Measuring Gender and Education Quality - The Need for Social Outcomes

1. Measuring Gender and Education Quality - The Need for Social Outcomes Huma Zia, Sahar Saeed and Saba Saeed Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) 10th to 15th March 2014 Participation at CIES Supported by: Open Society Foundation (OSF)

2. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND • Major focus of the global community on school enrollment. • 89% of primary-age children are enrolled in school (UNESCO, 2012). • Over time progress in reducing out-of-school children has slowed considerably. • In spite of increase in access learning levels are low-at least 250 million primary-school age children are not able to read, write or count well enough (GMR,2012). • Children from poorest households are at least three times more likely to be out of school than children from the richest households (MDG Report, 2013).

3. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND • Gender inequalities and socioeconomic disparities persist (EFA Agenda for South Asia, 2013). • It is important that in the midst of goal setting for 2015 and post 2015, the unfinished agenda is not left behind. • Access at the expense of learning is unsustainable!!!

4. Pakistan has amongst the widest education inequalities in the world. • Two-thirds of Pakistan’s out-of-school children are girls. • Literacy rates remain higher for urban areas when compared to rural & much higher for boys when compared to girls (clearly reflected in ASER 2013). • Results from Pakistan (ASER Pakistan 2012/3) reveal a majority of 5-16 to be not achieving grade 2 learning competencies. Facts from Pakistan

5. PURPOSE OF STUDY ASER: ANNUAL STATUS OF EDUCATION REPORT, PAKISTAN

6. METHODOLOGY & SURVEY DESIGN Using ASER India 2102 data for comparison purposes only!

7. Evidence of Disparities in EducationThe Case of Rural Pakistan • The data set used to highlight the challenge of equity and to identify the relationship between students’ performance and the disadvantages they face on account of their background. • Household indicators captured in ASER used as a baseline to determine the wealth status of households. • An ASER composite wealth index constructed by integrating all the households indicators in the HH survey form.

8. RESULTS – Evidence of Disparities in Education: The Case of Rural Pakistan

9. ASER Wealth Index(Out-of-school children) 2012 2013 Overall, percentage of OOSC decreased in 2013 ~ WI 2013

10. ASER Wealth Index: Learning levels (2012) • The learning level of children in all three subjects increases for the richest quartile. • Poorest have the lowest learning levels: (16% Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto, 15% English, and 14% Math) and richest have the highest learning levels (42% Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto, 42% English, and 38% Math).

11. ASER Wealth Index: Learning levels (2013) Follows the same trends as previous year: • Poorest continue to have the lowest learning levels – although slight improvement can be seen - 19% Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto, 17% English, and 17% Math.

12. Wealth Index: Enrollment by Gender • The percentage of males and females enrolled in schools improves for the richest. • Girls lag behind boys disproportionately if poor.

13. Wealth Index: Learning Levels by Gender (2012) • Learning levels of males and females improve from the poorest quartile to the richest quartile. • Highest learning levels of females are seen in the richest quartile across the three competency levels (41% Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto, 40% English, and 36% Mathematics). • Similarly males falling in the richest income group perform better in language and numeracy tasks than children falling in low income groups.

14. Wealth Index: Learning Levels by Gender (2013) • Learning levels of males and females improve from the poorest quartile to the richest quartile. • Highest learning levels of females are seen in the richest quartile across the three competency levels (42% Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto, 41% English, and 36% Mathematics) – 1% improvement in English & local language. • WI 2012 & 2013 show similar trends – very slight improvement over the year.

15. Evidence of disparities(Pakistan 2012)

16. Evidence of disparities(India 2012)

18. Learning Gaps: Public and Private Schooling (Pakistan 2012)

19. Learning Gaps: Public and Private Schooling (Pakistan 2013)

20. The Need for Social Outcomes • MDGs do not sufficiently address the problem of intersecting inequalities (wealth, age, grade, public private). • The strategies do ensure that ALL children are enrolled in school; the critical question is: are ALL children learning? • The question of learning how much and what, is actively being pursued by South Asian/ African and soon Latin American citizen groups through a rigorous evidence based innovative approach.

21. The Need for Social Outcomes • The results of ASER 2012/3 (Pakistan) suggest that education targets should also focus on learning levels due to disparities. • Global tools on learning measurement have to be aligned with new realities and challenges (pre primary, primary, post primary). • Post-2015 development agenda has to involve measuring a broader range of indicators to ensure reflection of intersecting possibilities.

22. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS • Better baseline data and statistics are needed, that are popularly accessible & comprehensible. • All countries should prioritize learning gaps in children from early grades through high school beyond the age and grade frameworks. • The culture of assessments should be inculcated in households and communities.

23. “It’s important to invest more in children most excluded & girls to address the factors hindering the development of such groups from education as a fundamental right (5-16 years)”

24. THANK YOU… www.aserpakistan.org