24% of Sindh’s children still out of school: report

Despite the recent focus of the federal and provincial governments on enrolment drives, 24 per cent of Sindh’s children aged 6-16 are still out of schools, according to Annual Status of Education Report – ASER 2015 Sindh survey. The remaining 76 per cent that are enrolled in the 6-16 age bracket are not learning much either.

These findings were made public in the report of Pakistan’s largest annual citizen-led household-based ASER Survey 2015 – the sixth ASER survey report in a row – launched in Karachi on Thursday. As many as 1,800 volunteers managed by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) under the supervision of Baela Raza Jamil – ITA Trustee and Advisor – along with key civil society/semi autonomous organisations that include National Commission for Human Development (NCHD), Sindh Education Foundation (SEF), HANDS and several civil society organisations across Pakistan, have conducted the ASER 2015 survey.

Some 1,800 volunteer citizens, who personally visited 14,668 households’ in 737 villages/blocks, have based the ASER survey findings on the information of 44,713 children of age 3-16 years (including 42 per cent girls). For the year 2015, the ASER rural survey has been conducted in 25 rural districts, wherein 5-16 year age cohort 30,128 children were tested for English, Language (Urdu), and Arithmetic competencies.

The report aims to inform the progress or lack thereof with respect to Article 25-A of the constitution making education a fundamental right for 5-16 year old children since 2010. To date the implementation has yet to take place as both laws and rules remain in abeyance. Despite public demand, the state response at best continues to remain neutral to education as a basic need. Parliamentarians and ministers made commitments to be held accountable as duty-bearers but they must walk the talk. Dr Fazlullah Pechuho and parliamentarians including Fouzia Hameed, Shehla Din, Qamar Shahid, Khurram Sher Zaman, and educationists including Shafeeq Piracha, and Faisal Ahmed Uqaili from Reform Support Unit agreed that it was a time to ensure a dead end that marginalises learning and undervalues social capital. The narrative on education must change dramatically under the current democratic dispensation, they suggested.

Proportion of out-of-school children has decreased as compared to 2014. In 2015, 24% of children were reported to be out of school which has decreased as compared to previous year (27%). Some 18% children have never been enrolled in school and 6% have dropped out of school for various reasons. An interesting trend has been observed this year as reflected by ASER findings. The ASER 2015 results illustrate a considerable number of children going to public schools this year as compared to non-state schools. Some 88% children of age 6-16 are enrolled in public schools in 2015 while last year the percentage was 83%.

According to the report, students competencies in learning English, Arithmetic, and Language have improved. Some 55% of the children from Class V cannot read Class II level text in Urdu. In English, only 24% of the surveyed Class V students could read sentences, which should ideally be read by students from the second grade. Arithmetic learning levels show improvement capabilities of children where only 35% of class V children could do a two-digit division, something that are expected in second grade curriculum.

The ASER survey also has identified that children enrolled in private schools are performing better compared to those studying in government schools. Some 53% children enrolled in Class-V in private schools were able to read a story in Urdu compared to 45% Class V students studying at government schools. The difference in learning levels is starker for English, where 48% Grade V could read English Class II level sentences compared to 22% public sector students. For arithmetic, 45% children enrolled in class V and going to private school can do 2-digit division as compared to 35% government school children enrolled in class V.

Further, the survey explains that boys are outperforming girls in literacy and numeracy skills in rural Sindh. As many as 40% of boys were found able to read at least sentences in Urdu as compared to 33% girls. For Arithmetic, 37% of Class V boys were able to do Class II level subtraction as compared to only 31% Class V girls.

In addition to the assessment of children, the report also highlights schools functioning across every district in Sindh. The ASER rural survey informs that over all teachers’ attendance in government schools stood at 88% as compared to 89% in private schools on the day of the survey. Government teachers were reported to have better qualifications at graduate levels; for example, 41% teachers in private schools are graduates in comparison to 46% in government schools, and there is same trend for MA/MSC or post graduate qualifications, whereby larger percentage of public sector teachers have a higher qualification than private sector counterparts.