LAHORE: The report on constituency-based education mapping for the year 2022 targeting NA-171, NA-232, NA-11 and NA-42 has been launched. The Annual Status of Education Report, Pakistan, which is one of the largest surveys on education in the country, has shed light on the state of education in the above constituencies of Pakistan.
Published by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA), the report aims to provide reliable and independent estimates on the status of education. The report focuses on enrolment numbers, learning levels of children, school facilities available and household indicators which directly impact learning and its quality.
The ASER report is a critical tool for policymakers, researchers, and educators to understand the current state of education in Pakistan and to identify areas where improvement is needed.
The launch event, held on Tuesday in Bahawalpur was attended by several eminent educationists, policymakers, members of civil society, politicians, political workers, bureaucrats from education department, AEOs, school heads and media CSOs were all ears about what was promised and what got delivered in 5 years. Special Guests included Muhammad Kazim Ali Pasha (MPA) and from PTI Tahseen Nawaz Gardezi MPA (expected), Dy DEO Abdul Mateen from education department, 4 AEO’s Khairpur Tamewali, teachers and senior principal of government and private schools.
According to the key findings of the report enrolment levels varied in each constituency, with Bahawalpur, NA-171 showing the highest enrolment rate at 65% for children between 5-16 years of age, followed by Kohistan NA-11 at 62%, Mohmand NA-42 at 61%, and Thatta at 53%.
Of the enrolled children, over 60% of surveyed were school-going. Children are enrolled in government schools, less than 30% attend private institutes, and less than 1% children are attending non-formal learning institutions. Enrolment in madrassahs is 0.5% on average, lower when compared to trends observed in the regular ASER national surveys (0.7%).
Data reveals that girls lag behind boys across all levels in each constituency, with the largest gaps existing at elementary and secondary levels. Over 30% girls across all constituencies are out-of-school at secondary level, with Kohistan showing an alarming percentage of 60% girls out of school at secondary level. The proportion of girls is also higher when never enrolled and drop out trends are observed, especially in Mohmand where 37% girls are out-of-school.
In assessing learning outcomes, Bahawalpur NA-171 has the highest proportion of children who have consistently higher learning levels when compared to other constituencies. The percentage of students who can read a story in Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto for Bahawalpur is 45.4%, 49.4% of children can read a story in English, and 46.5% of children can do division. However, the percentage of children achieving these levels is still less than 50%.
Learning levels have been the lowest in Thatta, with less than 20% students being above beginner level(s) in each competency.
As per the report in all constituencies except Kohistan NA-11, students from private school exhibited higher learning levels than those enrolled in public schools. For grade 5, public schools in Bahawalpur NA - displayed the highest levels of learning with 72% of public school students being able to read a story in Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto, 61% of students can read sentences in English, and 66% of students can perform 2-digit division. Students enrolled in public schools in Thatta exhibited lowest levels of learning for grade 5. Only 33% of students enrolled in public school in Thatta can read a story in Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto.
The participants discussed the findings of the report and offered their insights on the way forward.
The representatives from NA-171, NA-232, NA-11 and NA-42 promised to work for girls’ education, start enrolment drives and to improve the quality of education.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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