Pathway to progress: Girls making the grade in rural Sindh

Theresa Castillo, MA CHES * Teachers College, Columbia University

Sindh Profile

Second largest province

(~42 million, 23.7% primary school age)

Economic growth (2004-2009; GDP 18%)

Impact of floods (2010-2012)

Urban/Rural disparitiesLow performance

scores on learning outcomes

Gender Parity Index (GPI)

One gender indicator

Measures enrollment, not attendance or learning gaps

Rural/Urban Divide = Slow progress

Urban primary

Rural primary

Primary (Total)

Rural secondary

Urban secondary

Secondary (Total)

00.2

0.40.6

0.81

2010-2011

2008-2009

2006-2007

Gender Parity Index for Sindh Province, primary vs. secondary schools (2007-2011)

Source: UNESCO Islamabad. (2011). Policy analysis of education in Sindh.

Research Questions

& Expected Results

Is there a relationship

between girls’ enrollment and the

type of school?

Are girls learning differently,

depending up on the type of school?

Is there a relationship

between boys/girls/mixed

schools and learning

environment?

Sample SizeMethods

• 22 rural districts• 12,806 households• 40,488 children• 58% boys, 42% girls • Ages 3-16 years• 706 schools

(gov/priv)

ASER 2012 data sets: Household mother/child, government school, & private school

Sindh- Rural Area focus

Cross-tabulationsChi-square tests,

p<.05

Case Study Design

Education at a glance: Where are the girls?

School Enrollment

Out of School

Types of Schools

Comparison of School Enrollment,

by Gender, Ages 6-16

Education at a glance: Where are the girls?

Rural 2010 Rural 2012 Karachi 20120%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

23% 24%

41%

45% 44%

53%

girls

boys

Nearly 2x’s more rural boys vs girls enrolled

Rural boys and Urban girls have similar %

Urban girls enrolled at twice the rate of rural girls

Little change from 2010 to 2012

Education at a glance: Where are the girls?

GovernmentPrivate

Madrassa NFE /other

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

139851446

5940

7885 757

9260

girls boys

(n=24,324)

% Rural Enrollment 2012, by Type of School & Gender

The greatest share of girls enrollment is in Madrassa and Non-formal education(NFE)/Other

Education at a glance: Where are the girls?

Boys Girls Total

Dropouts* 4.2% 3.5% 7.7%

Never Enrolled*

11.6%

13.1% 24.7%

Total- Rural 15.8%

16.6% 32.4%

Total-Karachi

4.5% 1.9% 6.4%• Statistically significant,

p<.001

% Out of School, ages 6-16(dropouts/leftouts)

• Increase since 2011: 29.5% out of school

• 37.8% of boys and girls dropout in grade 5

• Of those never enrolled, 48% boys, 52% girls

Education at a glance: Where are the girls?

7885

75759 40

(n=8741)Government* Private*

Madrassa* Other*

*Statistically significant, p<.001

Rural Girls’ Enrollment, by School Type

More girls enrolled in gov schools (90%) compared to all other schooling.

Smaller percentages : Private 8.7%, Madrassa 0.7%,Other 0.6%

Are Girls Learning Literacy and Numeracy Skills?

LiteracyReading lettersReading a story

NumeracyRecognizing numbers 1-9Complete simple

subtraction

% Learning Outcomes, by Gender and Type of School

Gove

rnm

ent

Pri

vate

Madra

ssa

Oth

er

Gove

rnm

ent

Pri

vate

Madra

ssa

Oth

er

Girls

Boys

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Math Di-vision

Math 1-9

Reading Story

Reading Letters

Results:

Government and private schools were statistically significant across all outcomes (p=.000)

Reading letters was statistically significant (p<.05) for girls in Madrassas and girls and boys in Other

Math 1-9 was statistically significant (p<.001) for both in Other

Reading Letters Reading Story Math 1-9 Math Division

0.00%

20.00%

40.00%

60.00%

80.00%

GovernmentPrivateMadrassaOther

% Learning Outcomes for Girls, by Type of School

Does Learning Environment Matter?

Environment Variables Drinking WaterBoundary Wall Usable Toilets

-Menstrual Hygiene Management

Mother’s EducationFemale Teachers

Government & Private Schools Surveyed, by category (2012)

Mixed Schools

Boys' Schools

Girls' Schools

(n=706)

5.1%

25.1%

69.8%

Government Private

% Availability of Resources by School Category

Water Boundary Wall*

Toilets*0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

57%62%

48%

65%73%

56%60%

90%

73%

Mixed Schools

Boys' Schools

Girls' Schools

Water Boundary Wall Toilets10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%87%

81% 81%75% 75% 75%

(n=85)

(n=621); * Statistically significant, p< 0.05

Mother’s Education

% School Enrollment, by

Mother Education, by Gender

( n=24,324); * Statistically significant , p< .001

Mother, school Mother, no school0.00%

20.00%

40.00%

60.00%

80.00%78.20%

63.90%

70.30%

47.60% Enrolled Boys *

Enrolled Girls*

Female Teachers

UNESCO (2011) reports for Sindh province, 20o9/2010:

1/5 teachers in rural public primary schools are women;

Women account for approximately 1/4 teachers in rural public secondary;

30% of teachers are women in madrassas

No disaggregated data available

for teachers

Source: UNESCO Islamabad. (2011). Policy analysis of education in Sindh.

Study Limitations

Urban sample was too small for comparison (Karachi only)

Aggregate data ( i.e. teachers gender, mixed

schools)

Limited information on Madrassas

Inability to link the household data to school data

Recommendations

Qualitative research to explore differences in schools in relation to girls’ enrollment (such as defining barriers, attitudinal changes, etc.)

Conduct more research to better understand the role of Madrassas in girls’ education.

Conduct more exploratory research on the relationship between school type and learning outcomes.

Advocate for more resources in mixed government schools for toilets. boundary walls and drinking water to achieve optimal , given 90% of enrolled girls attend these schools.

Disaggregate data ( i.e. urban/rural, gender, school category) needed in order to understand disparities

Incorporate gender-responsive indicators and maps into future assessments (i.e. mixed schools, teacher gender)

Acknowledgements

ASER Pakistan

Sahar Saheed

Huma Zia

Photo credits: ASER Pakistan & UNICEF

www.aserpakistan.org

We will continue our journey to our destination of peace and education for everyone.

~ Malala Yousafzai