The education sector [in Pakistan], in particular, is in a critical state of disarray. The sector's systemic failure stems from issues of both access and quality. While substantial investments have been made in building schools, access is not uniform and the overall quality of education remains very poor. Teachers are poorly qualified, often hired through political patronage, and receive little in-service training. Indicators for literacy, enrollment, and retention demonstrate the dire need for systemic reform. Nationwide, literacy rates for males and females are approximately 59% and 35%, respectively. The average number of years of schooling for a male is 1.9 years, while that of females is only 0.7 years. Thirty seven percent of boys and 55% of girls never even enter school and, of those who do, 50% drop out within the first five years. Only 29% of children make it to the secondary school level.

So far we've promised $5 million to education sector funding in Pakistan. Let's hope it makes a difference. (source: USAID program)

India on the other hand is making far greater progress in education, investing the equivalent of $129 million U.S. for primary education for girls. The total funding for primary education will be about $685 million with India providing 85% of the money, and the rest donated by the EU, particularly the UK and the Netherlands. (source: Gov't of India Dept. of Education

There probably is no education in Afghanistan. There are a lot of countries in the world that can't get it together. Eventually they will, but it could easily take as long as it took us - centuries - without aid. But I think we should guard whatever aid we give them to prevent it from being used specifically for weapons development, since this seems to be the first thing they go for.