Postcolonial Critiques on Globalization and Privatization of Education in Pakistan

Abstract

Globalization of education puts irrevocable marks on the national identity and sovereignty of post-colonial and low-income countries such as Pakistan. The education reform policies and knowledge production and dissemination through foreign aid and international organizations (IOs) usually move from Western countries to the Global south. These education policies and knowledge also travel along with western cultural hegemony, economic power and dependency, privatization, and neoliberal values. In this paper, I discuss the menace of globalization and privatization of education in the post-colonial country, Pakistan. In order to analyze the economic, cultural, and social implications of globalization and privatization I apply the post-colonial critique through a literature review of studies and analysis, I argue that the increasing role of global forces in education creates more privatization which fosters more inequality and marginalization in Pakistan’s education system. It should be balanced by increasing the state's role in education and strongly regulating the private sector in education.