Public-Private Partnerships In Education Sector Of Pakistan Help?

Public-private partnerships, in which the state works with private, often non-profit organizations to build and manage schools, may alleviate the supply-side challenges by improving teaching quality, and increasing access to learning. Evaluations of PPP models from developing countries and their impact suggests that such programs led to increases in enrolment and improvements in school infrastructure. However, a PPP initiative may require more than simply constructing and managing a school. To create a demand for education and increase enrollment in such a context, it is especially important to work closely with community leaders who can influence parental attitudes. Our neighboring countries such as India, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan successfully increased both the access to education and the quality provided by using community-based initiatives to deliver local educational services to cover the case of rag-picker children.

Small-scale community-based schooling models implemented in the socially conservative districts of Pakistan, led to an increase in enrollment, especially for girls, by 75% and 51% respectively.

 

How does Education With PPP In Pakistan Works?

PPP models and their adaptability to address gendered barriers provide us with various important lessons for improving the education system in Pakistan:

·         Mobilization of P3A (Public Private Partnership Authority), Government of Pakistan towards educational projects is the dire need of time for better availability of education for all in Pakistan.

·         Engage with the community, religious, and political leaders through Parent-Teacher Councils (PTCs) and Jirgas (a traditional assembly of tribal leaders) that can specifically address barriers hindering girls’ enrolment. Community-based schools in Balochistan employing such an approach tripled their enrolment of girls in junior secondary schools.

 

·         Hire school staff from the local community, especially female teachers at the primary level, as local female teachers are relatively more trusted by the communities than outsiders.

 

·         Build girls’ schools (even if smaller) that are located closer to the communities to reduce transport issues for girls. In a study of school life in Ghana, schools were set up with support from communities by PPP Model, and within five years this model had spread to 767 communities with 36,000 pupils, 43% of which were girls.

 

Remarks

“As both man or girl, without education is like………………………….a building without foundation, a bird without wings, or a genius like silver in the mine”.

 

So it is a dire need of time to pay more attention on the implementation of the PPP Model in the education sector of Pakistan for the creation of a better, skilled, and wise Youth, which consequently is the only solution for the holistic social and economic well-being of Pakistan.

References:

1.     1.  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316856423_PUBLIC-PRIVATE_PARTNERSHIPS_IN_PAKISTAN_A_NASCENT_EVOLUTION

2.     2.  https://www.dawn.com/news/1643082

3.     3.  https://www.dawn.com/news/1597881

4.      4. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/776203-an-unfinished-end

5.      5. https://www.opml.co.uk/blog/public-private-partnerships-future-girls-education-pakistan

6.      6. https://www.unicef.org/pakistan/education

7.      7. https://www.dawn.com/news/1623032

8.      8. https://www.dawn.com/news/1587747

 

Written By: 

Abdul Moeed Awan.

BS - PAG. 

6th Semester.

Morning Shift.

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Public sector, private sector or public private partnership

Public sector, private sector or public private partnership

Table of content 

Definitions 

1 Public sector 2 Private sector 3 Public private partnership

Analysis 

Fact and figures, Reports, Examples. 

Private sector in Pakistan 

Public sector 

The Public sector is usually comprised of organization that are owned and operated by the government and exist to provide services for its citizens (Jan Erik).public sector provides services to every citizen of the country no one can be excluded from its services the public sector is services oriented not profit oriented, The public sector is monopolistic, providing essential services, while the private sector is competitive, with alternative sources for the goods and services it produces.

History shows us that many wars are being fought on the bases of cultural and religious bases where majority seems override the minority. Sense of being superior to suppress others is a human behavior from very being of the humanity. Historical lessons and social experiences shows us that central strong government is very much important not just too administered country peaceful and but also for it inclusive growth

In the representation of economic actor, the public sector (state) is defined as "the set of all activities developed by the State", which includes the following bodies

Public institutions the resources of which come from the public budget.

Central and local governments producing public goods and services aimed at the society. 

Social protection bodies answerable to the public power and its decisions

Public enterprises obtaining income (resources) from the sale of own production, 

Public sector services:

In Pakistan Public sector services and organizations include:

Education (Schools, Libraries)

Electricity

Emergency Services

Fire Service

Gas and Oil

Healthcare

Infrastructure

Law Enforcement

Police Services

Postal Service

Public Transit

Social Services

Waste Management

In most of the countries, the public sector comprises the national, regional, and local governmental authorities, including the policy measures defined and adopted by those authorities, in order to provide public services. 

In Pakistan poverty rate is 39.3%   so the poor peoples can’t afford to take services from the only private sector it’s the responsibility of the government to facilitate the poor peoples

Disadvantages 

In Pakistan the public sector is very weak as it has no accountability, no transparency, no rule of law and check and balances 

Health sector indicator Pakistan is ranked 147th out of 170 countries in 2019 HDI

Pakistan ranked 124 out of 179 in term of corruption (corruption perception index 2020)

Loopholes in public sector 

Inefficient management 

Lack of efficiency 

Delayed decision 

lack of innovation

Excessive government control

Political interference

Many influential people in the government work for their personal gain or make sure that others are working for their personal gains by exploiting these public institutes 

Fact and figures 

There are almost 11,000 ghost schools in Sindh. According to The Express Tribune, there are 1.8 schools for every 1,000 children in rural Sindh. Two instructors are found in only 15% of elementary and secondary schools. Not only that, but the schools are also in desperate need of basic supplies. Drinking water, bathrooms, playgrounds, and boundary walls are all lacking in a huge number of schools. Although public schools are less expensive than private schools, their educational quality is poor.

Advantages 

It can’t be conclude that all the institutions are inefficient many institutes are working effectively such as NADRA NH&MP BISP and PIMS this all institutes make success story  

According to the Pakistan institute of development economics, approximately 56% of people are employed in the public sector, 18% in the private sector, and 26% are working in the informal sector

Fact and figures 

According to 2016 statistics, Pakistan has more than 1200 public hospitals and 700 private hospitals. Besides these hospitals, there are also small Medical Clinics plus Maternity & Child Health Centers in different areas of Pakistan. The fees of public hospitals are marginal and affordable for all. We have massive examples such as PIMS Islamabad, Jinnah hospital Lahore, Punjab institute of cardiology, Children’s hospital Lahore, Federal government services Lahore, Civil hospital Karachi, services hospital Lahore

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 Madras. 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. Education system of Finland and China which has been proven to be best system and totally based on central system owned by public sector which is check by public representatives.

public-private partnership

The public-private partnership (PPP) is defined as the arrangement between two or more public and private sectors of a long term nature. In this sector both public and private sectors contribute to proper work with efficiency, this sector is services oriented as well as profit-oriented and this sector is considered as the ideal for the progress of the developing countries.

According to the World Bank, “Public-private partnerships (PPPs) can be a tool to get more quality infrastructure services to more people. When designed well and implemented in a balanced regulatory environment, PPPs can bring greater efficiency and sustainability to the provision of public services such as energy, transport, telecommunications, water, healthcare, and education. PPPs can also allow for better allocation of risk between public and private entities

As a cornerstone of my policy, we will substantially expand public-private partnerships to maximize the amount of investment and funding that is available for space exploration and development”. (Donald Trump)

Some of the advantages of PPP include

Access to private sector finance.

Increased efficiency in the private sector.

The use of funds has become more transparent.

Procurement is a time-consuming activity that involves substantial transaction expenses.

Contractual uncertainty

Monitoring and enforcement are both important.

Fact and figures 

The Pakistani government is a strong proponent of public–private partnerships (PPPs). Between 1990 and 2019, Pakistan has 108 financially completed PPP projects with a total investment of $28.4 billion. Nearly 88 percent of these projects are in the energy sector, which has attracted more than $24.7 billion in investment, followed by investments in the port sector. In November 2007, the government of Pakistan introduce an initial policy on public private partnership, this policy aims to promote the public-private partnership in the country in the light of providing more efficient, affordable and timely infrastructure services. In early 2021, Parliament approved the amendments to the 2017 PPP Law, enacting the Public Private Partnership Authority

Public-private partnerships are typically found in transport infrastructures such as highways, airports, railroads, bridges, and tunnels. Examples of municipal and environmental infrastructure include water and wastewater facilities, with the support of Pakistan's government, public-private partnerships are becoming increasingly commonplace. Additionally, a Public-Private Partnership Cell has been established by the Punjabi government. The Flyover over Railway Crossing road Lahore, Lahore Ring Road Southern Loop (SL-I & SL-II) have been completed through a Public-Private Partnership (PPPP). If the government works with Pakistan's strong private sector, the country can emerge from its current crisis and move forward with its military campaign

Private sector 

The private sector is referred to as citizen sector, the private sector is owned by the private group’s people the private sector is intended to earn profit it is profit oriented. The private sector is the part of economy  

The private sector is a very diverse sector and makes up a big part of many economies. It is based on many different individuals, partnerships, and groups. The entities that form the private sector include:

Sole proprietorships

Partnerships

Small and mid-sized businesses

Large corporations and multinationals

Professional and trade associations

Trade unions

The private sector plays an important role in the economy through the following functions:

Job creation through generating employment opportunities within private companies

Contribution to tax revenues and capital flow through the economy

Provides goods and services to both consumers and businesses

Attracts investors both domestically and internationally

Finances business diversification and competition between companies

 “our public sector is so big that our countries half of the money spent on them so we left with not enough money that we can invest it on development of Pakistan’’ Prime Minister of Pakistan

Private sector is free and competitive from the emergence of Pakistan from the rule of Mughal Empire in India they produce goods and services, the subcontinent have vibrant private sector The public sector is in very less at the time of partition such as railway telephone or telegram department the post office, Karachi port trust radio and some coal and salt mines. From 1958-1969 the rulers of Pakistan are in the favor of private sectors it was the period of un parallel growth the first expression of privatization as a public policy instruments occurred in aye tenure since 1999 the government policy of economic structural transformation based on deregulation decentralization economic liberalization and privatization has aim to expand the role of private sector. Today, both Public Sector & Private Sector have become an integral part of the economy. There may not be much difference in working of these sectors in advanced countries, 

Advantages 

According to official map studies the private sector account 70 percent of all health in the United States, through the economy it Provides goods and services to both consumers and businesses it attracts investors both domestically and internationally.

Private institution are managed by different groups in order to facilitate the public while making sure that profit is earned due to profit making scheme this sector is more effective efficient and accountable every action of institute or employee is recorded it also called easy hiring and easy firing private sector make sure that customer is well satisfied by all means private sector is more capable than the public sector but it is not free of cost private institutions have more organized structure  

Fact and figures 

With implementation of government in reform program Pakistan ranked among top ten reforming country in 2006.The privatization in Pakistan is consider as most successful experience in south Asia when the private sector does well there’s revenue for public sector Successful private sector organization are edhi foundation shakut khanum  cancer hospital chhipa welfare association aurat foundation and shahid afridi foundation many non-government organization are working for people welfare, Shaukat khanum hospital is offering cancer patient free treatment  2017-2018 72 percent received completely free treatment 

Private sector spending generated over 80% of Pakistan's GDP growth rate, followed by public sector consumption, which contributed only 13% every year to maintaining growth pace .Pakistan has a sizable private health-care industry. According to national surveys, more than 70% of health consultations take place in the private sector, and more than 90% of total clinics/first-level care facilities are in the private sector,

The agriculture sector with a 22.69%contribution to GDP is wholly private sector owned mining and quarrying activities are also in private sector within manufacturing with a 19.1% contribution to GDP, the private sector account for over 77 percent of commercial banking sector 100 percent of textile industries 100 percent of telecommunication sector. The banking sector privatization gave the impetus for tax reform where tax rate of banks brought down in line with collaboration rate from over 50-35% 

Participation of the private sector in the educational system and its development in Pakistan has a long history. From 1947 until 1971, the private sector contribution expanded considerably through a variety of nongovernment organizations but the process of nationalization by the Peoples Government completely eliminated the private sector from education in 1972 to 1979.

Public educational institutions in Pakistan don’t provide the same level of quality education to student that private institution do the school and colleges even don’t have infrastructure and basic things out of 317323 schools in the Pakistan 38% are private the number of low cost private schools in Punjab increased from 32000-66000 from 1990 -2016 majority of them open in rural areas private sector education have check and balance on teacher staff and students too. The major Pakistan top educational institution are LUMS BEACON HOUSE SCHOOL AGHA KHAN UNIT

PAKISTAN PRIVATE SECTOR  

Hubco is the largest private sector power generation company in Pakistan and originally established by French power companies. It is now owned in part by the Dawood Hercules Corporation

Nishat Group/Mian Mansha (Worth: $5.57 billion)Nishat Group is a business cooperation owned by the country's richest man Mian Muhammad Yahya Mansha with a worth of $5.57 billion, Mian Mansha has attained numerous UNO Position as Pakistan's Richest Man for the Last 15 years.

Engro Corporation, is a conglomerate headquartered in Karachi. Founded as a fertilizer business in 1965, it is one of the largest companies in the country that employs over 2,600 individuals across the Group and has operations in a diverse range of businesses

Habib Bank Limited abbreviated as HBL, is a Pakistani multinational bank based in Habib Bank Plaza, Karachi, Pakistan. Founded in 1940 by the Habib Family, HBL became Pakistan's first commercial bank. 

Air blue Limited is a private Pakistani airline with its head office on the 12th floor of the Islamabad Stock Exchange Towers in Islamabad, Pakistan. Air blue operates scheduled domestic and international flights, the latter to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab

Air Sial is a Pakistani airline headquartered in Sialkot, Pakistan. Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated AirSial, the third private airline of Pakistan, on Wednesday, 9 December 2020

Aisha Steel Mills Limited is a Karachi-based steel manufacturing company with production capacity of 220,000 metric tons per year. It is owned by Arif Habib Group. Its plant is located at Bin Qasim, Karachi and produces at a capacity of 220,000 metric tons per year.

TCS (Logistics Company), TCS stands for Tranzum Courier Service. TCS is a Pakistani courier and logistics company which is based in Karachi, Pakistan

Telecommunication companies

Jazz warid zong telenor

Ride sharing companies

SWVL CREAM UBER

Food panda is an online food and grocery delivery platform owned by Delivery Hero. Food panda operates as the lead brand for Delivery Hero in Asia, with its headquarters in Singapore. It is currently the largest food and grocery delivery platform in Asia, outside of China, operating in 12 markets across

Daraz Group is a multinational technology company that focuses on e-commerce, logistics, payment infrastructure and financial services.

Private news channels are neutral and biased than government media, because they don’t have political influence. They are independent.

Edhi founfation it is a nonprofit organization in Pakistan. The services provided by this foundation are, edhi ambulances services, funeral services, morgue services Edhi home and orphan age, soup kitchen, animal rescue center

Shaukat khanum memorial hospital In 1994 this hospital was established. About 75% of the patients get fee treatment here, this is Pakistan’s first state of the art hospital

Shifa international hospital it was established in 1987 it is a 550 bed hospital this hospital offers more than 30 medical specialties also provides quality health facilities.

Private internet connection are available on affordable rates and packages that PTCL. It has cheaper rates for every level of society to avail this facility.

Bahria town This is Pakistan’s some of the largest real estate group with a worth of $ 3.4 billion.

Beacon house school system this was established in1975 in Lahore this institute is educating more than 315,000 students in 8 countries. 146 branches are operational in Pakistan.

MALIK ZEEWAQAR AHMED 

21858 

SEMESTER 6TH PA&G 

Another Face Of Success “NADRA”

Despite daunting odds, some institutions in Pakistan have managed to succeed and effectively deliver core services, earn legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry and forge resilience in the face of an otherwise tumultuous and prohibitive operational context, which proves after a long demonstration that there are certain organizations, which can show effectiveness in the face of overall dismal and unfortunate picture of Pakistan. But when we are referring towards success which dimensions we are talking about that made these organizations called to be successful?

Dimensions of Success

Dimensions of Success are as under:-

1.       Results:

Achievement of organization key objectives, outputs, or outcomes.

2.       Legitimacy:

In accessing legitimacy, the focus was given to both “output legitimacy” (what the organization does, or its outward performance and the perceived quality of services delivered) and “Procedural Legitimacy” (How institutions functions, or quality of its operational procedures that enable it to achieve success).

3.       Sustainability/Resilience:

An institution that is durable and resilient, can sustain and improve results over time and can adapt to changing circumstances, can anticipate new challenges, and can cope with exogenous shocks. 

Fortunately, these key dimensions of success are interlinked. An entity’s “legitimacy” is somehow dependent on the “results” or achievement of its key objectives. And similarly, more “resilient” institutions can earn legitimacy and achieve results.

Also, successful organizations choose the following general determinants by taking into account the above-mentioned 3 dimensions for maintaining their success in a de-stable environment (like Pakistan):-

1.       Successful organizations have a well-defined mission which is translated into proper outcomes or results.

2.       Successful organizations can attract and deploy skilled labor or staff.

3.       Continuity of leadership and management.

4.       Financially autonomous.

5.       Good internal communications and employees’ participation.

6.       Strong and visionary leadership.

7.       Building learning organizations.

8.       Results-oriented organizational culture and cohesive identity.

9.       Ability to cope with political pressures.

10.   Displaying results to mobilize support.

\     From the nine generally regarded as successful public and private institutions in Pakistan having both earlier mentioned general dimensions and determinants of success stated by Syed Turab Hussain in his well-written piece of paper named “Candles in the Dark”, NADRA (National Database & Registration Authority) is also one of the excellent successful entity from them which thrives day by day even with the uncertain environment in Pakistan.

 

NADRA (National Database & Registration Authority)

(Historical Background)

 

NADRA (National Database and Registration Authority) is an autonomously run and constitutionally established public agency in Pakistan. NADRA was established as an attached department known as “NDO” (National Database Organization), under the Ministry of Interior (MOI), Government of Pakistan, in 1998 (approximately about 24 years back). Later in March 2000, the NDO and Directorate General of Registration were merged to form one entity called “NADRA” with a mission statement well written NADRA ordinance 2000 states:

“To introduce new, improved and modernized systems of registration, databases, and data warehousing for the country with their multiple beneficial uses and applications to achieve effective and efficient running of the affairs of the State and the general public.”  

In 2006, NADRA’s mission statement was revised to include its commercial aspect with the establishment of National Swift Registration Centers (NSRC’s) and Mobile Registration Vehicles (MRV’s) enabled NADRA to undertake large public sector projects. Revised mission statement 2006 states that:

“To create and maintain a secure, authentic, and dynamic database that comprehensively covers the demographic, geographic, social and statistical aspects of the citizens of Pakistan, and provide to our own and foreign governments effective homeland security solutions and assistance in good governance.  We shall develop ourselves as a “learning organization” in a culture that fosters creativity, innovation, commitment, dedication, continuous improvement, and a desire to excel its employees.”

Why was NADRA inevitable?

Before the establishment of NADRA, data collection was handled manually, resulting in inefficiency and inaccuracy. The registration did not have an auditing system and the volume-based incentives resulted in a high risk of faulty data entries by the agents.

Dynamics Behind A Successful Entity

NADRA is a successful institution, thriving not only in domestic activities but also in international projects due to certain factors:

 

1.       Unequivocal mission statement:

NADRA’s mission as laid down in its 2000 ordinance and also in the revised vision statement of 2006 is very clear, specific and achievable. It is not burdened with peripheral objectives that could distract it from achieving its core objectives.

 

2.       Adaptability and seamless evolution:

NADRA has exhibited a remarkable ability to adjust to and take advantage of, evolving circumstances. As indicated earlier, a year after its establishment, it transformed the business model of registration based on manual data collection, followed by single data entry for automation. Software development and integration were also undertaken within the agency. In the case of multi-biometric passports, the agency was venturing into uncharted territory. The entire technology was developed in-house. The organization took a calculated risk and succeed.

3.       Attention to customer care and learning:

While there are occasional complaints about the quality of NADRA’s service, it has placed heavy reliance on customer care and responsiveness. It eliminated the need for presenting ID documents and facilitated a one-window operation by enabling customers to simply walk in and get registered. It devised a token system for queuing to serve customers on a first-come and first-served basis. All these measures have led to a cultural change towards customer service.

4.       Relatively young and competent staff:

NADRA has been blessed with an effective workforce, which is young, dynamic, non-bureaucratic, entrepreneurial, and sees change as a perpetual fact of life at the workplace.

Staff work under overall long-term objectives, but are also devising short-term solutions and firefighting on a day-to-day basis. NADRA has also the most computer-literate workforce in the country.

5.       Leadership and management style:

NADRA’s top leadership has been strong and involved, which makes the NADRA entity balance a democratic culture and an autocratic style of leadership. NADRA also has retired senior military officials in its management who follow a more hierarchical structure and approach in some of the departments. On the other hand, other departments exhibit participative styles of management and are marked by flatter organizations. These 2 management styles abide side by side under the overall leadership of the chairman.

6.       Entrepreneurial and risk-taking spirit:

A more commercial, proactive and business-oriented approach pervades in the technical and management portions of NADRA. Risk-taking is encouraged. At the same time, the control systems are very tight and help in bringing visibility and transparency into processes and procedures.

Periodic Achievements/Developments of NADRA

·         By taking into account manual handling as a problem and for the insurance of quality data entry, NADRA introduced double-entry operators at random. In the case of inconsistency between the operators, the query is moved to a third operator for the final data entry.   

·         Through the establishment of NSRCs throughout the country, the concept of a “live, interactive data entry” was introduced, which helped the largely uneducated population of Pakistan and for the reduction of bribes and corruption by agents.

·         Induction of MRVs to cover the applicants of remote areas.

·         Focus on in-house competence development for decreasing the load of outsourcing of data warehousing and project management and networking.

·         More focus was given to software development and software integration with the change of leadership in 2001, which made NADRA the most literate public service entity in Pakistan.

·         NADRA helped in changing the bill payment culture of the general public by reducing corrupt middlemen bill collectors by introducing the E-Sahulat app as the latest product contributing towards e-governance.

·         In face of the perpetually precarious budgetary situation of the country, NADRA has successfully managed to become a financially self-reliant entity that survives off its operating revenues.  

·         There is also a system of auditing NADRA staff’s staff to track revenue collection.

·         NADRA launched National Cash Remittances Program with the collaboration of the H&H Exchange Program in 2012 which has enabled Pakistani citizens to receive funds safely, easily, and on time. Those who are expecting remitted money can visit pre-designed NADRA outlets to receive and transfer money after taking confirmation of identity from the customer’s identity card.

·         NADRA outbid some of the strongest companies in the international homeland sector in a challenging competition to secure the contract for supply, installation and commissioning of the Passport Issuing System.

Enterprise Solutions & Services

Collaborating with the corporate world to harness technology for the growth and safety of the World.

Solutions
Secure Documents	E-Governance	Security & Surveillance
Multi-Biometric Identity Management	Civil Registration	Personnel Access Control
Multi-Biometric Passport	Integrated Border Management	Vehicle Access Control
Computerized Arms License	Voter’s Management	Intelligent Video Surveillance
E-cards (Health)	Social Protection	Safe City

 

Services

1.       Consultancy & Advisory 2.       Enterprise Software Development 3.       System Integration 4.       Data Warehousing 5.       Project Management 6.       Financial Services

 

 

Identity Documents

Apply for your identity document at any time from anywhere and get it delivered to your doorstep.

NADRA On-Going Local Projects In Pakistan

Successful International Presence

NADRA has been bookmarked as an expert enterprise solution provider, all around the world.

Left Over Challenges To NADRA

Despite being a vital player in the application of identification systems, technology and socio-economic environment, NADRA is facing some challenges, the resolution of which will determine the sustainability and more success of the entity.

Challenge No # 01

The organization has expanded rapidly, employing close to 18,000 staff in approximately 800 fixed and mobile offices. This expansion has not been accomplished by staff training and capacity building, resulting in erosion of skills.

 

Challenge No # 02

Missing of institutionalization of the operations on a systematic basis to ensure the sustainability of achievements beyond the tenure of leadership. Unfortunately, the seat of chairman witnesses continuous instability due to changing of the person after a short interval of time, and fortunately the second-tier management (Director Generals) has witnessed more stability of tenure, which has helped with institutional memory.

 

Challenge No # 03

Politicization of leadership is another big challenge for NADRA, as in the aftermath of the 2013 elections and allegations of possible irregularities, this fine line was crossed by certain statements of the previous chairman. The leadership of NADRA must strictly refrain from getting entangled in political matters.

 

Challenge No # 04

Another challenge relates to the organization’s financial situation, as during the Pakistan People’s Party government, the organization received important financial inflows from BISP and UN agencies. However, these are not the core services, which can improve the financial stability of NADRA. Even since 2005, there has been no financial support from the federal government, and the rising expenditures have started to eat into the profit margins.

 

Challenge No # 05

Sizeable decrease in the salaries of employees (especially of technical staff), due to 95% regularization of staff, caused nonfunctioning of a sliding scale structure as per applied before this regularization for the strength of NADRA.

 

 

 

Who we are?

&

What are we going to do?

 

As a proudly responsible citizenry of Pakistan with an aspiration of creating reforms and change, we the four undergraduate students of the 6th semester (Morning shift) from the Department of Governance and Public Policy under the noble supervision of Respected Dr. Athar Rashid from the National University of Modern languages, Islamabad are going to join hands together to put an effort towards address and reform all the above-mentioned and several hidden challenges, from which NADRA is currently struggling to move out to become a more durable and sustainable entity.       

 

Why to do so?

Because we are intending to be more practically perform our this 3 credit hours subject named “PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS AND SOCIAL CHANGE” with the help of an opportunity created by our supervisor (Dr. Athar Rashid), rather than just learning from the literature review and theory available on NADRA.  

 

How to do it?

·         Taking on board all the stakeholders to our proposed NADRA Reforms Project.

·         Tried to arrange in-face meetings with higher officials of NADRA for the redress of all our concerns.

·         Webinars will be arranged with the appropriate persons relevant to suggest reforms for our project.

·         In-face suggestions with online suggestion polls for reforms are also part of our project.

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  References

1. Syed Turab Hussain, Mahmood Ali Ayub (2016). “Candles in the Dark. Weak Institutional Environment, Part-1 (1): 1 – 15”
2. Syed Turab Hussain, Mahmood Ali Ayub (2016). “Candles in the Dark. General Determinants of Success, Part-1 (2): 15 – 30”
3. Syed Turab Hussain, Mahmood Ali Ayub (2016). “Candles in the Dark. National Data Base and Registration Authority, Part-2 (7): 109 – 122”
4.  https://www.nadra.gov.pk/

 Written by:

Abdul Moeed Awan

Muhammad Hassan

Zaynab Tahira

Ahmad Faraz

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