Missing facilities and gender disparity in learning revealed. PHOTO: FILE
Eleven per cent children in the 6 to 16 years age bracket in the Lahore district are out of school and 11 per cent of public schools in the district lack toilets and drinking water, a profile of the Lahore district under the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2013 says.
The district profile was released by the Idara-i-Taleem-o-Aagahi in collaboration with the All Pakistan Women’s Association (APWA) as part of the ASER on Friday.
The national and provincial ASER 2013 reports were launched earlier this year.
According to the report for Lahore, 30 per cent of class-V students could not read a class-II curriculum Urdu story; 33 per cent of class-V students could not read complete English sentences; and 64 per cent could not do two-digit division.
The report says there is gender disparity in learning – boys outperform girls in numeracy and literacy skills.
The report states that children enrolled in private schools performed better than students in public schools. That is because private schools have more qualified teachers than do public schools the report says. On missing facilities, the report says all government primary schools had boundary walls but 22 per cent lacked playgrounds. It also pointed to a higher incidence of private tuition among private school students.
University of Management and Technology Department of Education Chairman Sajid Masood described the challenges faced by the Lahore district compared to other districts in the province. He said the learning levels of students in private schools were higher.
APWA chairperson Ruhi Sayid said proper development and grooming of students was lacking. Sayid said it was essential for the government to take into consideration the uniqueness of local systems and to address the situation in accordance with local needs
Former elementary education director Jamil Najam said the data painted a gloomy picture. He said the situation had been stagnant for several years despite expressions of concern by the civil society. Najam stressed the need for interventions by the government and civil society in order to tackle the issue.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 22nd, 2014.
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Still better than other provinces.
And yet its okay to spend money on youth festival and laptops other than spending on education on the grass root level