Briefing Paper
Out of School Children in Punjab: Looking at Access & Equity
Noor-i-Hirra W. Ali*[i]
Introduction
South Asia is home to one-quarter of the world’s primary school-age population and this region also has the highest number of outofschool children (OOSC)[ii]. In absolute terms this means that out of 162 million school-age children 42 million (or 26%) are out of school[iii]. The highest share[1]of OOSC at the primary level in this region is found in Pakistan, “where more than 8 million of almost 20 million school-age children (or 40%) are out of school”[iv]. In Punjab, a report co-authored by the Government of Punjab (GoPb) and UNESCO estimate on the basis of National Institute of Population Studies (NIPS)data and past trends that OOSC from the 5-9 year age group are 3.8 million[v].
Table 1: Out of School Children in 2009 belonging to 5-9 Year Age Group: Govt. of Punjab and UNESCO, 2010Gender / Population (5-9) (in Millions) / Enrolment
(in Millions) / Out of School (in Millions)
Male & Female / 9.82 / 6.41 / 3.80
Male / 5.13 / 3.52 / 1.80
Female / 4.69 / 2.89 / 2.00
In 2000, Pakistan ratified two major frameworks of action – the Education for All charter and theMillennium Development Goals.On April 19,2010, the 18th Amendment to the constitution of Pakistan provided for Article 25-A ‘Right to
Education’ as a fundamental right of every child. This made the state responsible for providing free and compulsory education to children aged 5-16year. A year later, the Government of Punjab’sSchools Roadmap to Reform Program launched, with three core action messages: ‘Every child enrolls in school, Every child is retained in school, Every child learns and makes progress’. This program attempts to bridge the implementation gaps and delivery mechanisms that exist in the education sector.Indeed the state is committed to undertake the necessary steps to improve education but progress is slow. Despite its international commitments, Pakistan is one of the 6 countries regarded as being far from achieving the EFA goals[vi]. Two years have passed since Article 25-A became a reality and there is still no draft of the Bill ready for the public to see[2]. The Roadmap to Reforms program is suffering as the planned enrolment targets are not being met or sustained due to lack of prioritized allocation of resources to education. It is therefore imperative for all stakeholders, led by civil society, to lobby and pressurize the government to address this‘educational quandary’.TheASER2011: Policy Dialogue Series is one attempt at doing so.
This briefing papergives an account of OOSC in Punjab, primarily using figures from Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2011, Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurements (PSLM) and Multiple Indicator Survey Punjab (MICS). It also assesses the characteristics of OOSC children by looking at profiles of these childrenaccording to age, sex and learning levels, and by using district wise comparison.Towards the end of the brief,policy changes are recommended in order to decrease the incidence of un-enrolled children in Punjab. These suggestions highlight the resource gaps that exist in the currentsystem and their (resource gaps) – tendency to diverge ifand/or when the Article 25-A is implemented.
Definition of Out of School Children
Agencies[vii] working on education statistics simply define children of primary schoolage as being in school when they are enrolled either in primary or secondary education. “The concept of out-of-school children implies that there is a group of children that should be in school but is not.”[viii]Those in non-formal education and attending pre-primary education are considered to be out of school in many of the global studies[ix].The Annual Status of Education Report(ASER) measures OOSC as those found to be out of school either because they dropped out or because they were never enrolled in any formal education institution.
Calculating the number of OOSC
Net Enrolment Rate (NER)of Pakistan in comparison to other South Asian countries remains low at 66%[x] whereas Bangladesh, Bhutan and India have NERs of 85%, 87% and 90%, respectively (See Table 2). According to the recent survey of Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement(PSLM) 2010-11, the net enrolment in Punjab isonly 61% at the primary level (See Table 3). These percentages show that the magnitude of the OOSC in Pakistan remainsvery high despite several efforts of the Government to improve the condition of education.
Table 2: Net Enrolment Rates in South Asia: GMR 2011Countries / Net Enrolment Rate (Primary - Year 6-10)
Male / Female / Total
Bangladesh / 85 / 86 / 85
Bhutan / 86 / 88 / 87
India / 91 / 88 / 90
Maldives / 97 / 95 / 96
Nepal[3] / 94.7 / 92.6 / 93.7*
Pakistan / 72 / 60 / 66
Sri Lanka / 99 / 100 / 99
In a collaborative study with UNESCO, the Government of Punjab provides an absolute figure: 3.8 million children of ages 5-9 years are not part of the education system in Punjab[xi].
Table 3: Net Enrolment Rates in Pakistan: PSLM 2010- 11Primary / Middle / Matriculation
(6-10 yrs) / (5-9 yrs) / (11-13 yrs) / (10-12 yrs) / (14-15 yrs) / (13-14 yrs)
Punjab / 70 / 61 / 37 / 23 / 25 / 14
Sindh / 62 / 53 / 36 / 19 / 23 / 11
KP / 64 / 51 / 33 / 17 / 19 / 7
Balochistan / 56 / 47 / 25 / 13 / 14 / 6
The ASER 2011 study in Punjab surveyed 28 districts, 839 villagesand 27 blocks, 16942 households, 45,410 children as well as 861 government and 569 private schools.According to it,22% of children in Punjab at age 5 are not enrolled in any school facility whereas of the 9,604 children surveyed in the 3-5 age group 49% were un-enrolled. Girls were 55%. Half of the critical period of Early Childhood years (0-8 age group) falls in this time period and this opportunity is lost when the child is not enrolled in any school.
Figure 1: % Children age 3-5 not attending any pre-school (ASER 2011-Punjab Rural)
Furthermore, ASER 2011 also shows in the age bracket of 6-10years in Punjab 11%are out of school[xii]. Of this the dropout rate is 2% while 9% have never been enrolled. From the 6-16 age bracket the OOSC figure is 16% (9% never enrolled and 7% drop out). Among the OOSC (6-16yrs) 55% are girls.
Rajanpur and Lodhran have the highest number of OOSC (6-16yrs), 38% and 30% respectively. Moreover, many southern Punjab districts have high out of school percentages when compared to northern districts: Rawalpindi at 5% and, Chakwaland Jehlum both at 7% OOSC.
Characteristics of OOSC
Who are these OOSC children and what are their characteristics?
Age: ASER 2011 shows that the largest proportions of OOSC in Punjabare in the 6-10 and 14-16 years age brackets (see Figure 2)[xiii]. At these ages children require well-designed catch-up programs through non-formal methods in order to assist them reach par with school-going children of their age. In both age brackets, there are more females out of school than males.
Figure 2: Out of School Children by Gender (ASER 2011-Punjab Rural)
One interesting finding from the ASER 2011 data is that the incidence of male out of school children is greater than female in districts such as Rawalpindi, Shiekhupura, Gujranwala, Lahore and Faisalabad. All these districts are relatively more urbanised than the other surveyed districts. Given that the greatest number of out of school boys fall into the category 14-16 years of age (at 3.1% See Figure 2), it can be inferred that incidence of more male OOSC in these districts is probably because, adolescent boys maybe involved in child labour in these urbanised districts with their more developed job markets. If this is the case then the government might need to draft comprehensive education policies for each district after evaluating the area-specific characteristics of OOSC.
Learning Levels:Interestingly, more than half of the OOSC are found at the beginner level of Urdu (i.e. cannot recognize Urdu letters).However, inEnglish reading and comprehension, 19% of OOSC are able to read words and 10% can read sentences. Out of the total number of children who are out of school, 10% are able to do division sums and 17% are able to do subtraction correctly.
It is important to discuss these learning levels of OOSC in order to draw attention to possibilities of innovative and catch-up programs through non-formal approaches and institutional arrangements. These findings about learning are significant for consideration by the Literacy and Non Formal or Schools Departments, and other partner organizations as the data shows that OOSC children have basic competencies that can be factored in when catch-up programs or investments in vocational skills training are designed.
To cater to learning gaps in OOSC as per the provisions of Article 25-A, the government of Punjab is required to meet the challenge of providing education to ALL children utilizing all available financial, technical and human resources to extend the necessary education opportunities. This includes both formal and non-formal means. How closely is the Literacy and Non-Formal Basic Education Department working with the Standing Committee on Education is an interesting question to discuss.
Gender:Historically, females have lagged behind males in accessing education opportunities. Hence girlsacquire less schooling than boys. These differences in educational opportunities then naturally translate into differences in educational outcomes. ASER 2011 data tell this story too. The survey shows that except for 5 districts[4]in Punjab all other districts surveyed have more out of school females than males. The most alarming situation exists in Mianwali, Jhang, Hafizabad and Sargodha where the gender gap in OOSC is largest with almost 60% of OOSC being females. The academic and research literature is full of evidence that educating females “increases the value of women’s time in economic activities by raising labor productivity and wages, with a consequential rise in household incomes and a reduction in poverty”[xiv]. Moreover, education also influences fertility behaviour[xv]. Women with more than primary education have notably lower fertility[xvi]. But when the country’s most economically well-off province is facing such a substantial gender gap, one can only imagine the condition of OOSC in other provinces.
Resource Gaps and Article 25-A
Studies have shown that a great number of children stay away from school or leave schoolsmidway due to lack of basic facilities. This is especially true for the public sector. Female schooling is particularly sensitive to the availability of toilets especially when girls reach puberty. ASER 2011 shows that in Punjab 30% of government schools are without useable toilets and 20% are without useable water. Also, 24% of government schools are without a boundary wall. PMIU data gives us exact figures and illustrates the gravity of the situation: D.G. Khan, Rawalpindi, RahimYar Khan and Bahawalnagar have at least 300 schools in their districts which are without drinking water[xvii].Also, in 30 out of 36 districts, at least 100 schools are without a toilet (the worst examples are D.G.Khan with 674 schools, Bahawalnagar with 592 and Rawalpindi with 506)[xviii].
Another critical aspect of the problem of access is the lack of schools at the higher levels of schooling. In 2010-11, according to PMIU, Punjab had 60,153 educational institutions. Their distribution by educational level was: 73% primary schools, 12.5% middle schools, 8%high schools and0.8% higher secondary schools[xix]. In other words, for every 6 primary schools in Punjab there is only 1 middle school. One implication of this is that if, say primary school retention were to increase by even a few percentage points, the number of schools at the next level would fall well short of demand.
Given budgetary allocations to education, the deficit in basic facilities is startling, especially for a province such as Punjab which gets the lion’s share of the GDP.What will the government do once Article 25-A becomes legislated?
A Punjab specific study conducted by Institute of Social and Policy Science (I-SAPS) stated that in the next15 years, the number of school-going children will increase to 19.32 million[xx] and that there will be a exponential increase in requirements for schools, teachers and classrooms when Article 25-A is implemented (see Table 4).These figures show that by 2024-25, there will be considerable shortfall in resources. To cater to it the current Rs.152 billion education budget in Punjab needs to be raised to Rs.337 billion, and will then require an annual 15% increase[xxi].
Table 4: Current and Future Trends of Resources in Punjab: I-SAPS, 2012Current / 2024-25 Projections / Difference
Schools / 61,000 / 65,500 / 5815
Teachers / 354,607 / 499,472 / 144,865
Classrooms / 236,288 / 499,472 / 26,3184
In a future where education is free and compulsory how will the Government of Pakistan overcome the shortfalls and cater to demand for additional necessary resources (such as more schools and teachers)?Its tasks will include covering the growth, accommodating the influx of OOSC and improving the quality of education all at the same time. It is hoped that the Standing Committee on Education in Punjab is working closely with the Finance Department to delineate the financial implications of 25-A.
Policy Recommendations
The Punjab Government needs to look at increasing enrolment and encouraging those students who have never been to schools into innovative education programs. Somepolicy recommendationsare outlined below.
Active Parliamentarians: Elected representatives have made history by endorsing theinclusion of Article 25-A in the Constitution. The next step is to get the legislation passed to enforce the article. Implementation will require increased education funds and equitable distribution of resources to areas, proportionate to the population of OOSC and illiterates.
Development budgets need toimprove: School development budgets and school administration should be improved to ensure basic facilities are available to attract and sustain children, especially females. Increasing development budgets for education as a percentage of GDP should be a priority of the government if it is serious about implementing Article 25-A.
Programsfor mainstreaming out of school children: The Punjab government needs to think about expanding the non-formal learning programs which arecritical for OOSC. OOSC need to be provided with catch-up or second chanceprograms in order to be mainstreamed into formal education. Further, home-based, and accelerated learning programs; civic education; vocational education; adult literacy education; and, to a lesser extent, peace building education also need to be focused on by the Non-Formal Department.
Table 5: Financing of Education in Pakistan (1995/6 to 2009/10: Economic Survey 2002-03, 2005-06, 2009 and 2010Year / % of GDP / Year / % of GDP
1995-96 / 2.00 / 2002-03 / 1.70
1996-97 / 2.62 / 2003-04 / 2.20
1997-98 / 2.34 / 2004-05 / 2.12
1998-99 / 2.40 / 2005-06 / 2.40
1999-2000 / 1.70 / 2006-07 / 2.42
2000-01 / 1.60 / 2007-08 / 2.49
2001-02 / 1.90 / 2008-09 / 2.10
2009-10 / 2.05
Voucher system or cash transfers:Voucher systems or cash transfers are particularly helpful in reducingthe incidence of out of school females. Provision of social safety nets, such as the Benazir Income Support Program / vouchers that are specifically directed towards education, should be initiated proactively in order to encourage the poorest 20-30% households to send their children to schools. This is already being done by the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) through itsEVS program.
Mid Day meals should be provided: Mid day meals may be provided to attract children, especially from low income groups,toenroll in school. Suchschemes have been found to be a success in our neighboring country India. There the feeding program is so vastthat their RTE law has specific requirements for kitchens in schools provide mid-day meals.
Define a specific distance in which at least one school should exist across the whole province: Girls’ access to school is still limited by safety concerns.Schools should therefore be built in those areas where they do not exist in order to reduce travelling time.
Upgradatingof existing schools: In areas where schools do exist, upgradingof primary schools is urgently required to enable children to transition from primary to middle and then to secondary levels of education.
Conclusion
The government claims that education is high on the priority list of the social sector. Yet actual allocations remain low and millions are not in school. Due to the addition of school age children every year the magnitude of the educational challenge has increased. However, thePunjab government's budgetary response does not match the real needs. This paper highlights the alarming incidence of out of school children. For them, urgent action is required especially.The current supply of education is barely meeting the demand. Absorbing the current OOSC by the institutionsis already a challenge within itself as the state lacks the infrastructure, human capital and finance to meet the current shortfall. And if the Right to Education legislation is implemented, one can only image the colossal task the state will be faced with when it has to meet the huge additional demand for education. And this is only about access. The question of quality is still left out of the discussion and yet, without it, access by itself will achieve very little. Only a serious attitude towards budget allocations and the accurate projection of future trends can help the government achieve the goals that it has set for itself.
[1]Nepal has the second-highest (34%) number of out-of-school children in the region.
[2]Draft for the Islamabad Capital Territory is made public but the one for Punjab still not available
[3]* Nepal NER figures are Taken from Nepal Education in Figures 2010 At-a-Glance:Brochure(
[4] Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Lahore and Faisalabad
*[i]The author is heading ASER Communications for Punjab and is also a visiting faculty at Lahore University of Management Sciences.
[ii]UIS (2005), “Children out of School: Measuring Exclusion from Primary Education”, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, available at
[iii]UIS, 2005 quotes figures from year 2001/02
[iv]UIS, 2005
[v] Government of Punjab and UNESCO, 2010 “Five year strategic plan for the promotion of literacy in the province of Punjab” and Malik, 2011
[vi]PILDAT, 2010 “Financing Quality Basic Education For All in Pakistan” Briefing Paper No. 38.
[vii]International Standard Classification of Education (ISCE), 1997 as quoted in UIS 2005
[viii]UIS, 2005
[ix]Ibid
[x]GMR 2011
[xi] Government of Punjab and UNESCO, 2010 “Five year strategic plan for the promotion of literacy in the province of Punjab”
[xii]ASER calculates this figure by dividing out of school children 6-10yrs / Total children 6-10yrs surveyed plus never enrolled children 6-10yrs / Total children 6-10yrs surveyed