Learning Levels and Gaps in Pakistan

The objective of the study is to ascertain the level of student’s achievement within various schools of Pakistan by conducting a survey in three districts of Punjab namely Attock, Faisalabad and Rahim Yar Khan. Parallel analysis is conducted in districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh within India in order to develop an educational policy across South Asia that is currently facing low levels of student achievement. Survey results of Pakistan reveal that students at the end of third grade have not yet mastered the K-1 mathematics skills and are unable to form proper sentences in Urdu. Although income differentials and literacy of parents impact student achievement; stark differences are observed within schools whereby private schools demonstrate higher student achievement as opposed to government schools. Amongst government schools, the quality of education varies significantly while some showing higher student achievement and others indicating poor quality of education.

A comparison of results from survey in India reveals that the neighboring country also faces low level of student achievement rates and the largest difference between student achievements arises as a result of quality of schools. The report recommends that Pakistan and India must continually evaluate the education system by administrating test specifically designed for this purpose.