The Sociocultural Impact of Poverty on Educational Attainment in Pakistan

Abstract

Poverty remains a critical barrier to educational development in Pakistan, but its impact is significantly shaped by deep-rooted sociocultural norms and systemic inefficiencies. This study investigates how poverty, when compounded with cultural beliefs, gender discrimination, and institutional inadequacies, hinders access to and continuation in education across different regions of Pakistan. Using a mixed-method approach, data were collected from rural, semi-urban, and urban districts—Bahawalnagar, Okara, and Lahore—to assess the multifaceted obstacles poor students face in attaining formal education. The findings reveal that economic deprivation intersects with cultural values such as early marriage, gendered labor roles, and mistrust of formal schooling, disproportionately affecting girls and children in rural communities. Furthermore, institutional factors such as under-resourced schools, teacher absenteeism, and lack of psychosocial support exacerbate educational exclusion. The study concludes that overcoming these barriers requires context-specific policies that address both material poverty and the sociocultural structures that sustain educational inequality.