But this is not a column about how dismal things look, about how our government is inefficient, and how our citizenry is unmotivated. It is about the steps that are being taken in the right direction, especially in Punjab. Here is a look at some of the “good news” from Punjab’s education sector, as Sir Michael Barber, Department for International Development’s (DFID) special representative for education in Pakistan, describes it. Due to a number of interventions, which are part of a larger reform road map, teacher presence and student attendance numbers have shown impressive increases in Punjab. Both the percentages of teachers present and of already enrolled students attending class were greater than 92 per cent in December 2012, up from 72 per cent and 82 per cent in September 2011, respectively. The percentage of schools with functioning facilities has also increased from 69 per cent to 91 per cent in the same time frame. Enrolment has seen increases for the five-to-nine-year age range, but most of these come from kachi (or kindergarten classes) and do not yet extend all the way through primary school. While some areas in Punjab have laudably passed the 90 per cent enrolment mark, others, such as rural areas and southern Punjab, as well as girls’ schools, clearly lag behind. In addition, students are learning more. The latest Annual Status of Education Report, which assessed over 60,000 children from all Punjab districts, reveals significant gains in learning outcomes for both literacy and numeracy. Clearly, there is much more work to be done, but the above indicators show progress.
A number of policy innovations, fostered by the DFID and led by the Punjab government, have made these developments possible. Greater monitoring of schools has been instrumental in improving teacher presence. This has been made possible by the tireless work done by a revamped programme monitoring and implementation unit. Also key is the Punjab Education Foundation, which enables poor children to attend low-cost private schools for free. There is also the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund (PEEF), established in 2009 to provide merit-based scholarships and assistance in the 16 less-developed districts in Punjab. It has awarded over 41,000 scholarships, worth over Rs2 billion.
A number of government policies specifically target girls and young women. Under the Punjab Education Sector Reform Programme, annual cash stipends worth Rs1.5 billion are provided to 380,000 girls in grades six to 10 in government schools, in 16 out of the 36 Punjab districts. The objective is to improve enrolment and increase retention. The beneficiary girls are given Rs2,400 a year conditional on an 80 per cent attendance rate.
Some of Punjab’s policies and successes will be replicable and some will need to be adapted for the other provinces. The DFID is providing its second-largest funding to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with the expectation that some of these successes can be reproduced there. Balochistan is implementing a programme similar to the PEEF, in a good example of inter-provincial policy learning.
All of the above implies that Punjab is making strides in solving the access issue and in increasing the quantity of education supplied, at least at the primary level. But what about the quality of education? There are serious issues with our curricula and in our textbooks, as well as in how we expect our students to learn from these materials. While it appears that the 2006 curriculum reform recommendations have been incorporated in Punjab’s latest textbooks, there is no analysis yet of the quality of these textbooks. Over the next few weeks, I will be undertaking exactly that task.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2013.
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COMMENTS (19)
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@Mudasir Roy: Your comment is a bit late as this piece has been taken of the main page ( sad )...........I wish you had posted this earlier as it would have substantiated my comments. Thanks anyway at least I feel a little vindicated and disappointed at the same time.
I totally denied the advancement of Education due to Barber's reforms. I am an educator in the Punjab Government Education Sector. Govt. has not yet fulfill the basic need of the Primary sector, yet they urge for the betterment. It is totally a theory of hypocrisy. We are in desperate need of 6 teachers at primary level but no one is giving it a look. How can you improvise your nation with 200 students and one teacher who has to teach 6 class from kindergarten to 5th grade having 6 subjects in each grade.
Just multiply the figures: 1 teacher X (200 students* (6 classes X 6 subjects)=
you have to answer the question if you do really think that we are progressing theoretically then i will be eagerly waiting for your reply.
Shahbaz Sharif's Merit is unquestionable but his policies are totally devastating the standard of education.
Some facts:
1; Each school has only one IT teacher: Elementary+Secondary(High School) which comprises of 5 classes multiplies by __ numbers of sections.
How can you accommodate him with 15 sections (If there are 3 sections each in one class) provided by the fact that there are only 8 periods per day. Moreover IT Teacher has to look after all the Lab as well. Moreover he has to do all the clerical task of the school etc.
2: Each pupil of class of elementary has to study 10 subjects and get him passed in each of them within 210 days of education span.
etc.
Answer me and i will let you know other facts later on:
He is just making a fascinating story and let the people convince by it.
It's just a fantasy of fallasy
Roy
@GS@Y: I did respond but it did not get through......thanks for your effort in tryin to convinve me and most probably you are right.
@Parvez: He ran his own independent evaluation project. His entire career depends on his credibility. I think you should accept his conclusions unless you have very specific substantive issues with this method and data.
Sorry about the broken link. Can't imagine why it's not working. You can still just search for "Good news from Pakistan" on DFID's website at http://www.reform.co.uk and find the entire report containing all the details of his project.
It doesn't surprise me that Punjab has the best educational policies since it is the only stable and developing province in the country. If the other provinces could get stability like Punjab, they too can develop. I have noted that students from Punjab are getting more scholarships to study abroad too.
Great news Dr. Madiha ..... very well written article...plz. keep it up
@GS@Y: Thanks for the link but sorry unable to locate the article. Sir Michael Barber may be an eminant scholar but my scepticism stems from the simple saying ' garbage in, garbage out '.............so if he has relied on government input then my comment stands.
Read this before you form an opinion: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-170047-Good-news
@Parvez: The figures have been provided by an independent evaluator, Sir Michael Barber, who is a world renowned expert on education policy and a former head of the consulting firm McKinsey's education practice. Here is his report on education reforms in Punjab under Shahbaz Sharif:
http://www.reform.co.uk/resources/0000/0688/ThegoodnewsfromPakistan_final.pdf
@uet: Just look at the comments of this news item to witness the impact of education on our youth link text
You mean all the anti-Hindu drivel has been removed ?
Great and most welcome news. Ms. Madiha, thanks for sharing it. Plz keep updating us.
I agree that PML N has done a lot for education. Other provinces should follow this.
Things like education are improving in Punjab but that is not the case for all of Pakistan. The Punjab has improved in all spheres because they have Shahbaz Sharif as Chief Minister of the province and he is really motivated to see Punjab get ahead and become developed. The problem is that even if other provinces copy the model of Punjab, the people administering the programs won't have the same passion and transparency to see things get done.
thats no success, getting their presence is throughout their education is. which in actual in very hard to find out. mostly presence in registers are also bogus !
Education policies are not going to affect overall paradigm of knowledge unless it answers basic question, education what for?
Education for freeing the mind OR mere teaching some routine skills like reading, writing, counting, technical know how etc.
Punjab has been relatively better managed by the provincial governments, The chain of development started off from Ehali's set some benchmark for PML-N to meet during their tenure. And now with PTI in the competition, the things will improve further. A legacy of development continues.
thank you for writing this, this is a really big deal, and somehow is ignored when it comes to discussions about the performance of various governments. the PMLN should be given alot of credit for implementing this program and sticking with it.