Exploring Key Factors Underpinning the Successful Delivery of UN-SDG4 Quality Education Projects by Non-Governmental Organisations in Pakistan.

Abstract

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), agreed by the UN General Assembly in 2015, are a set of 17 focus areas which balance economic, environmental and social dimensions in an integrated and indivisible manner. They are intended to be a common framework for growth and harmony, aiming by the year 2030 to resolve key issues relating to people and the planet through partnership between developed and developing countries. Goal 4 of the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, focuses on enhancing global access to, and enabling the completion of, high-quality education. UN SDG 4 seeks to guarantee a universal primary education for all, and the support of further lifelong learning thereafter for everyone. Pakistan's educational landscape has been affected by an absence of high-quality educational provision, particularly in rural areas. The Pakistani education system has had a particularly tough time addressing the challenges of poor academic performance, and high dropout rates, among primary school children. The Pakistani government has needed to concentrate its efforts on improving the education sector, and a range of initiatives have been launched to improve access to education, and to enhance the quality of education which is provided. The aim of this research is to devise a mechanism to overcome the barriers to project success faced by educational projects being delivered in Pakistan, and so maximise the efficiency and sustainability of such projects. According to the research investigations undertaken as part of this study, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Pakistan make a considerable contribution to the delivery of educational projects. This research has therefore examined, and reports on, the underlying challenges faced by these NGOs when delivering educational projects in Pakistan and key factors for overcoming these. A total of 24 participants representing key stakeholders associated with the delivery of educational projects in Pakistan were interviewed on their views on the subject. The recursive abstraction approach was utilised to derive meaningful information from the data collected. From this analysis, it has been possible to devise a project management framework for the NGOs operating in Pakistan to use when delivering educational projects. Utilising this framework is likely to enhance the successful delivery of educational projects. Whilst specifically based upon NGOs delivery of educational projects in Pakistan, the research team believe that the lessons learnt from this study are equally applicable to educational projects being delivered by NGOs working within other Asian countries.