Education in Pakistan: What Works & Why
Abstract
Studying
best cast practices of quality schools targeting low income groups and
connecting them with possibilities of education reforms
This paper analyzes the enabling factors for better performance in
schools providing education to low-income groups by studying a sample of 5 to 6
quality schools each in 8 different districts across Pakistan. It used the
approach of multiple-case studies at the individual school levels to identify best case practices and establish how and why these factors work.
The paper identifies that the major reason for not achieving
sustainable reform and quality is due to biased investment decisions by
government and donors alike.
Findings include:
- Investment decisions are biased in favor of direct delivery of educational services such as teacher training, school councils, supply of missing facilities, and financial and other incentives to improve attendance.
- Primary assumption in education sector that access to quality education will be achieved by providing free books to children, improving infrastructure of the schools and training teachers.
- Lack of focus on identifying the human resource with transparent selection criteria.
- Only those schools achieve quality that incorporated a combination of leadership and institutional support.
The research recommendations include establishment of a “few†quality apex institutions with a focus on depth and capacity rather than quantity and improving community involvement through alternative ways of organizing School Councils, which currently have an adversarial relationship between schools and teachers.
Publishing Year: 2007
Attached File:
pakistan_20070918.pdf -
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