Development of education in Gilgit-Baltistan is an impressive success story. Starting from very low literacy levels only six decades ago, parts of this rural high-mountain region today are among the educational front-runners of Pakistan. This book analyzes the rapid educational expansion of the region and shows how rural households derive benefits from these new educational opportunities. Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan is now considered to be a model region for successful educational expansion and rural development. Education is seen as one of the key factors for development and is given a high priority in development agendas. In this cutting-edge academic study, the author shows in detail the trajectories of educational development in Gilgit-Baltistan, from the earliest schools to the establishment of the first university, and provides explanations for educational disparities along the lines of regional and intra-denominational variation, as well as socio-economic and gender-related inequalities. ­This original research work, with in-depth village case studies in three unique rural communities of Gilgit-Baltistan, provides robust empirical data, analyzed through a state-of the art, multi-disciplinary, theoretical framework and field work methodology. The study also draws attention to persisting gender disparities and the threat of a deepening educational and socio-economic divide.

Oxford University Press, Karachi, 452 pages, September 2014.
ISBN: 978-0-19-906917-0

For more details and orders, see: http://www.oup.com.pk/shopexd.asp?id=5955