The 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 multidisciplinary theoretical framework and fieldwork methodology. The study also draws attention to persisting gender disparities and the threat of a deepening educational and socio-economic divide.