Mobile Solutions for Rural Learners in

PakistanA Brief Overview of UNESCO’s ‘Mobile

Based Post Literacy Pilot Project’

Sarah RichBoise State University

EDTECH 603November 2013

An Educational Emergency

• Low literacy

rates

• Gap between

males and

females

• Accessibility

issues

• Disparity

between rich &

poor

Miyazawa, 2012; Saif, 2012; Smith & Winthrop, 2012

Rural Kids (n.d.)

Girls in Blue (2012)

Growing up in Remote Pakistan

• Accessibility• Inequality• Role of women•Dowry System• Views toward education

Village Daughter Sewing (n.d.)

Latif, 2009; Lloyd, Mete & Grant, 2007; Smith & Winthrop, 2012

Education in Rural Pakistan

•Overcrowded

classrooms

• Lack of materials

• Lack of teachers

• CorruptionGirls Remain Unschooled (n.d.)

Latif, 2009; Memon, 2007

Women in the Fields

• Half of Pakistan’s population works

in agriculture

• 79% is managed by girls and young

womenLatif 2009; Lloyd, Mete & Grant, 2007; Smith & Winthrop, 2012

Cotton Picker (2006)

Gilani, M. (2010)

Mashal’s Story

• Lack of access

to school

• Lack of

resources

• Inequalities

• Mobile phone

useKimball, G. (2010) Kimball, 2010

Mobile Technologies

• 73% of the population owns a mobile phone

• 90% of the country has network access

Pakistan Woman on Phone (2013)

Two Girls on Phones (n.d.)Atta, 2013; Miyazawa, 2012; Smith & Winthrop, 2012

The Project

• Targets girls in

rural Pakistan

• Provides

continuing

practice in

reading and

writing

• Five months

Miyazawa, 2012

Miyazawa, 2012; Smith & Winthrop, 2012; UNESCO, 2009

The Results

Miyazawa, 2012

Miyazawa, 2012; Smith & Winthrop, 2012; UNESCO, 2010

Success

• Over 4,000 girls affected

• Currently initiating 4th phase

• Success has led to new

projectsEuropean Campus Online News, 2013; UNESCO, 2010; UNESCO, 2013

Girls Using Mobile Phone, 2012

ReferencesAttaa, A. (2013). Pakistan crosses 125 million mobile phone users. ProPakistani. Retrieved from

http://propakistani.pk/2013/07/11/pakistan-crosses-125-million-mobile-phone-users/Cotton picker (2006). [Photograph] Retrieved from

http://www.sdpi.org/research_and_news_bulletin/Vol.%2013,%20No.%201%20(Jan%20-%20Feb,%202006)/cotton_pickers.htm

European Campus Online News (2013). UNESCO launches the third phase of ‘Mobile Based Literacy’ program. Retrieved from http://www.ibercampus.eu/unesco-launches-the-third-phase-of-the-mobile-based-literacy-program-444.htm

Gilani, M. (2010). Sugarcane harvest in Pakistan. [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.demotix.com/news/225165/sugarcane-harvest-pakistan#media-225159

Girls in blue (2012). [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.brecorder.com/images/pic2012/09/literacy-pakistan-brecorder.jpg

Girls remain unschooled (n.d.) [Photograph] Retrieved from http://learningpk.com/literacy-in-pakistan-90-girls-remain-unschooled-in-rural-balochistan/

Girls using mobile phone (2012) [Photograph]. Retrieved rom http://d2yhexj5rb8c94.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/mediaimages/gallery/2012/Dec/girl%20using%20mobile%20phone.jpg

Kimball, G. (2010). Mashal [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://opendoorsliteracyproject.weebly.com/interview-with-an-illiterate-village-girl-in-pakistan.html

Kimball, G. (2010). Interview with an illiterate village girl in Pakistan [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://opendoorsliteracyproject.weebly.com/interview-with-an-illiterate-village-girl-in-pakistan.html

Latif, A. (2009). A critical analysis of school enrollment and literacy rates of girls and women in Pakistan. Educational Studies, 45, 424-439. doi:10.1080/00131940903190477

Lloyd, C., Mete, C., & Grant, M. (2007). Rural Girls in Pakistan: Constraints of Policy and Culture. In M. A. Lewis and M. E. Lockheed (Eds.), Exclusion, gender and education: Case studies from the developing world. Retrieved from http://www.cgdev.org/doc/books/lewis-lockheed-eduCaseStudies/lewis-lockheed-chapter4.pdf

ReferencesMemon, G. (2007). Education in Pakistan: The key issues, problems and the new challenges. Journal of

Management and Social Sciences, 3(1), 47-55. Miyazawa, I. (2012). Literacy promotion through mobile phones. Paper presented at the 13th UNESCO-APEID

International Conference and World Bank-KERIS High Level Seminar on ICT in Education. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org.pk/education/documents/Project%20Brief%20Paper_ICT.pdf

Pakistan woman on phone (2013) [Photograph] Retrieved from http://i.i.cbsi.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim2/2013/09/25/020_AP663579126065_620x425.jpg

Rural kids (n.d.) [Photograph] Retrieved from http://www.om.org/img/m35521.jpgSaif, U. (2012). Leveraging mobile phones for primary education in Pakistan. World Economic Forum Blog.

Retrieved from http://forumblog.org/2012/11/leveraging-mobile-phones-for-primary-education-in-pakistan/

Smith, M. & Winthrop, R. (2012). A new face of education: Bringing technology into the classroom in the developing world (Working Paper No. 1). Retrieved from The Brookings Institution website: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2012/1/education%20technology%20winthrop/01_education_technology_shearer

Two girls on phone (n.d.) [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://a57.foxnews.com/global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/img/fn2/feeds/AFP/660/371/photo_1379082736442-1-HD.jpg?ve=1

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2009). Mobilink, UNESCO to use mobile phones to increase access to literacy [press release]. Retrieved from http://www.unic.org.pk/pdf/PR%20-%20UNESCO,%20Mobile%20Literacy.pdf

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2010). UNESCO & Mobilink, driving female literacy through connectivity [press release]. Retrieved from http://www.unic.org.pk/pdf/PR%20-%20UNESCO,%20Mobile%20Literacy.pdf

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2013). Mobile learning projects to empower rural women in Pakistan. Retrieved from http://www.unescobkk.org/education/ict/online-resources/databases/ict-in-education-database/item/article/mobile-learning-projects-to-empower-rural-women-in-pakistan/

Village daughter sewing (n.d.) [Photograph] Retrieved from http://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/VillageDaughterSewing.jpg