THE FUTURE OF GIRLS’ EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN (A Study on Policy Measures and Other Factors Determining Girls’ Education) by Dr. Humala Shaheen Khalid & Dr. Eshya Mujahid-Mukhtar

UNESCO Office, Islamabad August, 2002

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Foreword The International Literacy Year, 1990 and the World Conference on Education for All, Jomtien, Thailand started a decade of increased emphasis on basic education, worldwide. UNESCO as part of its efforts identified nine high populous developing countries where the rate of population growth was high and the literacy levels low, and decided to make these nine countries the focus of greater attention for the purposes of achieving education for all, which is popularly identified as E-9. Pakistan is a part of this project. The Dakar Framework of Action for Education For All (EFA) 2000, places considerable emphasis on girls’ education, and women’s education, particularly the elimination of gender disparities in primary and secondary education. The Dakar Framework for Action has among its six goals to: •

ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality;

•

eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality;” (Article 7 – ii & v of Dakar Framework of Action)

The Dakar Framework of Action has been followed by the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI). UNESCO and other international agencies have strengthened their cooperation in the implementation of projects for the promotion of girls’ education and elimination of gender disparities. Girls’ education is one of the priority areas for the Ministry of Education and provincial Departments of Education in Pakistan. The UNESCO Office Islamabad is working closely with the Government of Pakistan and NGOs for the provision of literacy training and non formal basic education opportunities for disadvantaged girls and women. However, girls’ education remains marginalized and in need of urgent and full attention. During the 2000-2001 biennium, UNESCO commissioned different research studies in the E-9 countries to assess the status of literacy and basic education, and to indicate the direction that these were taking, among them this study on girls’ literacy was one of such. Given the low rate of literacy, participation and completion for girls in education at all levels and considering the high percentage of the female population living in these populous developing countries, it was deemed important to examine the trend that girls education was taking: was it registering an increase and if so would this trend have a positive impact in the future; was it registering a decrease, and if so what would be its impact on the future; were there other issues involved, perhaps socio cultural traditions that were affecting girls education; were there political issues involved and so on. These studies were conducted simultaneously in all the E9 countries in order to allow for comparisons and a rich exchange of experience which would help the countries strengthen their policies and programmes in favour of girls’ education.

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The studies were largely introspective and based on secondary sources. They analyze Government policies, documents and other research results to develop a cohesive picture of the possible direction girls education may take in the future. UNESCO as the coordinating body of the international efforts in favour of EFA has also, through its regional office in Bangkok developed Guidelines for Preparing Gender Responsive EFA Plans. This publication is based on the study of Future of the Girls Education, designed and supported by UNESCO Office Islamabad. Two eminent female educationists, Dr. Humala Khalid and Dr. Eshya Mujahid-Mukhtar have worked with UNESCO experts on this report. We hope the information and findings presented in this report will contribute to highlighting the challenges of girls’ education in Pakistan. Comments and suggestions on the study/report will be most welcome.

30 August 2002

Ingeborg Breines Director UNESCO, Islamabad.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1

CHAPTER I:

INTRODUCTION

6

CHAPTER II:

METHODOLOGY AND LIMITATIONS

8

CHAPTER III:

A STATISTICAL PROFILE OF GIRLS’ EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN

9

CHAPTER IV:

REVIEW OF POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES ON GIRLS’ EDUCATION IMPLEMENTED IN THE 1990s

13

CHAPTER V:

BARRIERS TO GIRLS’ EDUCATION

26

CHAPTER VI:

RESULTS OF EFA 2000 ASSESSMENT AND CURRENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES

30

CHAPTER VII:

FUTURE SCENARIO FOR GIRLS’ EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN

39

ANNEX:

EFA PERFORMANCE MATRIX

41

STATISTICAL ANNEX

46

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The World Education Forum in Dakar (April 2000) noted that, although the EFA 2000 Assessment registered significant progress in many countries, it was unacceptable that by the year 2000, more than 113 million children had no access to primary education, 880 million adults were illiterate and gender discrimination continued to permeate education systems. The assessment also indicated the need to look at girls’ education as a component of the global and national drive for education for all; it was learned that the education of girls must be considered in the general context of “gender equality”, including education for women. The major Dakar goals, therefore, include the elimination of gender discrimination in education by 2015. UNESCO has been developing countless projects and programmes in this regard. One of the most promising strategies has been the mobilization of political decision makers by informing them systematically on the positive consequences of the provision of quality education for girls in society. In this context, UNESCO commissioned a national study to critically analyze the situation for girls’ education in Pakistan using gender-disaggregated statistical information on literacy, enrolment and drop-out rates; to review past and current policies and programmes which have impacted (or will impact) female education; and to develop the broad outlines of a possible scenario for the future of girls’ education in Pakistan. More specifically, the Study attempts to develop a profile of female education in the country to highlight the existing gender disparities in adult literacy and primary education; review past and current policies and strategies implemented to achieve gender equality and equity in the context of EFA 2000 targets/goals; identify barriers to girls’ education; and develop a possible future scenario for girls’ education in Pakistan, in the general context of gender equity. Profile of Girls’ Education in Pakistan: The Study is based on secondary sources, providing official national level statistics. Available information indicates that although overall adult literacy rates are low in the country, with over half the population illiterate, there has been an impressive progress over the past two decades, especially in rural areas where literacy rates have doubled and for females, there has been an almost three-fold increase. Gross enrolment rates at primary level have always been higher in urban than in rural areas. Also, these rates display sharp gender disparities within each area. However, due to higher levels of awareness, coupled with certain policy measures which focused on female education, especially in rural areas under the Social Action Programme (SAP), the gender gap has narrowed remarkably during the 1990s. Data on enrolment-mix at the primary level display an increase in the proportion of girls, vis-à-vis boys in both urban and rural areas during the 1990s. While in urban areas, the student enrolment remains more or less equally balanced between boys and girls, the gender gap is still wide in rural areas. Besides better levels of awareness, there are two key factors (both controlled by policy) i.e., number of schools and recruitment of female teachers, which are responsible for improving female enrolments. During the 1990s, since policy focused on rural areas, the number of primary schools increased sharply for both boys and girls, although the proportion of (exclusively) girls’ school remained constant. However, the introduction of a large number of mixed schools (comprising almost 12% of all primary schools in rural areas) which were basically girls’ schools but allowed enrolment of boys as well, played an important role in enhancing girls’ enrolment. As expected, the proportion of female teachers perfectly matches the pattern of female enrolments. While in urban areas, there has remained an equal distribution of male and female

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primary teachers but in rural areas, there is a wide gender gap though this has improved over the decade. Although most children do get admitted to primary schools, but the major problem is their retention in primary classes. Given the poverty, high opportunity costs of children attending school (as sometimes they are required to contribute to the family’s economic activities or towards daily household chores such as fetching water, fuel or sibling care), parents’ low perception about education, poor quality of education, teacher absenteeism and/or child’s bad health, a very high proportion of students drops out from primary school. Reasons cited for leaving primary school varied between boys and girls. While most boys left school due to “child not willing” and it being “too expensive”, some boys left as they “had to help at work”. Most girls, too, reported “child not willing” and “too expensive” but a large number said that their “parents did not allow”. A few girls said they had to help at home. Policy Initiatives taken in the 1990s: During the past decade, several policy initiatives were undertaken, each with a strong component for improving girls’ education in the country. Besides two educational policies, namely, the National Education Policy (1992) and the National Education Policy (1998-2010), the Government of Pakistan launched the Social Action Programme (SAP) in 1993/94 which focused on improving the social indicators for girls and women. In 1995/96, in response to the Platform for Action adopted by the United Nations Fourth Conference on Women held in Beijing (1995), the Ministry of Women’s Development (MoWD) of the Government of Pakistan developed a National Plan of Action on the twelve critical areas of concern, in which education for girls figured prominently. Besides initiatives undertaken for formal education, the Government of Pakistan also supported a series of nonformal education programmes to promote female education as well as sponsored, with donor assistance, various incentive schemes for girls attending primary schools. Moreover, several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been actively involved in education programmes for girls. The private sector, too, is also playing a prominent role in providing education, mostly through co-education schools located in urban areas. It is interesting to note that some common provisions for girls/women education have been endorsed by all the policy initiatives mentioned above: (i) Universal Primary Education for girls; (ii) more facilities for girls’ education to provide equal access to education; (iii) more opportunities for girls’ secondary education; (iv) as qualified women teachers become available, teaching of young children (boys and girls) be entrusted to them at primary level; (v) additional funding for women literacy programmes; and (vi) non-formal basic education programmes for out-of-school and drop-out children, especially girls. Several evaluations focusing on the inability to achieve universal primary education for girls identify low levels of participation rates generated by a combination of both supply as well as demand related factors that include: (i) lack of political will and commitment to education; (ii) high population growth rates; (iii) low levels of financial allocation and inefficient utilization of these limited resources; (iv) lack of coordination between federal and provincial governments; (v) lack of school facilities (distance; lack or absenteeism of female teachers; lack of privacy and security; etc.); (vi) poverty; (vii) cultural and family constraints which hinder girls from attending school; and (viii) lack of community participation. Policy Measures announced in the 2000s: The Government of Pakistan has recently formulated the Perspective Development Plan (PDP), for the period 2001-2011, to visualize the required long term macroeconomic and sectoral growth strategies, which will be implemented through operational strategies embodied in a series of three-year rolling plans. On the policy end,

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progress in female education will be largely determined by the level of implementation of the measures outlined under the PDP which, although gender-neutral in education, makes a serious effort to reflect gender concerns in its overall strategies and sectoral programmes. This will have a positive impact on the overall status of women and girls in the country, and will directly influence female participation in educational as well economic activities which, in turn, too will demonstrate not only the value of educating girls but may also contribute towards reducing their drop-out rates. Strategies include the development of a national policy for women, preparation of a strategic plan for women development and setting up of a management information system, creation of a technical resource base in women study centers, gender sensitization at federal, provincial and district levels and capacity building of women councillors. The Perspective Development Plan in Education and Training too, addresses issues which will impact the overall educational standards. In general, it encompasses the following objectives: (i) improvement in literacy rates for both males and females; (ii) Education for All, which includes equal opportunities and elimination of gender discrimination in education; (iii) improvement in participation rate at secondary level for both boys and girls; (iv) introduction of Technical Education at Secondary and Post-secondary levels; (v) producing higher education graduates responsive to the socio-economic needs of the country; (vi) quality education through improved training programmes of male and female teachers. Due to its established linkage with other social sectors, as well its significance per se, Education for All will be the pivot of human capital formation in the country. Strategies to be adopted include adult literacy campaigns and compulsory primary education ordinance. The literacy campaign will be supervised by a special task force of expatriate Pakistanis. The PDP addresses most areas identified for action by the EFA 2000 Assessment. Specific targets for the future include improved literacy rates for both males as well as females. In accordance with the EFA target of achieving 50% improvement in adult literacy rates by 2015, the target for end of the present decade is set at achieving 78% literacy rate for all, with 67% for women and 88% for men. In accordance with another Dakar goal, universal primary education for both boys and girls will be achieved by 2015 – in fact, by 2011. Participation rate of boys in elementary education will also reach 100% by 2011, while substantial improvements are likely to be achieved in participation rates for girls in elementary education and for both boys and girls in secondary education. Establishment of more schools also implies more teachers and a comprehensive teachers’ training project will ensure better training levels, both quantitatively as well as qualitatively. However, there is one area where the PDP does not adequately address EFA concerns i.e. allocation of adequate financial resources. The PDP allocates Rs. 62.5 billion as development expenditures for ten years, averaging Rs. 6.2 billion per annum – this is lower than the present Rs. 7 billion per annum of development expenditures. Also, the current expenditures on education at present are over Rs. 60 billion – the PDP estimates Rs. 50 billion per annum. In addition, the PDP also introduces certain “Gender Audit” aspects which would assess progress and identify bottlenecks in all areas of women development. It provides for the establishment of a technical resource base of women and a management information system besides improvements in the collection and compilation of gender statistics. However, there is no separate body, besides the Ministry of Education and its line departments in the provinces which usually perform routine tasks, identified to monitor girls’ education per se. For over five years, the donor-sponsored SAP Project regularly monitored changes in social indicators, most importantly, female education. With the ending of the Social Action Programme (SAP) Project, there is a gap in the mechanisms for monitoring progress in social indicators. There is, therefore,

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an urgent need to establish a permanent mechanism for monitoring social progress on a regular basis. In the shorter term, the Education Sector Reforms (ESR) forms the crux of the first three-year action plan (2001-2004), in essence, built on the Education Policy of 1998-2010. The main feature of its reform agenda is a strategy for a holistic approach to education, including all areas of EFA and entailing legislative, administrative and financial actions at all levels. The guiding principles of ESR are derived from the linkages between poverty and literacy, the imperative of need-based programmes and budget allocations and creating gender balance in education at all levels. Implementation strategies stress promulgation of Compulsory Primary Education Ordinance, good governance and management, recognition of the contribution of the private sector in education and partnership between private institutions, NGOs and government. The ESR also serves as a foundation of the National Plan of Action (NPA) for Education, developed as a long-term framework (2001-15) to achieve three EFA goals: (i) universal primary education; (ii) adult literacy; and (iii) early childhood care. Based on three five-year phases, the NPA relies on a set of strategies which include: (a) better access to education; (b) improvement in quality of education; (c) participation of communities; (d) link between basic education and skills development; (e) district-based planning and management for better governance; and (f) resource mobilization. The successful implementation of the NPA, however will greatly rely on meeting the resource gap – to the tune of almost Rs. 253 billion i.e., equivalent to about U.S. 4 billion. Future of Girls’ Education in Pakistan: Great care needs to be exercised while portraying the future of girls’ education in Pakistan. Female education is subjected to the forces of both demand as well as supply barriers such as poverty, lower status of female in society and her security concerns, coupled with lack of school facilities, teaching materials and inadequacy or absence of female teachers. More importantly, there are strong linkages of the education sector with other sectors. As such, the future scenario for girls’ education cannot be visualized without considering the new dimensions, which an integrated approach to policy has recently outlined, keeping in view the political and economic changes that are likely to take place along with international commitments which the country has to uphold. More specifically, in the future, girls’ education will be determined by the following factors: (i) the basic policy framework which would influence decisions in the near future pivots around the Perspective Development Plan (2001-2011). In the context of education, this Plan is gender neutral in approach i.e., it does not focus explicitly on girls’ education; instead, it is based on improving overall standards of education for all. It targets improvements in the literacy rates for males as well as females and also for achieving universal primary education for both boys and girls. In this way, the PDP does rely on past decisions and policies, which were designed to narrow the gender gap in education; (ii) the efforts to improve the quantity (through establishment of new formal and informal schools and upgrading of existing ones) and quality of overall education (through curriculum improvement and the teacher training project), besides the promulgation of a Compulsory Primary Education Ordinance, are likely to have a considerable effect on attracting higher enrolment and retention of all children, including girls; (iii) during the next five to ten years, other gender-related measures incorporated in the PDP will also exert a positive influence generally on the overall environment for women and girls, particularly on girls’ education; and (iv) other PDP measures which could have a favourable impact on female education are those which attempt to improve the economy as a whole and include, for example, effective steps to reduce poverty and unemployment; and decentralize administrative and financial authority to accountable local governments.

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Consequently, the future scenario for girls’ education will appear as follows: 1. Under the base-line scenario: In the event that no new policy initiative regarding girls’ education is taken, and the present over all environment, as reflected in the trend growth of the economy and persistence of social cultural norms, continues to prevail, girls’ education is likely to improve both in absolute terms and vis-à-vis boys. This would mainly be due to the momentum derived from the past policies. This progress however, would not be enough to achieve universal primary education for girls. 2. Under the high-case scenario: The effect of a successful implementation of the above measures will include removing both the demand and supply side bottle-necks, to a great extent, to female education. It will also lead to generating a better overall environment for women in the country, made possible by the successful efforts of media, and other mechanisms involved in advancing women’s status. In addition, other factors such as high economic growth; successful efforts at reducing poverty and no major negative external shocks would also contribute towards a positive development of the social indicators. This scenario perceives very high participation of girls in formal, as well as non-formal education, and as a consequence, the achievement of universal primary education of girls even before the end-decade, and a much faster narrowing of gender gap in elementary education. 3. Under the low case scenario: This will entail a weak implementation of the above measures, hindered by poor economic growth due to internal and/or external shocks and continuing structural weaknesses of the economy. The most inhibiting factor for girls’ education would be political turmoil and instability in the short-run leading to stagnation or even some rolling back of government policy and reform initiatives. These, along with a high probability of refugee-related problems, can have significant negative implications for poverty alleviation and improvement in social indicators. As a natural consequence, both women and girls, being the most vulnerable groups in society, are likely to be affected the most, thus leading to lack of progress in all social indicators particularly education, narrowing the gap, or even widening it further, which exists between boys’ and girls’ education. It is a fact, that given the current geo-political crisis in the region and the consequent economic repercussion, the next few years are very crucial for national development. The future trend in all national parameters is somewhat uncertain, but it is hoped that with the resolution of the political questions and improved stability in the region, the economy would continue to move on its steady trend, accompanied by positive developments in social indicators, in general, and education, in particular.

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Background The World Education Forum in Dakar (April 2000) noted that, although the EFA 2000 Assessment registered significant progress in many countries, it was unacceptable that by the year 2000, more than 113 million children had no access to primary education, 880 million adults were illiterate and gender discrimination continued to permeate education systems. The assessment also indicated the need to look at girls’ education as a component of the global and national drive for education for all; it was learned that the education of girls must be considered in the general context of “gender equality”, including education for women. The major Dakar goals, therefore, include the elimination of gender discrimination in education by 2015: “ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality”; and “achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults.” “eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality.” (The Dakar Framework for Action; April, 2000)

UNESCO has been developing numerous projects and programmes in this regard. One of the most promising strategies has been the mobilization of political decision makers by informing them systematically on the positive consequences of the provision of quality education for girls in society. In this context, UNESCO commissioned a regional study to critically analyze the situation for girls’ education. This study focuses on Pakistan and uses gender-disaggregated statistical information on literacy, enrolment and drop-out rates; it reviews past and current policies and programmes which have impacted (or will impact) female education; and seeks to develop the broad outlines of a possible scenario for the future of girls’ education in Pakistan. Objectives of the Study More specifically, the Study aims to: 1. Develop a profile of girls’ education in the country to highlight the existing gender disparities in adult literacy and primary education, based on statistical data from the last ten years. 2. Review past policies and strategies implemented to achieve gender equality and equity in the context of EFA 2000 targets/goals. 3. Identify factors responsible for the present status of girls’ education.

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4. Review current policies and programmes and to what extent these address the situation of girls’ education. 5. Study the role of media and contribution of private and NGO sectors and non-formal education schemes to achieve EFA 2000 goals and targets. 6. Develop a possible future scenario for girls’ education in Pakistan, in the general context of gender equity. The Study is divided into the following five chapters: Chapter II outlines the methodology and limitations of the Study. Chapter III presents a profile of girls’ education in Pakistan, using gender-disaggregated statistical information on rural/urban literacy, educational infrastructure, enrolment and drop-out rates. Chapter IV reviews past policies and programmes implemented during the decade, highlighting progressive measures, including incentive schemes, the role of media, development of gender supportive material and the contribution of the NGOs and the private sector, which had an impact on girls’ education. Chapter V discusses the major barriers to girls’ education. Chapter VI focuses on the results of the EFA 2000 Assessment and refers to current policies and programmes, adopted to improve access of girls to primary education, identifying the gaps that need to be bridged. Chapter VII visualizes a possible future scenario for the future of girls’ education in Pakistan, in the general context of gender equity.

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CHAPTER II METHODOLGY AND LIMITATIONS Methodology The Study is based on secondary sources. National statistical sources have been extensively used which include the Population and Housing Census 1998; the Economic Surveys (various issues) and the reports published by the National (and provincial) Education Management and Information System (NEMIS). The Study also relies heavily on other data sources and relevant research reports issued by the Central Bureau of Education, Academy of Educational Planning and Management (AEPAM) and the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS). For review of policies and strategies to achieve gender equality and equity in education, reference has been made to the planning documents of the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Education, supplemented by research studies. The future scenario of girls’ education has been developed keeping in view the historical realities of resource provisions, commitment, culture, political will and above all, the goals and targets incorporated in the intended future policies and programmes (such as the Perspective Development Plan and the Education Sector Reforms) outlined for girls’ education, in particular, and gender equity, in general. Limitations of the Study The Study suffers from the following limitations: 1. As it is based only on secondary published data, it relies on a variety of sources, often not published or compiled regularly. As such, it is difficult to generate consistent time series comparisons and interpret trends accurately. 2. The Study’s focus is limited only to primary education of girls. 3. In some cases, definitions of indicators change and it is not possible to make a meaningful comparison using indicators from various sources e.g. there is a wide divergence in the statistics provided for primary enrolment rates across various statistical sources. 4. There is no information on some very important indicators e.g., ethnic or religious backgrounds or income levels of out-of-school children, especially girls. 5. The scope of the Study did not include any primary data collection or focus group discussion which could have filled the gaps in certain areas e.g., who are the girls who do not attend school? Why don’t they attend schools? And what changes can be brought about (in social behaviour or policy measures/provisions) for them to attend school? Nevertheless, there still exists a wealth of gender-disaggregated statistical information and supplementary research material, which proved invaluable for this Study.

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CHAPTER III A STATISTICAL PROFILE OF GIRLS’ EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN According to the recent 1998 Population Census of Pakistan, there are almost 60 million women, comprising 48% of the country’s total population. Of the 20 million children of the primary school age (5-9 years), 9.5 million (48%) are girls1. Of both these women and girls, as well as of the overall population, approximately two-thirds (67%) live in rural areas – areas characterized by high levels of poverty, low levels of socio-economic development, and general conditions of backwardness. Adult Literacy Although overall adult literacy rates are low in the country, with over half the population (55%) illiterate, there has been an impressive progress over the past two decades2, especially in rural areas where literacy rates have doubled and for females, there has been an almost three-fold increase (Table 1). Table 1: Progress in Adult Literacy Rates in Urban and Rural Pakistan in 1990s Literacy rates (10+ years) (%) URBAN RURAL TOTAL 1981 47.1 17.3 26.2 Male 55.3 26.2 35.0 Female 37.3 7.3 16.0 1998 64.7 34.4 45.0 Male 72.6 47.4 56.5 Female 55.6 20.8 32.6 Source: Population and Housing Census, 1981 and 1998.

Participation Rates Gross enrolment rates at primary level have always been higher in urban than rural areas. Also, these rates display sharp gender disparities within each area. However, due to higher levels of awareness, coupled with certain policy measures which focused on female education, especially in rural areas under the Social Action Programme (SAP), the gender gap has narrowed remarkably during the 1990s. Information shows that rise in girls’ enrolment was remarkable i.e. rural female enrolment rates more than doubled leading to an almost doubling of the overall female enrolment rate (Table 2).

1 2

Economic Survey 2000/01; Finance Division; Govt. of Pakistan. Comparison of data from two consecutive census (1981 and 1998); there was no census held in early 1990s.

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Table 2. Progress in Gross Enrolment Rates at Primary Level during 1990s URBAN

RURAL

TOTAL

1990 Male 71.4 59.4 62.6 Female 63.2 23.2 33.9 Both 67.4 41.9 48.8 1998/99 Male 92.0 89.0 90.0 Female 82.0 52.0 61.0 Both 87.0 71.0 76.0 Pakistan School Statistics, 1990; Central Bureau of Education, Islamabad. Pakistan School Education Statistics; AEPAM; 1998/99

Data on enrolment-mix at the primary level display an increase in the proportion of girls vis-à-vis boys in urban, as well as rural areas during the 1990s (Table 3). In urban areas, by 1998/99, the share of girls in total enrolment rose to 52%, and in rural areas though the proportion of girls improved from almost one-fourth (27%) to one-third (33%) of the total enrolment, the gender gap still remains wide. Table 3: Change in Enrolment Mix at Primary Level during the 1990s % Enrolment at Primary Level URBAN

RURAL

TOTAL

1989/90 %Male 55 73 66 %Female 45 27 33 1998/99 %Male 48 67 64 %Female 52 33 36 Pakistan School Statistics, 1990; Central Bureau of Education, Islamabad. Pakistan School Education Statistics; AEPAM; 1998/99

Besides better levels of awareness, there are two key factors controlled by government policy i.e., number of schools and recruitment of female teachers, which are responsible for improving female enrolments. During the 1990s, since policy focused on rural areas, the number of primary schools increased sharply for both boys and girls, although the proportion of (exclusively) girls’ school remained constant (Table 4). However, the introduction of a large number of mixed schools (comprising almost 12% of all primary schools in rural areas) which were basically girls’ schools but allowed enrolment of boys as well, played an important role in enhancing girls’ enrolment.

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Table 4: Change in the Number of Primary Schools during 1990s # Primary Schools 1989/90 Male Female % female 1998/99 Male Female Mixed % female

URBAN

RURAL

TOTAL

6832 4133 38%

56810 23200 29%

63642 27333 30%

5969 4102 1675 35%

71913 37334 14994 30%

77882 41436 16669 30%

Pakistan School Statistics, 1990; Central Bureau of Education, Islamabad. Pakistan School Education Statistics; AEPAM; 1998/99

As expected, the proportion of female teachers perfectly matches the pattern of female enrolments. While in urban areas, there has remained an equal distribution of male and female primary teachers, there is a wide gender gap in the rural areas, though this has improved over the decade, with proportion of female teachers rising from almost one-fourth (27%) to one-third (35%) of all teachers (Table 5). Availability of suitably-qualified female teachers in rural and remote areas continues to be a serious problem in the country. Table 5: Change in Percentage of Primary Teachers by Gender and Location during the 1990s % Primary Teachers URBAN

RURAL

TOTAL

1989/90 %Male 50 73 67 %Female 50 27 33 1998/99 %Male 50 65 62 %Female 50 35 38 Pakistan School Statistics, 1990; Central Bureau of Education, Islamabad. Pakistan School Education Statistics; AEPAM; 1998/99

Although most children do get admitted to primary schools, the major problem is their retention in primary classes. Given the poverty, high opportunity costs of children attending school (as they are required to sometimes contribute to the family’s economic activities or towards daily household chores such as fetching water, fuel or sibling care, etc.), parents’ low perception about education, poor quality of education, teacher absenteeism and/or child’s bad health, a very high proportion of students drop out from primary school. The Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (PIHS), a regular household survey conducted nationally every year reveals that although drop-out rates for boys have remained unchanged over the decade but drop-out rates for girls are reported to have decreased (Table 6). Substantial decline was found in the percentage of girls (aged 10-18 years) who said they left school before completing primary school, in both urban (from 12% to 8%) as well as in rural areas (from 27% to 21%). - xv -

Table 6: Percentage of Children (10-18 years) Dropping Out before completing Primary School % Children (aged 10-18 years) URBAN RURAL TOTAL 1990/91 Male 14 17 16 Female 12 27 20 Both 13 20 17 1998/99 Male 13 17 16 Female 8 21 15 Both 11 18 15 Source: Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (PIHS); 1991 and 1998/99

Reasons cited for leaving primary school varied between boys and girls (Table 7). While most boys left school due to “child not willing” and its being “too expensive” some boys left as they “had to help at work”, most girls, too, reported “child not willing” and “too expensive” but large number said that their “parents did not allow”. A few girls said they had to help at home. Table 7: Reasons for dropping out of primary school (ages 10-18 years) (%)

URBAN

BOYS RURAL

TOTAL

URBAN

GIRLS RURAL

Parents did not allow 3 3 3 20 Too expensive 33 18 23 34 Too far 0 1 1 3 Had to help at work 8 8 8 1 Had to help at home 3 5 4 7 Child not willing 41 45 44 21 Source: Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (PIHS); 1998/99

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19 17 6 2 9 27

TOTAL 19 22 5 1 8 25

CHAPTER IV REVIEW OF POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES ON GIRLS’ EDUCATION IMPLEMENTED IN THE 1990s Statistical evidence indicates that in Pakistan, though remarkable progress was achieved in female literacy and primary enrolments over the past decade, yet universal primary education for girls (as well as for boys) could not be attained by year 2000. In this context, the basic questions relate to the nature of policy efforts by the government and some of its related initiatives (such as measures to improve non-formal education) which could not achieve the education targets, and the constraints these efforts faced. Besides, it is important to understand the nature and contents of other supplementary initiatives (such as some incentive schemes undertaken to promote girls’ education; the role of media, the development of gender-related material, etc.) and the effectiveness of roles played by the NGOs and private sector. Government Policies influencing Girls’ Education During the past decade, several policy initiatives were undertaken, each with a strong component for improving girls’ education in the country. Besides two educational policies, namely, the National Education Policy (1992) and the National Education Policy (1998-2010), the Government of Pakistan launched the Social Action Programme (SAP) in 1993/94 which focused on improving the social indicators for girls and women. In 1995/96, in response to the Platform for Action adopted by the United Nations Fourth Conference on Women (UNFCW) held in Beijing (1995), the Ministry of Women’s Development (MoWD) of the Government of Pakistan developed a National Plan of Action on the twelve critical areas of concern, in which education for girls figured prominently.3 Besides initiatives undertaken for formal education, the Government of Pakistan also supported a series of non-formal basic education programmes to promote female education as well as sponsored, with donor assistance, various incentive schemes for girls attending primary schools. In addition, several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been actively involved in education programmes for girls. It is interesting to note that the following common provisions for girls/women education have been endorsed by all the policy initiatives, including the National Education Policies, mentioned above: y Universal primary education for girls y More facilities for girls’ education to provide equal access to education y More opportunities for girls secondary education y As qualified women teachers become available teaching of young children (both boys and girls) be entrusted to them at primary level. y Additional funding for women’s literacy programmes

3

More recently, the present Government announced the Education Sector Reforms (2001-2004) within the framework of longer-term Perspective Development Plan (2001-2011) – discussed in detail under Current Policies and Programmes in Chapter IV.

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y Non-formal basic education programmes for out-of-school and drop-out children, especially for girls. Several evaluations focusing on the inability to achieve universal primary education for girls identify low levels of participation rates generated by a combination of supply and demand related factors: •

Lack of political will and commitment to education;

•

High population growth rates;

•

Low levels of financial allocation and inefficient utilization of these limited resources;

•

Lack of coordination between federal and provincial governments;

•

Lack of school facilities (distance; lack or absenteeism of female teachers; lack of privacy and security for female teachers; etc.);

•

Poverty;

•

Cultural and family constraints which hinder girls from attending school;

•

Lack of community participation.

A detailed discussion of the major policy initiatives undertaken for promoting girls’ education is as follows: The National Education Policy (1992) The Education Policy (1992) focused on: i.

achieving universal primary education, eliminating drop-out rates; and fulfilling basic learning needs by the year 2002;

ii.

stressing women's education;

iii.

raising the quality of public instruction through an extensive in-service teachers' training programme;

iv.

diversification of vocational streams, along with expansion of graduate and postgraduate level courses;

v.

reforming of examination system;

vi.

introducing computer education at school level; and

vii.

encouraging the participation of private sector in education.

Although there is no formal evaluation of the achievements of this Education Policy, it failed to achieve its key objective of universal primary education for girls. However, with the launching of

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the Social Action Programme (SAP) in 1993/94 which focused on the social development of women and girls, particularly in rural areas, and adopted a set of progressive measures to favour enrolment of girls, remarkable improvements in female primary enrolments were generated. The Social Action Program (SAP-I) SAP was formally undertaken (with 80% contribution from the Government of Pakistan and 20% from donor assistance) during 1993-96, covering programs for primary education, primary health care, nutrition, rural water supply and sanitation and family planning. Primary education constituted 65% of the entire SAP allocations with a focus on the promotion of girls’ education. The overall SAP objective has been UPE and to improve the quality of primary education along with the following measures for girls’ participation. i.

Improving girls’ access to quality primary education through introducing mixed schools in places where, it is culturally acceptable; provision of women teachers in mixed schools and putting them under female administration; and provision of basic facilities like boundary wall, toilets and supply of water.

ii. Improving the availability of female teachers through relaxing entry age limits into the profession, relaxing qualification where no women qualified teacher is available and localization of teacher cadre to the district level even below (1Tehsil, 2Thana, and 3 Markaz). The mixed primary school policy was adopted to enhance girls’ access to schools. In Balochistan all new schools were for girls, which boys could also attend. In Sindh the policy was that the first school in any area would be co-educational with female teachers and the second school for girls. During SAP-I (1993-96), 70% of increased enrolments in Punjab were of girls, mostly in rural areas. In Sindh, girls’ schools increased by 15%. In NWFP 55% of the growth in enrolments has been of girls. In Balochistan about 75% new schools were for girls (MSU, 1996). Reviews suggest that SAP-I has had a positive impact on the provision of quality education in rural areas. There has been a quantitative shift in awareness about the importance of education; and women and girls have been the primary beneficiaries of the improved education system. However, little progress appears to have been made in institutional reforms. Also, SAP implementation remained poorly coordinated. Procurement procedures overlapped; attempts at promoting community participation were weak and monitoring and evaluation systems remained under-developed. The second phase of SAP (1997-2001/2) was evolved to consolidate the outcomes of the first phase, with the following cross-sectoral objectives to improve quality, efficiency, sustainability and governance: •

continue increasing the non-salary portion of the recurrent budget to ensure adequate provision of quality inputs;

1

Tehsil is an administrative unit in a district. Thana is an administrative unit of a police station 3 Markaz is an Urdu word meaning Center, it is a cluster of schools with one Markaz school 2

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•

improve governance through merit-based staff recruitment, facility site selection and employment incentives, and measures to reduce absenteeism among staff;

•

strengthen government systems of service delivery through improved planning, management, monitoring and implementation, including financing non-government provision of services; and

•

increase community and beneficiary participation.

Under SAP-II, the scope of some sub-sectors was widened, with education extended to include middle-level schooling; health expanded to incorporate tehsil-level facilities (tehsil hospitals); and peri-urban areas covered under water supply and sanitation. The important role of non-formal education (NFE), as a means of improving literacy and educational levels, was also recognized. One major area of donor involvement in SAP was the setting up of management information system, especially in education in all the four provinces as well as at the federal level. Genderdisaggregated data is collected and compiled annually under NEMIS (National Education Management Information System) and the four provincial EMISs (Educational Management Information Systems). These statistics could help in a “gender audit” in education (e.g., # of schools; enrolments and teachers) every year, assess the present stock and provide invaluable guidance for the future. Besides the management information system, an annual comprehensive household survey, the Pakistan Integrated Household Survey, is also being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Statistics. This survey is based on a sample of about 15,000 households in both rural and urban areas and gives valuable information on a household’s educational, health, family planning and consumption behaviour. The National Plan of Action (1998) for Women As a follow up to the commitment made to the Platform for Action formulated in the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, September 1995), the Ministry of Women’s Development finalized the National Plan of Action (NPA) for Women in September 1998 with the following strategic objectives to improve gender equity: •

Eliminate gender gap in access to education

•

Create a favorable environment for girls’ education

•

Remove gender stereotypes in educational curricula to promote the positive portrayal of the image of girls and women

•

Promote community development in partnership with government and NGOs for out of school girls’ and women.

The NPA defined activities and organizations with time targets to achieve the goals. The partner organizations are: Ministry of Education, Pakistan Literacy Commission (now defunct), National Core Group, Provincial Core Groups, NGOs and CBOs, Private Sector, Education Foundations, (National and Provincial), Provincial Departments of Education, Planning Commission, Donors and Legislators/ Parliamentarians.

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The National Education Policy (1998-2010)4 The National Education Policy (1998-2010) reflected the government's medium-term vision and aimed at the following:

4

•

Disparities and imbalances of all types shall be eliminated so as to promote equity.

•

Access to elementary education shall be increased through effective and optimum utilization of existing facilities and services as well as provision of new facilities and services.

•

Quality of elementary education shall be improved with improvements in teachers’ training and competence.

•

The role of the family, school, community, non-governmental organizations and media in the provision of elementary education shall be maximized.

•

High priority shall be accorded to the provision of elementary education to the out-ofschool children.

•

Non-formal system shall be adopted as complementary to formal system.

•

Financial resource base of elementary education shall be diversified.

•

A monitoring system shall be developed to obtain timely and reliable information on enrolment, retention, completion and achievement. In addition, qualitative monitoring of achievement shall be introduced.

•

Management and supervision shall be improved through greater decentralization and accountability.

Current Policies and Programmes are discussed in Chapter IV Section (B).

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Other Policy Initiatives Promoting Girls’ Education Non-Formal Basic Education (NFBE) Non-Formal Basic Education (NFBE) is defined as an organized and systematic arrangement or process for imparting education and/or training outside the established and conventional stream of education and training to enhance both the quality of life and productive capacity of human resource. The following non-formal education programmes were implemented during the 1990s: 1.

Pakistan Literacy Commission (PLC) In 1995, the Pakistan Literacy Commission established over 7,000 Basic Education community schools for out-of-school and dropout children with local women teachers. Based on the “home school” model, the teacher was recruited for a monthly salary of Rs. 1,000 and was required to teach the five-year primary school curriculum in three and a quarter years for primary age (5-9 years old) and in two to three years for second chance (10-14 years old) students. Funding was provided by the PLC to the communities, through intermediary non-governmental organizations (NGOs). At present 181 NGOs are running 6,918 community schools with 82% schools in rural areas and 18% in urban low income localities. Out of 6,487 total teachers 6,043 or 93% are women teachers, with 67% girls’ enrolment. However, the Programme is reported to have suffered a set of shortfalls and resource crunch, largely due to the absence of a long-term management and financial plan.

2.

The Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) Non-Formal Education Programs The Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), the premier public sector institute in distance education, has organized several non-formal basic education programmes, especially focused on women and girls: a.

Basic Functional Education Program (BFEP): In 1982 Basic Functional Education Project for rural areas was started for the education of rural masses especially women. After three years, an innovative strategy was developed to pass on information effectively through non-broadcast media. The messages were recorded in local language on a cassette supported with illustrations and flipcharts. BFEP is a regular program of AIOU known as Basic Education Program. The major beneficiaries are women and the program consists of 17 courses (list at Annex-III).

b.

Integrated Functional Literacy Project (IFLP): The project was an endeavor to educate women and uplift their social standard of life. This was a comprehensive scheme for educating the out of school and dropped out girls with the following objectives: i.

Provision for basic education for women in a period of 3 years.

ii.

Providing skill training in embroidery, sewing, cutting, cooking, knitting, sharbat making, jam & pickle making or as may be proposed by the local population.

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The project was funded by ODA/British Council in 1993 for establishing 50 centers in five selected areas of Punjab, NWFP, Balochistan, and Sindh. The project components were literacy, numeracy and skill training. The methodology was face to face teaching with the help of books, blackboards, charts etc. and use of audio cassettes. The IFLP had enrolled over 1600 women and girls, the majority of whom lived in some of the most backward regions of the country like Manshera, Uch Sharif, D.G. Khan, Mithi and Quetta. c.

Neo-Literates Reading Project: UNESCO funded the project for developing post literacy reading material for women. The material was developed by writers from all over the country during a workshop held at AIOU, Islamabad. Fifteen, books were written on topics related to women’s issues (list at Annex-IV).

d.

Women Middle Education Program (WMEP): The program was approved by the Academic Council in 1999. It serves 12 years of age and above rural women, who could not continue their education after primary level, through distance education and the open schooling concept. The program plans to absorb the completers of IFLP in addition to other interested females.

e.

Women’s Secondary Education Program (WSEP): Since 1986, a comprehensive Matric Education Program for housewives and women living in villages was launched with the help of the Women’s Division, and the Netherlands Government. Initially it was started in three phases in selected districts of Punjab and gradually expanded to AJK.

f.

WSEP Gilgit under Northern Area Education Directorate: WSEP program started as joint collaboration of AIOU, World Bank and The British Council aiming at secondary education of 200 girls in the districts of Diamer and Ghanchi in 2000.

Selected Incentive Schemes for Promoting Girls’ Participation In addition to free schooling, a number of incentive schemes as part of various development projects were initiated to overcome a variety of economic and socio-cultural barriers and generate better levels of girls’ participation at the primary level. A brief review of some key initiatives is as follows: 1.

Free Vegetable Oil: As a part of promoting of primary education for girls in Balochistan and NWFP, incentive of free vegetable oil (one tin of 5 kg) for a girl who attended school for 20 days each month and 2 tins for teachers who attended school for 22 days was provided. The project started in 1994 for five years. 40,000 girls and 1500 teachers in NWFP and 88,000 girls and 4300 teachers in Balochistan were expected to benefit from the scheme. The annual reviews have shown a significant increase in enrolment and attendance levels. On the average there has been 50% increase recorded in enrolment of girls in target communities. Attendance of girls and teachers increased to 95% in some areas. It was expected that after the withdrawal of WFP’s (World Food Program) introductory offer, the enrolment and attendance would sustain as a result of increased awareness and improvements in the quality of education and expansion of classrooms.

2.

Sindh Primary Education Department Program (SPEDP) offered the following incentives:

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a.

School Nutrition Program: Provision of mid-day meal was started to improve the nutritional status of children with an expectation to increase girls’ enrollment, retention and attendance, improved health and enhanced parents and community awareness about child nutrition and education. Though SNP was disrupted due to delayed funds, the incentive showed popularity and increased enrollment and attendance.

b.

Scholarships for Rural Girls (SRG): provided monetary support to poor rural girls who complete five years of schooling to continue secondary schooling. The amount of scholarship was Rs. 100/- per month. Scholarships proved difficult to manage and the effectiveness is not known, but the scheme was a step in the right direction.

c.

Free Distribution of Textbooks (FDT): This incentive was offered to increase girls’ enrollment and reduce drop-outs by reducing the schooling costs for parents. There were problems in the process of textbooks distribution. On the spot evaluations indicated FDT had no major impact on girls’ retention and enrolment. A recent investigation showed that free supply of textbooks reduced the costs of girls’ education especially in households with a large number of girls, made it easier for teachers to teach, increased enrolment, attendance and improved student learning through better access to books.

d.

Rescheduling School Calendar: Abolition of uniform requirements and automatic promotion in class 1-3 were seen as incentives. Starting the school year in August after the hot season was abandoned after two years of a pilot scheme, as the public preferred the original school timings. Requirements of school uniform remained partially implemented.

e.

Fellowship Schools: were managed by the Parent Education Committee with 100% community involvement. Maximum subsidy up to 100 girls per school, was agreed.

f.

Community Schools: were to be provided on the request of the community and have a local teacher appointed through the Village Education Committee (VEC). Once such school runs for three months. The government provides the teacher’s salary, school facilities and materials. After two years of successful school running the government constructs a school building. The model met with success in Balochistan through CSP (Community Support Process) schools.

g.

Scholarships for Working Children: (SWC). Administering scholarships proved difficult. 1714 girls had benefited from the program while only 530 reached class eight and ten. A recent study indicated the complicated banking procedures and delays prevented parents and girls from depending on scholarships as a regular source of income.

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3.

NWFP Primary Education Program: offered the following incentives: a.

Cash awards for teachers

b.

Scholarships for talented children to complete secondary schooling in rural areas (65% girls 35% boys)

c.

Scholarships for girls’ students in rural areas

d.

Provision of free textbooks

e.

Stipend for women teachers of private schools for improving qualifications.

4.

Northern Area Education Project: Subsidy for community schools @ of Rs. 60/- per child per month. This incentive is to encourage the community to run the schools for both boys and girls.

5.

Balochistan Primary Education Program (BPEP): This incentive scheme for Balochistan was based on an urban girls’ fellowship program. It provided private schools a subsidy of Rs. 100/- per month per girl upto a maximum of 100 students during the first year, Rs. 85 for the second and Rs. 50 in the subsequent years, paid on a quarterly basis. On additional amount for facilities and material cost was Rs. 250/- per girl per year. Attendance bonus was given to the school @ Rs. 50/- per girl per month if a girl attended the school 24 days per month, in addition to enrollment subsidy. The scheme was very successful in increasing access to primary schooling for girls in under-privileged areas of Balochistan. It helped to establish the governments’ role of a facilitator and supporter rather than an implementer and controller of the education process. The success of this concept led to its replication in Sindh, NWFP and Punjab with the technical assistance of Society for Community Support for Primary Education in Balochistan (SCSPEB)

Generally, the incentive schemes were successful in improving the enrolment and retention of girls in the targeted schools. However, according to the results of a qualitative survey, based on perceptions of parents, teachers and students, these schemes were creating a “dependency syndrome” i.e., creating some groups of beneficiaries who were not interested in girls’ education beyond the life of the incentive schemes. Also, there were indications that the implementation of the schemes suffered from a number of managerial and logistic problems. Some respondents were critical of the schemes as some of them did not involve community participation. The incentive schemes are expensive programmes to administer and given scarce resources, it is recommended that they should identify poverty clusters and focus only where the incentive is really needed.

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Other Initiatives Influencing Girls’ Participation in Education Role of Media The role of media is extra-ordinary in the development of education, especially in non-formal education programs. The trends of media in portraying women have changed over the last few years, and the media is coming up as a strong supporter of women in Pakistan. For over a decade, various drama serials have been focusing on the issues of women’s status and their role in society. They have highlighted many major issues such as women’s health and reproductive health, women’s/girls’ education and employment, their increased work load and domestic violence against women. This has created increased awareness amongst the public about the constraints faced by women and girls in society. A lot of emphasis on the promotion of family planning and reproductive health care is being assigned in both print and electronic media. Programs like Gender Watch on PTV have opened new dimensions in people’s minds about women’s contribution and their vital role in society. Cartoon series like Meena and Gogi and the display of their messages on public buses, and many talk shows on radio and television have highlighted women’s/girls’ deprivations and the discriminations against them, resulting in creating gender awareness and sensitization. A media watch Newsletter “Images” is being published as an on going activity of the PTV/UNDP project, “Portrayal of Women in Media”. Khawateen Time, a 25 minutes program on PTV, focuses on various gender issues. “Gender Watch” has touched a range of topics from health, education, to poverty, violence, religion, old age, family planning, professions, even AIDS. PTV programs during the year 2000, which created the most positive image of women in society are: Zaib-un-Nisa, Gender Watch, Khawateen Time, Dupatta, Ana and Maan. The following positive points have been identified as helping women’s empowerment as a consequence of recent programs of the media: y The clashes between mothers-in-law and daughters in-law are highlighted, the cause of such differences and their impact on the family are emphasized for the people to understand and learn from the experience. y Harmful cultural practices are exposed so that people should start discarding them. y Cultural values are discussed to sensitize the younger generation not to follow contemporary trends blindly. y Viewers are sensitized about the powerlessness of women in family decision-making. y Women are treated equally like men and their views are valued in family decision-making processes. This practice is expected to help women’s empowerment. Development of Gender Supportive Material The following initiatives have been taken to develop gender sensitive materials: 1.

Population Education in the Formal School System (POPED) is a program of the Curriculum Wing, Ministry of Education which was implemented in collaboration with UNESCO and UNFPA during 1995-2000. The program aimed inserting population messages into the school curricula and textbooks and addressing equity issues. Gender is a cross cutting theme of the program. The project team suggested changes in textbooks, - xxvi -

2.

developed instructional materials like charts, video films, teachers’ guides and self-study modules to incorporate its five core massages in the formal education system at the primary, elementary and secondary levels. Two of its core messages were related to gender roles and responsibilities, and family and social life. The Punjab Middle Schools Project (PMSP) addressed equity issues in education through key interventions of quality components in the areas of training and material development. In all training programs at least one session was allocated to gender issues in education whereas in most of the training, one session a day was kept for gender issues in education. By the middle of 1999, 132 titles of fiction and non-fiction supplementary reading materials were published and gender audit of the first 84 supplementary readers was carried out, and shared with the teams responsible for developing supplementary readers. The Social Development Unit (SDU) of PMSP contributed towards the editorial process and writing activities for the supplementary readers in order to address the gender bias in readers. The following are the achievements of the project: a.

A gender check-list and materials on addressing gender bias in supplementary reading materials incorporated in the lead trainers’ manual.

b.

A unit on Equity in Education developed for head-teachers consisting of gender sensitizing activities, and information on developmental needs of boys and girls. Units for Equity in Education developed for English, Mathematics and Science textbooks and materials, containing gender sensitizing activities, addressing gender bias inherent in textbooks and information on developmental needs of boys and girls that teachers can look after.

c.

The Testing and Assessment Modules edited for gender. A gender audit of diagnostic tests was carried out with the Curriculum Research and Development Centre staff and shared with the writers’ team.

d.

An Equity Checklist for Illustrators developed in consultation with and at the demand of the artists who illustrate books and trained by PMSP in the art of book illustration. The checklist was disseminated to the Departments of Fine Arts, University of the Punjab, National College of Arts, and publishers.

e.

Under the Punjab Middle School’s Project (PMSP) Social Development Fellowships in Gender Issues in Education were arranged in Manchester for the senior officers of the Department of Education to raise their awareness and ensure their support on gender issues in education.

Contribution of Non Government Organizations (NGOs) A directory of NGOs in Education (SAHE, 1999) indicated 395 NGOs working for the promotion of women and girls’ education in Pakistan. The working style of NGOs and CBOs is usually flexible and democratic and takes care of specific needs of communities. The resources and capabilities of government/public and NGO sectors need to be pooled in a decentralized manner. The public sector does not have the capacity and commitment to achieve the targets laid down in national policies, therefore the energies and potential of private and NGO sectors need to be combined with public resources. Strong partnerships between public, private and NGO sectors should be formed to achieve the goals of EFA, sharing the responsibility of education as genuine participants in national building activity.

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NGO contacts with the communities and their outreach capacity, flexible approach and commitment may make many closed girls’ public schools operative in remote and difficult areas. NGOs like Malik Maula Bukhsh Memorial Trust (MMBMT), Bunyad, (in Punjab) Bannhn Beli (Sindh) Society for Community Support for Primary Education in Balochistan (SCSPEB), and Khwendo Kor (NWFP) have established a number of non-formal and formal primary schools for girls in remote, traditional and hard areas with local women teachers, teaching in multi-grade and multi-age conditions. In many cases the schools have been housed in the residences of women teachers. An example of public NGO partnership is the CSP schools in Balochistan, where SCSPEB joined hands with the Directorate of Education and developed a system to establish/open primary schools in remotest areas of Balochistan. Schools were established through communities support process, honoring the local culture of gender-segregated society by appointing women teachers acceptable to parents and communities, for the education of girls and boys. Dialogue is going on between public, private and NGO sectors. Many programs of NGOs are being supported by the public sector through extending technical as well as financial assistance. In some cases teachers/staff of NGO schools are being trained in other public school buildings and the management of public schools is being shifted to NGOs to enhance school efficiency. NGOs have been invited to identify non-operative girls’ schools in remote areas and make them operative. Contribution of the Private Sector At present, the private sector caters to 30% of all primary school children in the country and employs 20% of all primary school teachers. According to a recent census5 of private education institutions, there are 34,000 institutions, mostly urban and co-educational, providing general education i.e., primary, middle and secondary level schooling, to almost 6 million children of all ages. On an average, 43% of all private students are girls, with almost 40% in rural and 45% in urban areas. Of all private school primary teachers, 77% are females, with 64% in rural and 86% in urban areas. The share of private school expenditures is estimated at 0.6 per cent of GNP. Private schools usually display better standards of infrastructure and teaching quality6. According to PIHS (1998/99), there are marked fee differentials between public and private schools. For primary classes in urban areas, tuition fee is almost 12 times higher in private schools, relative to that in public schools; it is 20 times 20 in rural areas. Most private schools are located in urban areas and as such an overwhelming majority of people in higher income (or higher income quintile) groups prefer to send their children to private schools (Table 8). The proportion of children attending private schools in rural areas is lower than that in urban areas, mainly due to lack of private schools in those areas. Interestingly, a higher proportion of rural girls (than boys) attend private schools, perhaps due to better facilities of private schools such as a higher percentage of female teachers; availability of water and electricity, and perhaps better provision of security.4 Table 8: Percentage of Total Primary Enrolment in Private Schools Income Quintile

5 6

Average

Census of private Institutions in Pakistan 1999/2000; Federal Bureau of Statistics; Govt. of Pakistan; 2001. Education Sector Performance in the 1990s; Federal Bureau of Statistics; Govt. of Pakistan. and refer to Table 11.

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URBAN Male Female RURAL Male Female

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

30 33 27 7 6 7

39 40 39 7 7 8

46 50 41 11 10 13

56 61 52 17 16 18

81 80 82 26 27 26

49 51 46 14 13 15

Source: Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (PIHS) 1998/99; Federal Bureau of Statistics; Govt. of Pakistan

As such, there is ample scope for investments in private schools even in the rural areas. Several private organizations are also involved in the promotion of Technical and Vocational Education, offering training courses in electrical repairs, auto mechanics and computers. However, the scope of technical education for women remains limited.

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CHAPTER V BARRIERS TO GIRLS’ EDUCATION Despite a variety of policy efforts, there still exist a number of factors related to family, community and school which serve as barriers on girls’ access to education. Reducing the intensity and the removal of these factors will provide support for promoting girls’ education. On the demand side, poverty, parents’ education and a variety of socio-cultural factors are the major barriers for girls’ enrolment, attendance and retention in schools. On the supply side, lack of schools, inadequate infrastructure, lack or absence of female teachers and poor quality of teaching are the major obstacles to girls’ education. Family and Community Factors: The Demand Constraints Poverty: Household income of the family affects parents’ decisions to prioritize expenditures on the education of their children. Even if there is a minimal tuition fee charged in schools7, expenditures on uniform, textbooks and other materials, besides the opportunity cost of sending daughters to school, serve as constraints. Opportunity costs increase when children grow up and become more useful in the family’s income-earning/domestic activities. This explains higher school drop-out rates among grown up girls (grade 4 & 5). PIHS (2000) found a positive relationship between household income and school attendance except in Balochistan where girls even from the wealthiest families have never been to schools, partly due to cultural reasons and partly due to lack of schools in the vicinity. Education of Parents: Illiteracy among poor and rural people is common. The most marginalized group deprived of education is the rural girls from poor and illiterate families. Parents’ education has a strong influence on children’s education, especially of girls’. Children of those parents that have obtained some schooling are much more likely to have attended school as compared to those whose parents have themselves never been to school. This difference is much more pronounced in rural areas compared to urban, and for girls relative to boys (Table 9). Lack of parent-teacher communication in case of poor illiterate families, is a major factor for lower learning achievements as identified by head teachers and teachers.8

7

Primary education in Pakistan is not free. UNESCO/Aijaz, “Learning Achievements in Primary Schools of Pakistan, A Quest for Quality Education”; UNESCO/Govt. of Pakistan; Islamabad; 2001.

8

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Table 9: School Attendance and Educational Levels of Parents % of students (10-19 yrs) attending school URBAN Boys Girls

RURAL Boys Girls

Mother's Education No education 86 72 80 45 Less than primary 93 93 95 88 Completed primary 95 97 99 95 Secondary/higher 98 99 100 94 Father's Education No education 76 60 71 31 Less than primary 94 79 86 52 Completed primary 94 88 94 60 Secondary/higher 98 95 98 82 PIHS Education Sector Performance in the 1990s; Federal Bureau of Statistics; Govt. of Pakistan; 1998.

Status of Women/Girls: Women suffer from a low status in society. Women participating in income generating activities in the formal sector are usually considered to neglect their husbands, children and other domestic responsibilities. Misconceptions about women’s education in Islam are common, though changing. Marriage of girls is considered the main responsibility of parents, and as such preparing and saving for dowry are common social norms. The aspirations, achievements and performance of women/girls are usually responsive to the stereotyped expectations of their families and socio/cultural settings. For example, stress on daughters’ roles, as mothers and housekeepers is common. Preference for Sons’ Education: Patriarchal structures of Pakistani society assign men the status of heads of families. In the absence of a welfare state, parents’ prefer to invest more on a son’s education as if their old age social security is attached with better economic ability of their sons. This provides enough justification to invest in the education of sons. In a study conducted on female teachers’ and girls’ access to primary schools in rural Pakistan9, parents agreed that basic education was important for both boys and girls, but insisted that boys education must be a priority as they have to shoulder the economic responsibilities of the family. Both fathers and mothers agreed that better economic position of sons brings better old age living for parents. Considerations for Personal Security of Girls/School Distances: Traveling long distances to attend schools usually pose threat to the personal security of girls. The incidents of child sexual abuse and the importance attached to the personal security of girls dominate parents’ decisions of not sending girls, especially when they grow up, to schools where distances are long. Women teachers, too, indicated unsafe traveling and school conditions as major problems in rural communities. Socialization of Girls: In patriarchal societies like Pakistan socialization processes of girls and boys differ greatly. Boys are looked after and fed better, as compared to girls (UNICEF, 1993). Girls are taught not to disagree, stay modest and submissive in their behavior. Movement of girls is usually restricted especially as they grow whereas boys’ are encouraged to be assertive and are usually assigned outdoor duties. The usual explanation is that after marriages girls have to do domestic work and look after the in-laws/husbands and children. They need to be trained in a way so that they do not face difficulties in adjusting to their married life. The socialization 9

Khalid, H.S. “Female Teachers’ and Girls’ Access to Primary Schools in rural Pakistan: A Case Study”; 1996.

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process continues to be the same in schools where girls’ are expected to remain submissive which has a bearing on their school achievements. This is more common in rural schools as compared to urban areas. Girls’ Domestic Work: Young girls (aged 5 - 7 years) are not very useful for the mothers at home; rather mothers need time to take care of the child. As girls grow they are required at home and withdrawn from schools (resulting in high drop-out rates) to help in domestic work at home. Community Participation: Girls’ schools may become more secure places for both girls and women teachers if local communities start to take an active interest in school matters/activities. Community participation in the maintenance of schools is missing but communities can be effective through Parents-Teachers Associations (PTAs) and School Management Committees (SMCs). School and Education System Related Factors: The Supply Side Aspects Shortage of Girls’ Schools: Although there has been a recent policy emphasis on investing in girls schools, there is still a shortage of girls’ schools, especially in the context of easy access by girls to schools in rural areas. Shortage of Women Teachers: Significance of women teachers to promote girls’ education was recognized as early as the All-Pakistan Educational Conference (1947), and in all subsequent policy documents. The common thinking that even if schools are provided, parents would not send daughters because of “cultural barriers and lack of parental interest”, was challenged during the Balochistan Primary Education Program. Parents agreed to send girls to schools provided schools have women teachers (World Bank, 1995). As such, shortage of qualified women to work as teachers in rural areas is a major constraint in girls’ enrolments. Besides, the quality of education is strongly correlated with the quality of teaching in the classroom. The teacher is considered the most crucial factor in the education system. In the context of girls’ education, female teachers play a pivotal role in ensuring girls’ enrollment and attendance; and empirical evidence indicates that a female teacher also exerts a positive influence on the academic performance of all students, both boys and girls (Table 10). Although girls perform better when taught by a female teacher interestingly, boys also performed better when taught by a female teacher, whether in urban or rural areas. Table10: Pakistan Students’ Composite Score According to Teacher’s Gender Teacher’s gender Female Male

URBAN Girls 63 53

Boys 60 56

RURAL Total 62 54

Girls 63 50

Boys 71 59

Total 64 55

Source: Determinants of Primary Students’ Achievements; National Survey Results; MSU; Islamabad; 1995

Besides a shortage of teachers, there is also a high incidence of teacher absenteeism, especially in the rural areas. Also due to a lack of good teacher training facilities and programmes, the capabilities of teachers are restricted and they are unable to motivate the students and retain their interest in learning.

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Physical Facilities: The condition of school buildings in the public sector is dismal. Usually a standard building of a primary school in a rural area is two class rooms, a boundary wall and a latrine, whereas there should be six classes in a primary school. Many primary schools are one- or two-teacher schools. Multi-grade and multiage teaching is common in rural schools. In comparison to private schools, public schools have a lesser number of classrooms, more students per classroom, higher student-teacher ratios, and lower percentage of female teachers (Table 11). The data on physical facilities is available and comparative information for public and private schools reveals that in rural areas, only 17% of government schools provide desks; 27% have electricity; and 43% are without water. Private schools are somewhat better provided. Many primary schools are running in community donated or rented buildings. Non-availability of boundary wall and toilets are some physical facilities because of which parents do not send girls to schools and female teachers are reluctant to work in such schools. Table 11: Comparison of Public and Private Schools. CHARACTERISTIC

Govt.

URBAN Non-Govt

Govt.

RURAL Non-Govt

Average # of students per school 232 165 96 117 Average # of classrooms per school 5.7 6.5 2.4 4.1 Average # of teachers per school 9.6 9.1 3.3 4.9 Average # of students per classroom 41 25 40 28 Average # of students per teacher 24 18 29 24 Women teachers as % of total teaching staff 46% 85% 36% 71% Facilities: % schools providing desks 56% 92% 17% 70% % schools with electricity 76% 98% 27% 88% % schools with water supply 73% 94% 57% 87% PIHS Education Sector Performance in the 1990s; Federal Bureau of Statistics; Govt. of Pakistan; 1998.

Reading Materials: The quality of textbooks does not make learning an interesting process and children hardly enjoy reading them. Curriculum is not relevant to the needs of students, especially girls. Also children usually have no supplementary readers to strengthen their reading skills. Parents’ misconceptions about girls reading books other than the textbooks are that reading magazines or stories may spoil the morals of girls. This is how girls’ exposure to reading extra reading materials is usually discouraged. There is evidence that supplementary readers, when provided as a component of PMSP, had a positive effect on children’s learning achievements. The research study found girls scored higher than boys in comprehension of fiction as well as non-fiction tests (DFID, 1998a, 1999 & 2000). It was also found that girls’ schools were more responsive to the use of supplementary readers and concluded that women teachers and head teachers were more efficient in implementing policies if provided facilities and training regarding use of supplementary readers (DFID, 1998).

CHAPTER VI RESULTS OF EFA 2000 ASSESSMENT AND CURRENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES (A)

RESULTS OF EFA 2000 ASSESSMENT

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Over the past decade, although Pakistan has striven hard to introduce a series of policy measures addressing female education as well as adopted several initiatives and campaigns to improve girls’ enrolments and literacy rates in particular and meet the EFA targets in general, yet these efforts do not seem sufficient. The pressure of socio-cultural and economic forces have also hindered expansion of female education. Based on the data available, an indicator-wise analysis10 of EFA goals has been undertaken to reflect the present status of the following key education indicators: •

gross primary enrolment rates;

•

net primary enrolment rates;

•

adult literacy rates;

•

literacy gender parity index;

•

survival rates;

•

repetition rates;

•

pupil-teacher ratio;

•

percentage of teachers qualified to teach;

•

percentage of teachers trained to teach;

•

public expenditures on education.

The analysis, mostly based on national official statistical sources indicates: •

•

10

Adult illiteracy rates could not be halved over the decade and over half the population still remains illiterate: According to the 1981 Census, the adult literacy rate was 26%, with 16% for females and 35% for males. The 1998 Census quotes an overall literacy rate of 45%, with 32.6% for females and 56.5% for males. Gender disparities in literacy continue to exist, with the Literacy Gender Parity Index at 0.577

•

Universal primary education could not be achieved either for boys or girls: PIHS (1998/99) reports gross enrolment rates of 71%, with 80% for boys and 61% for girls and the net enrolment rates of 42%, with 47% for boys and 37% for girls. Other official statistics quote net enrolment rates of 48.9% for 1998, with 56.5% for boys and 40.4% for girls.

•

Pupil teacher ratios are very high, especially for females: The pupil-teacher ratio was 39 in 1991 & rose to 55 in 1999/00. The female pupil-female teacher ratio rose from 40 in 1990/91 to 63 in 1999/00.

Refer to EFA Performance Matrix in Annex

- xxxiv -

•

High repetition rates in primary classes: There is an overall 31% repetition rate in primary classes.

•

Low survival rates in primary classes: Male survival rate to Class V is 56% while for females it is 44%.

•

Learning achievements (in Class IV) seem lower for girls than boys: According to an Action Aid Study (1999), overall boys perform better (obtained 71% marks) than girls (obtained 64% marks). However, the performance depends on the type of school: for public schools, boys got 68.8% marks and girls got 58.4% marks; in NGO schools, boys got 65.4% marks while girls got 65.8% marks; in private schools, boys got 77.2% marks and girls got 71% marks. Also, learning achievements are lowest in public schools and best in private schools, while girls perform better than boys in NGO schools. (However, a recent study by the Education Department, Lahore, also indicates that private schools students appearing in secondary school examinations do not perform better than public sector schools.)

•

Public sector allocations to education are very low and have remained constant at about 2% over the decade: In 1990/91, public expenditure in education as percentage of GNP was 2.13%; in 1999/00 it rose to 2.24%. Expenditure per pupil is Rs. 1,268, which is 5% of GNP per capita. Public expenditure on primary education as percentage of total education expenditure was about 43% in 1990/91 and 51% in 1999/00.

The above pattern shows that future policy needs to address the following issues for action on an urgent basis: •

Efforts to improve literacy rates, especially for females.

•

Attention towards improving not only enrolment rates especially for girls but also ensuring the retention of both boys and girls in primary classes.

•

Recruitment of more female teachers to improve the pupil teacher ratio for girls.

•

Improve quality of teaching (through training) to ensure better learning levels.

•

Allocation of more public resources to education.

The following section discusses the policy measures, both long and short-term, recently announced by the Government as part of the ten-year Perspective Development Plan (20012011) and the Education Sector Reforms (2001-2004) and the recently-developed NPA for Education (2001-2015) and critically analyzes how well these measures address the current needs of girls’ education in the country. (B)

CURRENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES

The Government of Pakistan has recently formulated the Perspective Development Plan (PDP), for the period 2001-2011, to visualize the required long term macroeconomic and sectoral growth strategies, which will be implemented through operational strategies embodied in a series of three-year rolling plans. On the policy end, progress in female education will be largely determined by the level of implementation of the measures outlined under the PDP which, - xxxv -

although gender-neutral in education, makes a serious effort to reflect gender concerns in its overall strategies and sectoral programmes. This will have a positive impact on the overall status of women and girls in the country, and will directly influence female participation in educational as well economic activities which, in turn, too will demonstrate not only the value of educating girls but may also contribute towards reducing their drop-out rates. Strategies include the development of a national policy for women, preparation of a strategic plan for women’s development and setting up of a management information system on women’s issues, creation of a technical resource base in women’s study centers, gender sensitization at federal, provincial and district levels and capacity building of women councilors. The Perspective Development Plan in Education and Training too, addresses issues, which will impact overall educational standards. In general, it encompasses the following objectives: •

Improvement in literacy rates for both males and females;

•

Education for All, which includes equal opportunities and elimination of gender discrimination in education;

•

Improvement in participation rate at secondary level for both boys and girls;

•

Introduction of Technical Education at Secondary and post-secondary levels;

•

Producing higher education graduates responsive to the socio-economic needs of the country;

•

Quality education through improved training programmes of male and female teachers.

Due to its established linkage with other social sectors as well its significance per se, Education for All will be the pivot of human capital formation in the country. Strategies to be adopted include adult literacy campaigns and a compulsory primary education ordinance. The literacy campaign will be supervised by a special task force, also including expatriate Pakistanis. Specific targets for the future include improved literacy rates for both males as well as females (Table 12). In accordance with the EFA target of achieving 50% improvement in adult literacy rates by 2015, the target for the end of the present decade is set at achieving 78% literacy rate for all, with 67% for women and 88% for men. Table 12 : Literacy Rates Targets for the Future Targets for Literacy Rates 2000/01 2003/04 2010/11 Male 64 73 88 Female 39 47 67 Total 52 61 78 Source: Ten year Perspective Development Plan 2001-11 and Three-year Development Programme 2001-2004; Planning Commission; Government of Pakistan; September 2001; Islamabad.

In accordance with another Dakar goal, universal primary education for both boys and girls will be achieved by 2015 – in fact, by 2011 (Table 13). Participation rate of boys in elementary education will also reach 100% by 2011, while substantial improvements are likely to be achieved - xxxvi -

in participation rates for girls in elementary education and for both boys and girls in secondary education. Table 13: Targets for Participation Rates in Education Participation Rates (%) 2000/01

2003/04

2010/11

96 70 83

102 85 94

107 101 104

67 46 57

77 52 66

100 94 97

42 27 35

50 39 45

81 77 79

Primary Male Female Total Elementary Male Female Total Secondary Male Female Total

Source: Ten year Perspective Development Plan 2001-11 and Three-year Development Programme 2001-2004; Planning Commission; Government of Pakistan; September 2001; Islamabad.

To achieve the above targets in education, as well as improve the overall status of women, a series of specific strategies and programmes have been highlighted. If supported by higher levels of budgetary allocations for both gender-specific activities in general as well as educational programmes in particular, the implementation of these measures over the next decade are likely to considerably promote female educational standards as well as overall female status in society.

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Issues, Strategies and Programmes of the Perspective Plan (2001-2011) which will affect girls’ education as well as overall women status in Pakistan Issues 1. Low literacy and participation rates at primary, elementary and secondary levels

Strategies -Adult literacy Campaigns

Programmes Assisted by a Special Task Force on Human Development

-Formal and non-formal systems

Establishment of 30,000 nonformal schools (including 7100 existing ones) Opening of 32,000 Primary Schools and Upgradation of 53000 Primary schools to elementary level. Upgradation of 19000 elementary schools to secondary level Teacher Training Project

-Universal Primary Education

- Universal Secondary Education 2. Low quality of education at all levels

3. Human Rights, Legal Issues and Violence against Women

-Improved standard of teachers -

Curriculum improvement Improve examination system -Revamp Science Education

-

Family protection programme National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) Advocacy and Awareness

4. Women and Poverty

-

5. Institutional Mechanism for Advancement of Women through Employment

-

Education Testing Service and Establishment of National Education Assessment System Improving Science Education facilities in 3000 existing secondary schools - Development of family protection complexes, to include crisis centers, with legal aid for women; - Awareness through Mass media

Implementation of National Plan of Action; Economic empowerment of women.

-

Development of a national policy for women; Preparation of a Strategic Plan for Women Development; Setting up of a management system; Creation of a technical Resource Base in Women Study Centres; Gender Sensitization at all levels of govt.; Capacity building of female councilors.

-

-

-

Gender and Poverty Alleviation and skill development projects; Micro financing facilities. Policy formulation process in consultation with stake holders; Mainstreaming of gender and development; Establishing a data base for gender statistics; Upgrade women study center; Orientation for elected women representatives; Gender sensitization training

Source: Ten year Perspective Development Plan 2001-11 and Three year Development Programme 2001-2004; Planning Commission; Government of Pakistan; September 2001; Islamabad.

Unfortunately, of the total amount of Rs. 1,927 billion allocated to federal development programmes in the Perspective Plan (2001-2011), only 10% is allocated to the sectors which are likely to play a direct role in improving the overall status of women in society in future, including female participation in education (Table 14). Education programmes have been allocated a total

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of Rs. 62.4 billion for the ten-year period, which is 3.24% of the total allocations. Health and Nutrition enjoy a marginally higher allocation of about 3.78%. Population Welfare gets almost 2% of the total amount. Other sectors such as media, social welfare and women development activities are allocated almost 0.5% each. Development targets are announced by the federal government. Education, however, is a provincial subject and much of the achievement in the education sector will depend on the provincial allocations to, and implementation of, educational programmes. Table 14: Development Allocations to Sectors Directly Affecting Female Status and Education Allocation (in Rs. billion)

%

62.42 72.93 38.02 9.31 10.08 9.02

3.24 3.78 1.97 0.48 0.52 0.47

201.78 1927.00

10.5 100

Education/Training Health & Nutrition Population Welfare Mass Media Social Welfare Women in Development SECTORS RELATED TO FEMALE STATUS TOTAL FEDERAL PDP

Source: Ten year Perspective Development Plan 2001-11 and Three year Development Programme 2001-2004; Planning Commission; Government of Pakistan; September 2001; Islamabad.

The Education Sector Reforms (ESR): 2001-2004 and the National Plan of Action (NPA) for Education (2001-2015) In the context of education, the Education Sector Reforms (ESR) forms the crux of the first three-year action plan (2001-2004), in essence, built on the Education Policy of (1998-2010). The main feature of its reform agenda is a strategy for a holistic approach to education, including all areas of EFA and entailing legislative, administrative and financial actions at all levels. The guiding principles of ESR are derived from the linkages between poverty and literacy, the imperative of need-based programmes and budget allocations and creating gender balance in education at all levels. Implementation strategies stress promulgation of Compulsory Primary Education Ordinance, good governance and management, recognition of the contribution of the private sector in education and partnership between private institutions, NGOs and government. The following strategies having gender as a cross cutting policy for the implementation of EFA have been identified: •

Enforcement of Compulsory Primary Education where facilities are available (public and private) as a deterrence and not as a punitive instrument

•

Development of National and Provincial Plans of Action for Education for All (EFA)

•

Setting up of National and Provincial EFA Wings/Units to support NPA and PPAs

- xxxix -

•

Specific time bound targets at provincial and district levels

•

Achieving targets of EFA through quality formal and non-formal programs

•

Introducing early childhood education in selected schools

•

Mainstreaming special education programmes for children through early detection in schools

•

Improvement and rehabilitation of existing schools and new primary/elementary buildings only in under-served areas subject to resource availability over a period of three years.

•

Co-education up to primary level

•

Up-gradation of primary to elementary schools

•

Merger of male and female elementary managers at the district level

•

Exemption of age limit for qualified female teachers

•

Reducing Casual Leave of school staff from 2 to 1 day per month and making it lapsable

•

Making School Management Committee (SMCs)/Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) effective.

ESR has introduced the following innovative programs with girls’ education as a cross cutting strategy: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Reforms in Examination System: National Education Assessment System (NEAS): Video Textbook-Libraries: Early Childhood Education (ECE): Good Governance and Decentralization in Education District/Tehsil Resource Centers Adopt-a-School Programme National Adult Literacy Campaign

The ESR also serves as a foundation of the National Plan of Action (NPA) for Education, developed as a long-term framework (2001-15) to achieve three EFA goals: (i) universal primary education; (ii) adult literacy; and (iii) early childhood care. Based on three five-year phases, the NPA relies on a set of strategies which include: (a) better access to education; (b) improvement in quality of education; (c) participation of communities; (d) link between basic education and skills development; (e) district-based planning and management for better governance; and (f) resource mobilization. The NPA has also assessed the financial resources required to pursue these strategies for desired results. The total cost of NPA is estimated at Rs. 430 billion, with Rs. 120 billion (28%) to be borne in Phase I, Rs. 134 billion (31%) in Phase II and Rs. 176 billion (41%) in Phase III. The contribution of national resources in total costs increases gradually from 30% in Phase I to 40% - xl -

in Phase II and to 50% in Phase III. The successful implementation of the NPA, however will greatly rely on meeting the resource gap – to the tune of almost Rs. 253 billion i.e., equivalent to about U.S. 4 billion. Do the Current Policies address the issues identified for action by EFA 2000 Assessment? Specifically, the Perspective Development Plan as well as the Education Sector Reforms and the NPA do attempt to address most of the issues identified for action under the EFA 2000 Assessment: Issue identified for Action

Remark

1. Efforts to improve literacy rates, especially for females. 2. Attention towards improving not only enrolment rates especially for girls but also ensuring the retention of both boys and girls in primary classes.

Adequately addressed through initiation of Adult Literacy Campaigns Adequately addressed through establishment of new formal as well as informal schools as well as curriculum improvement and teachers’ training project; also promulgation of Compulsory Primary Education Ordinance. More new schools will imply recruitment of more female teachers. However, impact on pupil-teacher ratio is not specifically addressed. Adequately addressed through the formulation of a Teachers’ Training project - which is included for implementation. Not adequately addressed. The PDP allocates Rs. 62.5 billion as development expenditures for ten years, averaging Rs. 6.2 billion per annum – this is lower than the present Rs. 7 billion per annum of development expenditures. Also, the current expenditures on education at present are over Rs. 60 billion – the PDP estimates Rs. 50 billion per annum.

3. Recruitment of more female teachers to improve the pupil teacher ratio for girls. 4. Improve quality of teaching (through training) to ensure better learning levels. 5. Allocation of more public resources to education.

In addition, the Perspective Plan also introduces certain “Gender Audit” aspects which would assess progress and identify bottlenecks in all areas of women’s development. It provides for the establishment of a technical resource base of women and a management information system besides improvements in the collection and compilation of gender statistics. However, there is no separate body, besides the Ministry of Education and its line departments in the provinces which usually perform routine tasks, identified to monitor girls’ education per se. For over five years, the donor-sponsored SAP Project regularly monitored changes in social indicators, most importantly, female education. With the ending of the Social Action Programme (SAP) Project earlier this year, there is a gap in the mechanisms for monitoring progress in social indicators. There is, therefore, an urgent need to establish a permanent mechanism for monitoring social progress on a regular basis.

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CHAPTER VII FUTURE SCENARIO FOR GIRLS’ EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN Great care needs to be exercised while portraying the future of girls’ education in Pakistan. Female education is subjected to the forces of demand as well as supply barriers, such as poverty, lower status of female in society, her security concerns coupled with lack of school facilities, teaching materials and inadequacy or absence of female teachers. More importantly, there are strong linkages of the education sector with other sectors. As such, the future scenario for girls’ education can not be visualized without considering the new dimensions which an integrated approach to policy has recently outlined, keeping in view the political and economic changes that are likely to take place along with international commitments which the country has to uphold. More specifically, in the future, girls’ education will be determined by the following factors: •

The basic policy framework which would influence decisions in the near future pivots around the Perspective Development Plan (2001-2011). In the context of education, this Plan is gender neutral in approach i.e., it does not focus explicitly on girls’ education; instead, it is based on improving overall standards of education for all. It targets improvements in the literacy rates for males as well as females and also for achieving universal primary education for both boys and girls. In this way, the PDP does rely on past decisions and policies, which were designed to narrow the gender gap in education.

•

The successful implementation of the recently-developed NPA, and subsequently of the four provincial plans of action, focusing on universal primary education, adult literacy and early childhood care, can contribute substantially towards uplifting the educational status of Pakistani females.

•

The efforts to improve the quantity (through establishment of new formal and informal schools and upgrading of existing ones) and quality of overall education (through curriculum improvement and the teacher training project), besides the promulgation of a Compulsory Primary Education Ordinance, are likely to have considerable effect on attracting higher enrolment and retention of all children, including girls.

•

During the next five to ten years, other gender-related measures incorporated in the PDP will also exert a positive influence generally on the overall environment for women and girls and, particularly, on girls’ education. These include, for example, the formulation of a National Policy for Women; the implementation of a National Plan for Action (NPA) for Women; introduction of programmes for economic empowerment of women; and efforts at raising awareness against violations of human rights and domestic violence.

•

Other PDP measures which could have a favourable impact on female education are those improving the economy as a whole and include, for example, effective steps to reduce poverty and unemployment; and decentralize administrative and financial authority to accountable local governments.

Consequently, the future scenario for girls’ education will appear as follows: i.

Under the base-line scenario: In the event that no new policy initiative regarding girls’ education is taken, and the present over all environment, as reflected in the - xlii -

trend growth of the economy and persistence of social cultural norms, continues to prevail, girls’ education is likely to improve both in absolute terms and vis-à-vis boys. This would mainly be due to the momentum derived from the past policies. This progress would not be enough to achieve universal primary education for girls, however. ii.

Under the high-case scenario: The effect of a successful implementation of the above measures will include removing both the demand and supply side bottlenecks, to a great extent, to female education. It will also lead to generating a better overall environment for women in the country, made possible by the successful efforts of media, and other mechanisms involved in advancing women’s status. In addition, other factors such as high economic growth; successful efforts at reducing poverty and no major negative external shocks would also contribute towards a positive development of the social indicators. This scenario perceives very high participation of girls in both formal as well as non-formal education, and as a consequence, the achievement of universal primary education of girls even before the end-decade, and a much faster narrowing of gender gap in elementary education.

iii.

Under the low case scenario: This will entail a weak implementation of the above measures, hindered by poor economic growth due to internal and/or external shocks and continuing structural weaknesses of the economy. The most inhibiting factor for girls education would be political turmoil and instability in the short-run leading to stagnation or even some rolling back of government policy and reform initiatives. These, along with a high probability of refugeerelated problems, can have significant negative implications for poverty alleviation and improvement in social indicators. As a natural consequence, both women and girls, being the most vulnerable groups in society, are likely to be most affected, thus leading to lack of progress in all social indicators particularly education, narrowing the gap, or even widening it further, which exists between boys’ and girls’ education.

Given the current geo-political crisis in the region and the consequent economic repercussion, the next few years are very crucial for national development. The future trend in all national parameters is somewhat uncertain, but it is hoped that with the resolution of the political questions and improved stability in the region, the economy would continue to move on its steady trend, accompanied by positive developments in social indicators, in general, and education, in particular.

- xliii -

ANNEX EFA PERFORMANCE MATRIX

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EFA PERFORMANCE MATRIX EFA Six Target Dimensions, Corresponding Indicators and Status of Progress in Pakistan EFA TARGETS

INDICATORS

PROGRESS

Adult Literacy Reduction of the adult literacy rate to one-half its 1990 level by the year 2000, with sufficient emphasis on female literacy to significantly reduce the current disparities between male and female illiteracy rates.

(i) Adult literacy rate: percentage of population aged 10+ that is literate.

According to the 1981 Census, the adult literacy rate was 26%, with 16% for females and 35% for males. The 1998 Census quotes an overall literacy rate of 45%, with 32.6% for females and 56.5% for males. 0.432 in 1991; and 0.577 in 1998.

Early Childhood Care and Development Expansion of early childhood care and development activities, including family and community interventions, especially for poor, disadvantaged and disabled children.

(ii) Literacy Gender Parity Index: ratio of female to male literacy rates (i) Gross enrolment in early childhood development programmes, including public, private and community programmes, expressed as percentage of the official agegroup concerned, if any, otherwise the age group 3 to 5. (ii) Percentage of new entrants to primary grade 1 who have attended some form of organized early childhood development progamme

-i-

Separate provision of early childhood care and development not available in public sector. Although there are katchi classes meant for 4-5 year old children but almost 65% of children in these classes are reported to aged 6 years and above. No reliable data on percentage of new entrants to primary grade 1 who have attended any form of organized early childhood development programme.

EFA TARGETS

INDICATORS

Primary Education Universal access to, and completion of, primary/basic education by the year 2000.

(i) Apparent (gross) intake rate: new entrants in primary grade 1 as a percentage of the population of official entry age. (ii) Net intake rate: new entrants to primary grade 1 who are of the official primary school-entrance age as a percentage of the corresponding population. (iii) Gross enrolment ratio (GER). (iv) Net enrolment ratio (NER)

- ii -

PROGRESS Gross intake rate in Grade 1 is 99.8% of all children of official entry age; and 83.8% of females. Net intake rate in Grade 1 is 59.7% of all children; and 53.6% of females.

PIHS (98/99) reports gross enrolment at 71%, with 80% for boys and 61% for girls. PIHS (98/99) reports NER at 42%, with 47% for boys and 37% for girls. Other official statistics quote net enrolment rates of 48.9% for 1998, with 56.5% for boys and 40.4% for girls.

EFA TARGETS

INDICATORS

PROGRESS

Primary Education …. (Contd.) Universal access to, and completion of, primary/basic education by the year 2000

(v) Public current expenditure in primary education (a) as a percentage of GNP and (b) per pupil, as a percentage of GNP per capita.

In 1990/91, public expenditure in education as % of GNP was 2.13%; in 1999/00 it rose to 2.24%. Expenditure per pupil is Rs. 1,268, which is 5% of GNP per capita. Public expenditure on primary education as % of total education expenditure was about 43% in 1990/91 and 51% in 1999/00. Almost all male as well as female teachers in the public sector, except a few instructors such as those for Physical Training , have the required academic qualifications. In 1997/98, almost 94% primary school teachers were trained teachers. This comprised 94.4% trained male and 92.6% trained female teachers. PTR was 39 in 1991 & rose to 55 in 1999/00. The female pupil-female teacher ratio rose from 40 in 1990/91 to 63 in 1999/00. There is an overall 31% repetition rate in primary classes. Male survival rate to Class V is 56% while for females it is 44%.

(vi) Public expenditure on primary education as a percentage of total public expenditure on education. (vii) Percentage of primary school teachers having the required academic qualifications. (viii) Percentage of primary school teachers who are certified to teach according to national standards. (ix) Pupil/teacher ratio (PTR).

(x) Repetition rates by grade. (xi) Survival rate to grade 5 (percentage of a pupil cohort actually reaching grade 5). (xii) Coefficient of efficiency (ideal number of pupil years needed for a pupil cohort to complete the primary cycle, expressed as percentage of the actual number of pupil years).

- iii -

Overall coefficient of efficiency is 68%, with 65% for females.

EFA TARGETS Learning Achievement and Outcomes Improvement of learning achievement such that an agreed percentage of an appropriate age cohort (for example 80 percent of 14 year olds) attains or surpasses a defined level of necessary learning achievement.

INDICATORS (i) Percentage of pupils reached at least grade 4 of schooling who master a nationally defined basic competencies.

having primary set of learning

(ii) Literacy rate of 15-24 year olds. Training in Essential Skills Expansion of provisions of basic education and training in other essential skills required by youths and adults, with programme effectiveness assessed in terms of behavioural changes and impact on health, employment and productivity. Education for Better Living Increased acquisition by individuals and families of the knowledge, skills and values required for better living and sound and sustainable development, made available through all education channels including the mass media, other forms of modern and traditional communication, and social action, with effectiveness assessed in terms of behavioural changes.

- iv -

PROGRESS Overall boys perform better (obtained 71% marks) than girls (obtained 64% marks). However, the performance depends on the type of school: for public schools, boys got 68.8% marks and girls got 58.4% marks; in NGO schools, boys got 65.4% marks while girls got 65.8% marks; in private schools, boys got 77.2% marks and girls got 71% marks. [Study conducted by Action Aid 1999]. In 1997/98, the overall literacy rate of 15-24 years is 55%, with 67% for males and 43% for females. Several programmes/projects have been implemented to improve the quality of life through awarenesscreation e.g. on population education, safety in occupational hazards, labour standards, trade unionism, etc.. Besides weekly Friday sermons, radio and TV programmes for students, teachers, mothers, farmers, and other groups have played a prominent role in imparting knowledge. Public service announcements on hygiene, child immunization, oral rehydration therapy, anti-smoking, awareness about AIDS, traffic rules, etc. also play an important role in awarenesscreation and improving behaviour.

STATISTICAL ANNEX

-v-

Table: A: Growth of Literacy Rate in Pakistan Province Pakistan Punjab Sindh NWFP Balch’tan

1951 (Census) MF M F 16.4 19.7 12.5 17.8 20.2 14.9 13.2 17.9 7.6

1961 (Census) MF M 16.3 23.2 13.6 20.1 16.3 22.7

F 7.4 6.1 8.4

1972 MF 21.2 20.2 30.2

(Census) M F 30.2 11.8 29.1 10.7 39.1 19.2

MF 26.2 27.4 31.5

1981 (Census) M F 35.1 16.0 36.4 16.8 29.7 21.6

MF

1998 M 45.0 56.5 47.7 58.7 46.7 56.6

F 32.6 35.3 35.4

7.7

12.8

1.9

10.3

17.3

2.7

14.5

23.1

4.7

16.7

25.9

6.5

37.3

52.8

21.1

10.3

13.7

6.0

7.5

11.7

2.3

10.1

14.8

4.2

10.3

15.6

4.3

26.6

36.5

15.0

Source: LAMEC (1984), Literacy Profile of Pakistan 1951-81, Literacy and Mass Education Commission, MOE, Islamabad.

-i-

Table: B - Number of Mosque, Primary, Middle and High Schools By Sex And Area In Pakistan 1989-90 Province and Level of School Punjab Mosque Primary Middle High Sindh Mosque Primary Middle High NWFP Mosque Primary Middle High Balochistan Mosque Primary Middle High FATA Mosque Primary Middle High FANA Mosque Primary Middle High Pakistan Mosque Primary Middle High

M&F

URBAN AREAS Female F%

M&F

RURAL AREAS Female

F%

TOTAL Female

M&F

F%

0

0

0

11,980

0

0

11,980

0

0

5,760 802 1,395

2,490 365 645

43 45 46

52,195 3,713 1,773

17,915 1,406 511

34 38 29

57,955 4,515 3,168

20,405 1,771 1,156

35 45 36

0 4,190 405 979

0 1,185 65 328

0 28 16 33

8,561 12,845 517 270

0 1,715 119 8

0 13 23 3

8,561 17,035 922 1,249

0 2,900 184 336

0 17 10 27

0 851 96

0 401 35

0 47 36

3,970 8,795 659

0 2,683 112

0 30 17

3,970 9,646 755

0 3,084 147

0 32 19

187

77

41

753

52

7

940

169

18

0 128 57 164

0 43 27 54

0 33 47 33

2,820 3,781 555 159

0 486 55 1

0 13 10 8

2,820 3,909 612 323

0 529 82 67

0 15 13 21

0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0

301 1,971 251 136

0 343 30 11

0 17 12 8

301 1,971 251 136

0 343 30 11

0 17 12 8

36 18 16 0

14 6 6 0

39 33 37 0

423 88 45 27,632

58 8 4 0

14 9 9 0

459 106 61 27,632

72 14 10 0

16 13 16 0

10,965

4,133

38

80,010

23,200

29

90,975

27,333

30

1,378 2,741

498 1,110

36 40

5,783 3,136

1,730 639

30 20

7,161 5,877

2,228 1,749

31 30

Source: Pakistan School Statistics, 1990 Central Bureau of Education, Islamabad

- ii -

Table C: Total Numbers of Educational Institutions by Provinces 1999-98 Region Punjab

Level

Total

Urban Girls

Mixe d

Rural Girls

B&G

Primary 5,242 2,166 53,010 Middle 686 379 4,920 High 1,093 499 3,447 H-Sec 106 59 172 Total 7,127 3,103 61,549 Sindh Primary 4,340 1,202 1,567 33,950 Middle 417 151 46 1,606 High 775 314 41 683 H-Sec 85 44 11 40 Total 5,617 1,711 1,665 36,279 NWFP Primary 1,009 319 19,531 Middle 154 63 1,554 High 195 74 1,141 H-Sec 47 24 110 Total 1,405 480 22,336 Balch Primry 853 308 8,769 Middle 96 47 586 High 150 59 264 Total 1,099 414 9,619 AJK Primary 134 74 4,393 Middle 43 21 847 High 56 23 402 H-Sec 2 2 38 Total 235 120 5,680 FANA Primary 102 26 50 1,237 Middle 20 4 80 189 High 32 11 8 110 Total 154 41 66 1,536 FATA Primary 3,153 Middle 303 High 196 H-Sec 7 Total 3,659 ICT Primary 66 7 58 198 Middle 8 4 2 43 High 45 23 2 42 H-Sec 15 5 11 Total 134 39 62 294 PAK. Primary 11,746 4,102 1,675 124,241 Middle 1,424 669 56 10,048 High 2,346 1,003 51 6,285 H-Sec 255 134 11 378 Total 15771 5,908 1,793 140,952 Note: * Federal Administrative Northern Areas * Federal Administrative Tribal Areas * Azad Jammu Kashmir * Islamabad Capital Territory Source: Pakistan School Education statistics 1998-99,AEPAM

21,584 2,899 1,027 60 25,570 4,642 443 96 7 5,188 5,872 500 195 15 6,582 2,108 93 25 2,226 1,953 392 117 17 2,479 185 37 15 237 1933 66 18 1,017 57 21 16 4 98 37,334 4,451 1,509 103 43,397

- iii -

Mixed

14,188 356 196 15 14,755

614 76 29 719 127 6 9 142 65 5 2 72 14,994 443 226 15 15,688

B&G 58,252 5,606 4,540 278 68,676 38,290 2,023 1,458 125 41,896 20,540 1,708 1,336 157 23,741 9,622 682 414 10,718 4,527 890 458 40 5,915 1,339 209 142 1,690 3,153 303 196 7 3,659 264 51 87 26 428 135,987 11,472 8,631 633 156,723

Total Girls Mixed 23,75 3,278 1,526 119 28,673 5,844 594 410 51 6,899 6,191 563 269 39 7,062 2,416 140 84 2,640 2,027 413 140 19 2,599 211 41 26 278 933 66 18 1,017 64 25 39 9 137 41,436 5,120 2,512 237 49,305

15,755 402 237 26 16,420

664 84 37 785 127 6 9 142 123 7 4 134 16,669 499 287 26 17,481

Girl 41 5 25 0 42 15 0 0 0 16 3 0 0 0 29 3 0 0 27 5 0 0 0 33 0 0 0 0 33 0 0 25 0 0 0 0 0 30 45 29 37 03

Table D: Enrolment at Primary, Middle and High Stages by Sex and Area in Pakistan 198990 Class and Level of School

URBAN AREAS

RURAL AREAS

M&F Female F% M&F Female 2845 1301 45.7 3996 1199 1058 3179 49.8 879 1764 119 674 39.6 301 759 22 143 37.5 121 322 1689 675 39.9 975 132 127 847 40.6 430 1057 5 102 39.5 175 442 0.2 26 36.8 70 190 383 121 7.8 1212 233 204 905 35.3 87 246 23 235 2.5 25 97 6 72 22.5 9 40 166 50 30.1 315 30 27 291 32.7 39 119 2 18 25 9 36 1 6 18.1 2 11 0 0 196 24 24 169 0 0 0.6 21 0 0 0 6 0 0 FANA 10 3 30 42 4 Primary Stage 3 30 33.3 2 6 Middle Stage 0 9 33.3 1 3 High Stage 0 2 0 0 1 PAKISTAN 5094 2156 6.3 6736 1622 1443 5421 45.1 1443 3193 Primary Stage 150 1059 38.2 511 1337 Middle Stage 29 256 38.8 202 564 High Stage Pakistan School Statistics 1990, Central Bureau of Education, Islamabad PUNJAB Primary Stage Middle Stage High Stage SINDH Primary Stage Middle Stage High Stage NWFP Primary Stage Middle Stage High Stage BALOCH’TAN Primary Stage Middle Stage High Stage FATA Primary Stage Middle Stage High Stage

- iv -

TOTAL

F% 22.5 33.2 17.6 1.4 13.5 14.9 4.9 0 19.2 22.5 9.7 8.3 9.5 9.2 11.1 16.6 12.2 14.2 0 0 7.3 10 0 0 24.0 26.6 14.1 11.3

M&F 6841 4943 1433 465 2685 1924 545 216 1596 1152 332 112 482 411 54 17 195 169 20 6 51 36 12 3 11832 8615 2397 820

Female 2506 1943 420 143 806 556 180 70 355 291 49 15 80 66 11 3 24 24 0 0 7 6 1 0 3779 2886 661 232

F% 36.6 39.3 29.3 30.7 30.0 28.8 33.0 32.4 22.2 25.2 14.7 13.3 16.5 16.0 20.3 17.6 12.3 14.2 0 0 13.7 16.6 8.3 0 31.9 33.4 27.5 28.2

Table: E: Total Number of Enrolment by Provinces 1998-99 (in 000) Region

Stage

B &G

Girls

URBAN G%

B&G

Girls

G %age

B&G

Girls

TOTAL G %age

Punjab

Primary Stage Middle Stage High Stage High Sec. Total Primary Stage Middle Stage High Stage Total Primary Stage

888.0 676.0 337.0 15.0 1917.0 788.0 382.0 217.0 1387.0 326.0

410.0 307.0 157.0 11.0 886.0 371.0 180.0 95.0 646.0 134.0

46 45 46 73 46 47 47 43 46 41

4582.0 991.0 306.0 14.0 58,94.0 1,478.0 189.0 95.0 1762.0 2054.0

1619.0 313.0 85.0 8.0 2,025.0 425.0 41.0 18.0 484.0 709.0

35 31 27 57 34 28 21 01 27 34

5470.0 1668.0 644.0 29.0 7,811.0 2267.0 571.0 312.0 3150.0 2,379.0

2029.0 620.0 243.0 19.0 2911.0 797.0 221.0 113.0 1131.0 843.0

37 37 37 65 37 35 38 36 35 35

Middle Stage 133.0 57.0 42 High Stage 69.0 26.0 37 Total 528.0 217.0 41 Balochistan Primary Stage 167.0 74.0 44 Middle Stage 46.0 18.0 39 High Stage 24.0 8.0 33 Total 237.0 101.0 42 *AJK Primary Stage 394.0 172.0 43 Middle Stage 93.0 37.0 39 High Stage 30.0 10.0 33 518.0 219.0 42 Total *FANA Prmry Stage 22.0 7.0 31 Middle Stage 6.0 2.0 33 High Stage 3.0 1.0 33 Total 31.0 10.0 32 *FATA Prmry Stage Middle Stage High Stage High Sec. Total *ICT Prmry Stage 44.0 21.0 47 Middle Stage 25.0 11.0 44 High Stage 15.0 6.0 4 High Sec. 10.0 4.0 4 Total 95.0 43.0 45 Total Pakistan Primary Stage 2,631.0 1,191.0 52 Middle Stage 13,63.0 613.0 44 High Stage 696.0 304.0 43 High Sec. 26.0 15.0 57 Total 4,715 2,122 45 Note: * Federal Administrative Northern Areas * Federal Administrative Tribal Areas * Azad Jammu and Kashmir * Islamabad capital territory Source: Pakistan School Education Statistics 1998-99, AEPAM

380.0 150.0 2,584.0 473.0 48.0 16.0 537.0 25.0 40.0 8.0 73.0 78.0 17.0 5.0 100.0 266.0 35.0 12.0 0.0 314.0 47.0 17.0 7.0 1.0 71.0 9,002.0 1717.0 600.0 15.0 11,335

79.0 23.0 811.0 158.0 9.0 2.0 170.0 12.0 15.0 3.0 31.0 25.0 2.0 1.0 28.0 47.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 50.0 22.0 6.0 2.0 0.0 31.0 3,017.0 469.0 136.0 8.0 3,631

20 15 31 33 18 12 31 48 37 04 42 32 11 0 28 17 05 08 0 15 46 35 28 0 43 33 37 22 53 32

513.0 219.0 3112.0 640.0 95.0 40.0 774.0 420.0 133.0 38.0 591.0 100.0 23.0 8.0 131.0 266.0 35.0 12.0 0.0 314.0 91.0 42.0 22.0 11.0 166.0 11,633 3080.0 1296.0 41.0 1,6050

136.0 50.0 1,028.0 232.0 28.0 10.0 270.0 185.0 52.0 13.0 250.0 32.0 5.0 1.0 38.0 47.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 50.0 43.0 17.0 8.0 4.0 73.0 4,208.0 1,082.0 440.0 23.0 5,753

26 22 33 36 29 25 34 44 39 34 42 32 21 12 29 17 05 08 0 15 47 40 36 36 43 36 35 33 56 35

Sindh

NWFP

-v-

RURAL

Table F: Number of Teacher in Primary, Middle and High Schools by Sex and Area 1989-90. Class and level of school

URBAN AREAS

Punjab-T Primary Middle High Sindh-T Primary Middle High

M&F 51157 15623 5851 29683 54320 28813 5686 19821

Female 23969 7202 3041 13726 29392 16310 3362 9720

NWFP-T Primary Middle High

11773 5851 1770 4152 6393 3664 1264 1465 0 0 0 0 531 130 200 201 124174 54081 14771 55322

Balochistan-T Primary Middle High FATA-T Primary Middle High FANA-T Primary Middle High Pakistan-T Primary Middle High

RURAL AREAS

F% 47 46 52 46 54 57 59 49

M&F 154897 91586 33451 29860 31308 23868 3996 3444

Female 47580 29726 10564 7290 4774 3777 915 95

4893 2811 640 1442

42 48 36 35

45604 25622 7783 12199

1238 660 193 385 0 0 0 0 169 50 43 76 59661 27033 7279 25349

19 18 15 26 0 0 0 0 32 38 21 38 48 50 49 46

16076 6824 5128 4124 11720 6858 2416 2446 2337 915 667 755 261942 155673 53441 52828

F% 31 31 31 24 15 16 23 3

M&F 206054 107209 39302 59543 85628 52681 9682 23265

Female 71549 36928 13605 21016 34179 20087 4277 9815

9101 6512 1119 1470

20 25 14 12

57377 31473 9553 16351

13994 9323 1759 2912

24 30 18 18

2636 883 773 980 1594 1235 208 151 156 85 36 35 65854 42218 13615 10021

16 13 15 24 14 18 9 6 06 9 5 5 25 27 25 19

22469 10488 6392 5589 11720 6858 2416 2446 2868 1045 867 956 386116 209754 68212 108150

3874 1543 966 1365 1594 1235 208 151 325 135 79 111 125515 69251 20894 35370

17 15 15 24 14 18 9 6 11 13 9 12 31 33 31 33

Source: Pakistan School Statistics, 1990, Central Bureau of Education, Islamabad

- vi -

TOTAL F% 35 34 35 35 40 38 44 42

Table G: Total Number of Teachers by Provinces 1998-99 Region Punjab

Sindh

NWFP

Baloch

*AJK

*FANA

*FATA

*ICT

Pakistan

Level Mosque Primary Middle High

URBAN M*F 1,709 21,526 10,453 34,473

H-Sec. Total Mosque Primary Middle High H-Sec. Total Mosque Primary Total Primary Middle High Total Primary Middle High High Sec. Total Mosque Primary Middle High H-Sec. Total Mosque Primary Middle High H-Sec. Total Mosque Primary Middle High H-Sec. Total Mosque Primary Middle

4,845 73,006 3,193 35,215 3,433 21,236 4,355 67,432 370 6,669 7,039 1,101 1,951 4,450 7,502 282 339 1,251 63 1,935 2 250 129 412 21 814 1,237 203 1,699 854 3,993 5,274 66,280 16,508

Female

F%

11,128 5,640 15,237

52 54 44

2,785 34,790 670 18,437 1,980 10,609 2,311 34,007 1897 1,897 481 846 1,718 3,045 179 204 487 55 925 101 47 179 327 1,228 185 1,111 432 2,956 670 33,451 8,902

57 47 21 52 58 49 53 50 28 28 43 43 39 42 63 60 39 87 48 0 0 0 0 0 40

99 91 65 50 75 13 50 54

High 63,521 29,341 46 H-Sec. 10,138 5,583 55 77,947 Total 161,721 48 Note: * Federal Administrative Northern Areas. * Federal Administrative Tribe Areas. * Azad Jammu and Kashmir * Islamabad Capital Territory Source: Pakistan School Education Statistics 1998-99-AEPAM

M& F 12,884 127,657 51,795 62,704

RURAL Female 58,904 28,884 17,639

6,404 261,444 16,556 45,423 6,034 7,947 1,124 79,084 5,287 58,373 63,660 5,312 6,304 4,628 16,244 6,154 5,425 7,183 920 19,682 39 1,417 706 977 3,139 273 7,244 2,517 2,911 161 13,106 37 1,017 413 789 275 2,531 35,076 252,597 73,194

1,941 107,368 293 7,836 1,577 1,258 121 11,085 15,902 15,902 1,878 796 378 3,052 2,716 2,505 1,908 341 7,470 1 374 87 58 520 16 2,113 406 214 2,749 540 238 368 104 1,250 310 90,263 34,493

89,139 8,884 458,890

21,823 2,507 149,396

- vii -

F% 46 55 28 33 40 2 17 26 16 10 14

M*F 14,593 149,183 62,248 97,177

TOTAL Female 70,032 34,524 32,876

F% 46 54 34

4,726 142,158 963 26,273 3,557 11,867 2,432 45,092 17,799 17,799 2,359 1,642 2,096 6,097 2,895 2,709 2,395 396 8,395 1 475 134 237 847 16 2,113 406 214 2,749 1,768 423 1,479 536 4,206 980 123,714 43,395

45 42 .05 32 33 38 40 30

21 0 53 58 46 38 49 0.8 35 46

11,249 334,450 29,749 80,638 9,467 31,183 5,479 146,516 5,657 65,042 70,699 6,413 8,255 9,078 23,746 6,436 5,764 8,434 983 21,617 41 1,667 835 1,389 21 3,953 273 7,244 2,517 2,911 161 13,106 37 2,254 616 2,488 1,129 6,524 40,350 318,877 89,702

24 22 32

152,660 19,022 620,611

51,164 8,090 227,343

33 42 36

27 25 35 13 .8 18 44 46 27 37 38 0.3 26 12 05 16 05 29 16 7

27 25 33 19 22 25 50 46 25 40 39 2 28 16 17 0 21 0 28 0 0 0 20 0 78 68 59 47 64 02 38 47

Table H: Number of Private Educational Institutions by type, level, Area and Gender TOTAL RURAL URBAN Total Boys Girls Comb Total Boys Girls Comb Total Boys Girls 33893 886 803 31956 13848 420 489 12939 19498 466 314 Pakistan Primary 14748 242 464 14042 7153 178 400 6575 7595 64 64 Middle 12550 215 89 12246 5139 146 27 4966 7411 69 62 High 5940 357 185 5398 1448 80 40 1328 4492 277 145 H-Secondary 407 72 65 270 108 16 22 70 299 56 43 290 1 2 287 169 1 168 121 1 1 Islamabad Primary 149 1 148 80 1 79 69 Middle 73 73 55 55 18 High 54 1 1 52 26 26 28 1 1 H-Secondary 14 14 8 8 6 22702 488 341 21873 9974 172 149 9653 12728 316 192 Punjab Primary 9537 80 99 9358 4787 52 78 4657 4750 28 21 Middle 9185 109 68 9008 4028 57 20 3951 5157 52 48 High 3774 256 131 3387 1091 53 33 1005 2683 203 98 H-Secondary 206 43 43 120 68 10 18 40 138 33 25 5895 83 351 5461 713 9 267 437 5182 74 84 Sindh Primary 2572 24 293 2255 577 5 265 307 1995 19 28 Middle 1741 7 12 1722 99 2 2 95 1642 5 10 High 1495 44 37 1414 34 1 33 1461 43 37 H-Secondary 87 8 9 70 3 1 2 84 7 9 3966 158 60 3753 2524 103 41 2380 1447 55 19 NWFP Primary 2051 60 29 1962 1428 48 27 1353 623 12 2 Middle 1318 45 7 1266 815 36 4 775 503 9 3 High 514 36 13 465 256 15 7 234 258 21 6 H-Secondary 83 17 11 60 25 4 3 18 63 13 8 461 23 48 390 142 3 30 109 319 20 18 Balochistan Primary 261 6 41 214 103 1 28 74 158 5 13 Middle 121 5 2 114 30 2 1 27 91 3 1 High 70 9 3 58 8 8 62 9 3 H-Secondary 9 3 2 4 1 1 8 3 1 326 133 1 192 326 133 1 192 FATA Primary 178 72 1 105 178 72 1 105 Middle 112 49 63 112 49 63 High 33 11 22 33 11 22 H-Secondary 3 1 2 3 1 2 Source: FBS (2001) Census of Private Institutions in Pakistan 1999-2000, Federal Bureau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad.

- viii -

Com 19017 7467 7280 4070 200 117 69 18 26 4 12220 4701 5057 2382 80 5024 1948 1627 1381 68 1373 609 491 231 42 281 140 87 50 4

Table I: Enrolment in Private Institutions by Type, Level, and Gender (in 000) Type/ Level

Total Rural Urban B&G Girls Girls% B&G Girls G% B&G Girls G% 5,807 2511 43 1859 730 39 3,948 1,781 Pakistan Primary 4,569 1946 42 1561 596 38 3,008 1,349 Middle 885 404 46 242 106 44 643 299 High 306 140 46 50 24 48 255 116 H-Secondary 47 20 42 6 3 50 41 17 .0 17 0 24 10 42 18 7 Islamabad Primary 35 14 40 21 8 38 14 6 Middle 5 2 40 2 1 50 2 1 High 2 1 50 1 .0 0 1 .0 H-Secondary 1 .0 0 .0 0 .0 .0 3,621 1675 46 1,318 587 44 2304 1,088 Punjab Primary 2,924 1320 45 1,098 473 43 1,826 847 Middle 528 267 50 181 92 51 347 175 High 150 78 52 36 20 55 115 58 H-Secondary 19 10 52 3 2 66 16 8 1,304 587 45 57 28 49 14 559 Sindh Primary 935 422 45 49 25 51 887 397 Middle 240 107 45 6 2 33 234 105 High 114 51 45 2 .0 0 112 51 H-Secondary 15 6 40 1 .0 0 14 6 671 196 29 369 94 25 302 103 NWFP Primary 537 160 29 315 80 25 223 80 Middle 91 24 26 44 10 23 47 14 High 32 8 25 10 3 30 22 5 H-Secondary 10 3 30 1 .0 0 9 3 97 30 31 20 7 35 77 23 Balochistan Primary 76 25 33 17 6 35 59 19 Middle 14 4 28 2 1 50 12 3 High 5 1 20 .0 .0 0 5 1 H-Secondary 1 .0 0 .0 .0 0 1 .0 70 4 6 70 4 4 FATA Primary 61 4 6 61 4 6 Middle 7 .0 0 7 .0 0 High 2 .0 0 2 .0 0 H-Secondary .0 .0 0 .0 .0 0 Source: FBS (2001) Census of Private Institutions in Pakistan 1999-2000, Federal Bureau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad.

- ix -

45 49 46 45 41 39 43 50 0 0 47 46 50 50 50 2 44 45 45 43 34 36 30 23 33 30 32 25 20 0

Table J: Teaching Staff in Private Schools by Type, Level, Area and Gender Type/ Level

Total Rural Urban M&F Female F% M&F Female F% M&F Female F% 287,823 210,588 73 86,729 52,579 61 201,094 158,009 78 Pakistan Primary 75,924 58,904 77 28,838 18,397 64 47,086 40,507 86 Middle 106,381 77,629 73 38,205 23,036 60 68,176 54,593 80 High 94,609 67,459 71 17,482 9,866 56 77,127 57,593 75 H-Secondary 10,909 6,596 60 2,204 1,280 58 8,705 5,316 61 2,880 2,310 80 1,533 1,186 77 1,347 1,124 83 Islamabad Primary 939 841 89 411 354 86 528 487 92 Middle 684 573 84 406 342 84 278 231 83 High 651 488 75 226 169 75 425 319 75 H-Secondary 606 408 67 490 321 65 116 87 75 172,217 132,625 77 59,374 41,864 70 112,843 90,761 80 Punjab Primary 45,820 38,108 83 18,731 14,184 76 27,089 23,924 88 Middle 71,655 54,786 76 27,861 19,067 68 43,794 35,719 81 High 50,317 36,970 73 11,696 7,844 67 38,621 29,126 75 H-Secondary 4,425 2,761 62 1,086 769 71 3,339 1,992 60 69,966 55,486 79 2,591 1,546 60 67,375 53,940 80 Sindh Primary 15,934 13,452 84 1,179 655 55 14,755 12,797 87 Middle 18,652 15,078 81 842 536 63 17,810 14,542 82 High 32,057 24,768 77 530 339 63 31,527 24,429 77 H-Secondary 3,323 2,188 66 40 16 40 3283 2,172 66 35,590 16,975 48 19,610 7,174 36 15,980 9,801 61 NWFP Primary 11,002 5,451 49 7,262 2,908 40 3,740 2,543 68 Middle 12,915 6,209 48 7,666 2,795 36 5,249 3,414 65 High 9,479 4,270 45 4,161 1,306 31 5,318 2,964 56 H-Secondary 2,194 1,045 48 521 165 32 1,673 880 53 4,487 2,975 66 938 586 62 3,549 2,383 67 Balochistan Primary 1,361 997 73 387 241 62 974 756 78 Middle 1,346 896 66 301 203 67 1,045 687 66 High 1,481 894 60 245 139 57 1,236 755 61 H-Secondary 299 188 63 5 3 60 294 185 63 2,683 223 8 2,683 223 8 FATA Primary 868 55 6 868 55 6 Middle 1,129 93 8 1,129 93 8 High 624 69 11 624 69 11 H-Secondary 62 6 10 62 6 10 Source: FBS (2001) Census of Private Institutions in Pakistan 1999-2000, Federal Bureau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad.

-x-

Table K : Combined Primary Stage Enrolment in Public and Private Schools (in 000) 1998-99 Total

Urban 477 979 1456

2267 935 3202

417 489 906

371 397 768

788 887 1675

1053 24 1077

425 25 450

1478 49 1527

843 160 1003

2379 537 2916

192 143 335

134 80 214

326 223 549

1345 234 1579

709 80 789

2054 315 2369

407 51 458

232 25 257

640 76 716

93 40 133

74 19 93

167 59 226

314 11 325

158 6 164

473 17 490

Public Private ICT

48 21 69

43 14 57

91 35 126

23 8 31

21 6 27

44 14 58

25 12 37

22 8 30

47 20 67

Public Private

6903 2566

3944 1941

10847 4507

1202 1659

1011 1349

2214 3009

5700 964

2933 592

8633 1499

9469

5885

15354

2861

2360

5223

6664

3525

10132

Public Private

Sindh Public Private

NWFP Public Private

Balochtan

Pakistan

Female 2029 1320 3349

Total 5470 2924 8394

1470 513 1983

797 422 1219

1537 377 1914

Male

Rural

Female 410 847 1257

Public Private Punjab

Male 3441 1604 5045

- xi -

Total 888 1826 2714

Male 2963 625 3588

Female 1619 473 2092

Total 4582 1098 5680