Problematizing School Classifications in Pakistan: The Case of English-Medium Private Schools

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Eleven
  In Roundtable Session: Ethical Dilemmas in International Contexts (Table 9)

Abstract

This paper problematizes the widely accepted classification of English-medium private schools in Pakistan which reproduces academic literature along the binaries of elite/non-elite, rich/poor, and English-medium/Urdu-medium. It seeks to expand this classification to acknowledge the existence of a middle-tier English-medium private schooling system which is neither elite nor low-fee. Utilizing interdisciplinary evidence to distinguish between elites and a ‘new middle class’ along with findings from a case study conducted at an English-medium private school in Karachi, Pakistan, the paper strives to highlight the existence of a wide swath of middle-class population which is almost invisible in academic discourse. The results suggest that English-medium private schools that cater to the new middle class need to be recognized as a separate category.

Author

• Saulat Pervez, International Institute of Islamic Thought
  Presenting Author