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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
Pakistan
District Education Management and
Service Delivery Study (P166880)
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
Contents
Acronyms .................................................................................................................................. 5
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 7
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................. 15
1.1 Context and Approach ................................................................................................ 15 1.2 Objective and Scope of the Study ............................................................................... 16
1.3 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 18 1.4 Structure of the Report ............................................................................................... 18
BALOCHISTAN .................................................................................................................... 21
EDUCATION GOVERNANCE AND SERVICE DELIVERY CAPACITIES ............... 21
2.1 Education in Balochistan at a Glance ........................................................................ 21 2.1.1. An Overview of Education Policy Landscape ....................................................... 21 2.1.2. Education Management and Service Delivery Structure: Province, Districts and
Schools ............................................................................................................................. 22 2.1.3 Process Flow in Core Education Functions: Horizontal and Vertical Linkages ..... 27
2.2 Horizontal Operational Constraints and Capacity Challenges: The Provincial
Tier ...................................................................................................................................... 29
2.2.1. Administrative Inefficiencies, Overlapping Mandates and Institutional Gaps ...... 30 2.2.2. High Turnover in Appointments at Key Provincial Posts ..................................... 32
2.2.3 Ad-hoc Appointments and Capacity Challenge ...................................................... 32 2.2.4 Lack of Need-based and Demand-driven Budgeting .............................................. 32 2.2.5. Political Economy of Education Service Delivery ................................................ 32
2.2.6. Missing Data on Private Schools ........................................................................... 33 2.2.7. Communication and Coordination Challenges ...................................................... 33 2.2.8. Capacity and Financial Resource Constraints........................................................ 34
2.3 Vertical Coordination and Service Delivery Challenges: The District and Sub-
District Tiers ....................................................................................................................... 34
2.3.1. Inconsistent Transfer Pattern and Frequent Transfers and Postings ...................... 34 2.3.2. Diluting Powers of Education Managers: .............................................................. 35
2.3.3. Management Capacity and Skills Gap ................................................................... 35 2.3.3 Less Involvement of District Tier in Planning ........................................................ 35 2.3.4. Lack of Institutional Capacity for Data-based Planning and Feedback ................. 35
2.3.5. Average Time Spent by District Management on Different Tasks........................ 36 2.3.6. Job Descriptions of Sub-District Officials ............................................................. 36
2.3.7. Initiatives to Improve School Participation and Quality........................................ 36 2.3.8. Time Spent by Sub-district Officials on Different Tasks during School Visits .... 37 2.3.9. Limited Coordination and Communication between Province, District and Sub-
District Tiers .................................................................................................................... 37 2.3.10. District Official Capacity Needs .......................................................................... 37
PUNJAB: ................................................................................................................................ 40
Education Governance and District Service Delivery Capacities ..................................... 40
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
3.1 Education in Punjab at a Glance .................................................................................... 40
3.1.1 An Overview of Education Policy Landscape ........................................................ 40 3.1.2 Education Management and Service Delivery Structure: Province, Districts and
Schools ............................................................................................................................. 41
3.1.3 Management Processes on Core Education Functions: Horizontal and Vertical
Linkages ........................................................................................................................... 45 3.2 Horizontal Operational Constraints and Capacity Challenges: The Provincial
Tier ...................................................................................................................................... 48 3.2.1. Administrative Inefficiencies, Overlapping Mandates and Institutional Gaps ...... 48
3.2.2. High Turnover of Senior Officials ......................................................................... 50 3.2.3. Capacity and Human Resource Deficits ................................................................ 50 3.2.4. Political Will and Support ...................................................................................... 51
3.2.5. Political Economy of Education Service Delivery ................................................ 51 3.2.6. Operational Coordination and Communication Challenges .................................. 51 3.2.7. Delays in Transfer and Release of Funds .............................................................. 52
3.3 District and Sub-District Service Delivery Challenges ............................................. 52 3.3.1. Frequent Transfers and No Performance Framework ............................................ 52
3.3.2. Average Time Spent on Different Tasks ............................................................... 53 3.3.3. Job Descriptions and Awareness of Mandated Roles ............................................ 53 3.3.4. Initiatives to Improve School Participation and Quality........................................ 53
3.3.5. Time Spent on Different Tasks during School Visits ............................................ 54 3.3.6. Coordination and Communication between Province, District and Sub-District
Tiers ................................................................................................................................. 54
3.3.7. Delays in Budget Release and Low Absorptive Capacity ..................................... 55 3.3.8. Lack of Institutional Capacity for Evidence-Based Planning and Budgeting ....... 55
3.3.9. District and School Capacity Needs ...................................................................... 56
SINDH:.................................................................................................................................... 58
Education Governance and District Service Delivery Capacities ..................................... 58
4.1 Education in Sindh at a Glance .................................................................................. 58
4.1.1. An Overview of Education Policy Landscape ....................................................... 58 4.1.2. Education Management and Service Delivery Structure: Province, Districts and
Schools ............................................................................................................................. 59 4.1.3 Management Process in Core Education Functions: Horizontal and Vertical
Linkages ........................................................................................................................... 63 4.2 Horizontal Operational Constraints and Capacity Challenges: The Provincial
Tier ...................................................................................................................................... 65 4.2.1. Administrative Inefficiencies, Overlapping Mandates and Institutional Gaps ...... 65 4.2.2. Frequent Transfers of Senior Officials .................................................................. 66 4.2.3. Political Economy of Education Service Delivery ................................................ 66 4.2.4. Staffing Gap and Ad hoc Appointments ................................................................ 67
4.2.5 Lack of Need-based and Demand-driven Budgeting .............................................. 67 4.2.6. Coordination and Communication Challenge ........................................................ 67
4.3 District and Sub-District Service Delivery Challenges ............................................. 68 4.3.1. Frequent Transfers and Postings ............................................................................ 68 4.3.2. Management Capacity and Skills Gap ................................................................... 68
4.3.3. District Top Tier’s Average Time Spent on Key Tasks ........................................ 68 4.3.4. Lack of Orientation on Job Descriptions ............................................................... 68 4.3.5. Initiatives to Improve School Participation and Quality........................................ 69
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
4.3.6. Sub-district Official’s Time Spent on Different Tasks during School Visits ........ 69
4.3.7. Coordination and Communication between Province, District and Sub-District
Tiers ................................................................................................................................. 69 4.3.8. Lack of Competent Teaching Resource in Sufficient Numbers ............................ 70
4.3.9. District and School Capacity Needs ...................................................................... 70
KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA .............................................................................................. 72
Education Governance and District Service Delivery Capacities ..................................... 72
5.1 Education in KP at a Glance ....................................................................................... 72 5.1.1 An Overview of Education Policy Landscape ........................................................ 72
5.1.2 Education Management and Service Delivery Structure: Province, Districts and
Schools ............................................................................................................................. 72
5.1.3 Management Processes on Core Education Functions: Horizontal and Vertical
Linkages ........................................................................................................................... 76 5.2 Horizontal Operational Constraints and Capacity Challenges: The Provincial
Tier ...................................................................................................................................... 78 5.2.1. Overlapping Mandates and Institutional Gaps ....................................................... 78 5.2.2. High Turn-over of Senior Officials........................................................................ 78
5.2.3. Communication and Coordination Challenges ...................................................... 78
5.2.4. Low Share of School Education in Budget Allocations ........................................ 79 5.2.5. Political Economy of Education: Disparities in District Wise Public Spending ... 79
5.3. District and Sub-District Service Delivery Challenges ............................................ 79 5.3.1. Frequent Transfers in District Management .......................................................... 79 5.3.2. Management Capacity and Skills Gap ................................................................... 80
5.3.3. Coordinating District Education Management with Local Government System .. 80
5.3.4. District Management’s Average Time Spent on Different Tasks .......................... 80 5.3.5. Initiatives to Improve School Participation and Quality........................................ 81 5.3.6. Disconnect between Planning and Budgeting, and Local Level Challenges ......... 81
5.3.7. Time Spent on Different Tasks during School Visits ............................................ 81 5.3.8. Coordination and Communication between Province, District and Sub-District
Tiers ................................................................................................................................. 81 5.3.9. District and School Capacity Needs ...................................................................... 82
Conclusion and Recommendations ...................................................................................... 84
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
Acronyms
AEO Assistant Education Officer
ASDEO Assistant Sub-Divisional Education Officer
BAEC Balochistan Assessment and Examination Commission
BEMIS Balochistan Education Management Information System
BOC Bureau of Curriculum
BPEIRRA Balochistan Private Educational Institute Registration and Regulation
Authority
BTBB Balochistan Textbook Board
CEO Chief Executive Officer
CLC Children Library Complex
CW Curriculum Wing
DCAR Directorate of Curriculum, Assessments and Research
DCTE Directorate of Curriculum and Teachers Education
DDEO Deputy District Education Officer
DEA District Education Authority
DEG District Education Group
DEO District Education Officer
DHRT Directorate of Human Resource and Training
DIRPI Directorate of Inspection & Registration of Private Institutions
ECE Early Childhood Education
EFA Education for All
EMIS Education Management Information System
ERW Education Reforms Wing
ESED Elementary and Secondary Education Department
ESEF Elementary and Secondary Education Foundation
ESRU Education Sector Reforms Unit
FGD Focus Group Discussion
GER Gross Enrolment Rate
GIR Gross Intake Rate
GPI Gender Parity Index
I-SAPS Institute of Social and Policy Sciences
JD Job Description
LC Learning Coordinator
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
KPK Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
KP-ESP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Sector Plan
NEMIS National Education Management Information System
NER Net Enrolment Rate
NTS National Testing Service
OOSC Out of School Children
PCTB Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board
PDSA Punjab Danish School Authority
PEC Punjab Examination Commission
PEF Punjab Education Foundation
PESP Punjab Education Sector Plan
PITE Provincial Institute of Teachers Education
PPIU Program Planning and Implementation Unit
QAED Quaid-e-Azam Academy of Educational Development
RITE Regional Institute of Teachers Education
SABER Systems Approach for Better Education Results
SAT Standardized Achievement Test
SBEP School Based Education Program
SDEO Dub-Divisional Education Officer
SDG Sustainable Development Goals
SED-B Secondary Education Department - Balochistan
SED School Education Department
SELD School Education and Literacy Department
STEDA Sindh Teachers Education and Development Authority
SNE Schedule for New Expenditures
SWOT Strength Weakness Opportunities Threat
TEO Taluka Education Officer
TO Taluka Officer
TPV Third Party Validation
UNDP Unite Nations Development Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNICEF United Nations Children Fund
USAID United States Agency for International Development
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
Executive Summary
After the introduction of 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010, there has been significant
reconfiguration in education policy, planning, governance management processes and service
delivery across all provinces. Provincial governments have taken a number of steps at
provincial, district and school tiers to improve education services. Despite wide ranging
initiatives at provincial and district levels, the challenge of effective education service delivery
continues to persist across all provinces.
Effective education service delivery essentially depends on the effectiveness of institutional
arrangements, operational coordination as well as management and service delivery capacities
in place from provincial to district and school tiers. Therefore, this study analyses1: (a)
institutional and administrative structure of education departments at provincial and district
levels; (b) the efficacy of horizontal coordination among departments, administrative units and
stakeholders at provincial tier and at district tier; (c) the effectiveness of district’s vertical
coordination mechanisms both up-ward with the provincial entities and down-ward with the
service delivery units (sub-district and school levels); and (d) the institutional and human
resource capacities especially at district and sub-district level.
In this context, this study assesses education management and service delivery capacities and
coordination mechanisms in all provinces. The study also maps horizontal and vertical
coordination challenges within and across respective education departments, attached
institutions and the district tier of education administration in all provinces. In drawing its
inferences, the study benefits from extensive literature review, quantitative and qualitative data
collected through key informant interviews at provincial and district tiers, and survey and focus
group discussions (FGDs) at the district level. The data collection at district level was carried
out through key informant interviews with top-two tiers of district administration and focus-
group discussions with head-teachers of high schools. A survey was also conducted with the
lowest tier of education administration in select districts across all provinces. The study
identifies following service delivery capacity challenges common across the provinces and
districts.
Key Findings and Inferences:
1. Education Departments are Configured Differently across Provinces. For example,
in Punjab there are different departments with administrative heads and paraphernalia
for school education department, whereas there is a different department for non-formal
education named Literacy, Non-Formal and Basic Education (LNFBE) department.
Similarly, in case of Balochistan, the function of non-formal education is the mandate
of the Social Welfare Department. However, in case of Sindh, both functions are
performed by the same department i.e. School Education and Literacy Department.
Like Sindh, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Directorate of Elementary and Secondary
Education (DESE) is the key provincial entity that is mandated to manage both formal
and non-formal education functions. The diverse education governance landscape
warrants distinct and context-responsive approaches for addressing education service
delivery challenges in every province. Furthermore, the different configuration of
education departments also necessitates a nuanced approach when designing job
1 In this report the words ‘study’ and ‘assessment’ have been used interchangeably.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
descriptions and performance management frameworks aimed at improving service
delivery.
2. Duplication of Roles, Mandate Overlaps and Blurring Lines of Reasonability. In
each province the study identifies instances of duplication in roles and mandate-
overlaps in provincial entities. For example, in Balochistan the planning for Public
Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and non PSDP are assigned to Directorate of
Schools (DOS) and same tasks are also being carried out by the Additional Secretary
(Development) and respective Deputy Secretaries of SED. So, simultaneously different
offices are undertaking the same task. Similarly, in Punjab overlap in mandates can also
be seen between the Program Monitoring and Implementation Unit (PMIU) and Punjab
Examination Commission (PEC) as various student assessments are being designed and
conducted in the province by different entities. For instance, PEC is mandated to design,
implement and report on standardized assessments for all students of Grade 5 (primary
school) and Grade 8 (middle school) in all public schools in Punjab. At the same time,
PMIU manages six-monthly assessments at Grade 3. While this is not necessarily a
strict overlap, it appears in this case that both the PMIU and PEC have a mandate for
different types of assessments—something which may need further clarification or
explanation to avoid potential confusion among sub-district functionaries. In the case
of KP where the mandate of the Education Management Information System (EMIS)
cell in Elementary and Secondary Education Department (ESED) overlaps with that of
Independent Monitoring Unit (IMU) as both are mandated to collect data from schools.
Excessive data collection routines from the schools are reportedly affecting school
administration and teachers’ ability to utilize maximum time in teaching and learning
activities.
The study findings indicate that the overlapping mandates of provincial entities are the
result of expansion in the mandate and responsibilities of some departments through
official notifications, whereas in others cases it is through verbal orders. In all four
provinces there is no comprehensive document that elaborates mandates, management
functions, and responsibilities of provincial education departments and their attached
departments and autonomous bodies. This results in a blurring of lines of
responsibilities and at times leads to overlapping mandates that adversely affect service
delivery.
3. Attached Institutions of Education Departments are not Performing all their
Mandated Functions (i.e., “gaps”). For instance, in the case of Balochistan, besides
development of textbooks in line with curricula, the Balochistan Textbook Board
(BTBB) is also mandated to develop supplementary material and teaching guides.
However, the textbook board has not developed any supplementary material or teaching
guides over the last several years. This directly effects the quality of education at the
service delivery level. Moreover, after the introduction of the 18th Amendment, and
devolution of education to the provincial tier for legislation, policy and planning,
curriculum and standards, the development and revision of curricula have become the
responsibility of the provinces. However, the attached institutions of the respective
school education departments which are responsible to review and develop curriculum
—i.e. Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB); Directorate of Curriculum,
Assessments and Research (DCAR) Sindh; Bureau of Curriculum (BOC) Balochistan;
Directorate of Curriculum and Teachers Education (DCTE) KP—have not been
performing these functions.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
4. District Education Managers and School Principals lack Specialized Management,
Administrative, and Leadership, Training. A vast majority of education managers at
the district and sub-district levels across the provinces started their careers as school
teachers and were eventually posted over time in management roles. These officials
have not been provided specific training on management and planning skills. Since they
came from the teaching cadre, they often lack adequate skills required for education
planning, budgeting and management; thereby they are unable to perform efficiently.
A substantial majority of education managers at the sub-district level highlighted the
following areas for their own capacity development: needs-based budgeting and
financial management; IT-based approaches for education management; data
collection, analysis and reporting; and school monitoring. Similarly, school head
teachers also identified their own areas for capacity building which include school
management and leadership; school budgeting and financial management;
departmental rules and regulations; subject specific and pedagogy related training to
support teachers, and community mobilization.
5. High Turnover of Provincial and District Officials. The government service rules
provide for the tenure of three years for government officials at the provincial as well
as district levels, however most of the officials reported a much shorter length of tenure
on a particular position. For instance, in the course of only one year, the education
department in KP has had its 6th administrative secretary, while Punjab saw its 4th
administrative secretary of the education department in only a matter of the last few
months. Furthermore, during the current year, the post of administrative secretaries in
KP and Punjab also remained vacant for a considerable period. Similarly, a number of
officials at the district tier in all provinces were found to have served in their previous
official positions from only 3 months to 1.5 years. The unpredictable tenures of officials
and key education managers remains a major impediment to effective oversight of
service delivery at the local levels.
6. Over-Deployment and Administrative Inefficiencies. Only to take the case of
teachers training in Sindh, there are around five attached-institutions that are
responsible for various roles and functions including training needs assessment,
training, and monitoring the conduct of training. The main concerned attached
institutions include Provincial Institute of Teachers Education (PITE), Curriculum
Wing, Sindh Teachers Education Development Authority (STEDA), and Directorate of
Teachers Training Institutions.
In addition to the existing institutional infrastructure, however, the government of
Sindh has also recently established the Directorate of Human Resource and Training.
The directorate is mandated to carry out needs assessment as well as the mapping of
geographical areas where teachers require training. PITE is mandated to design teachers
training modules and forward them to BOC, which further forwards the modules to
STEDA for approval. PITE then involves the Directorate of Teacher Training Institutes
which offers its venues as well as master trainers to conduct the training. STEDA, given
the availability of resources, is mandated to monitor the actual conduct of the training.
This proliferation of similarly-related “attached” teacher training institutions has
resulted in increased administrative inefficiencies which have also contributed to
financial resource constraints for the education sector in Sindh.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
7. Political Economy Considerations. There are various stakeholders who influence
policy, planning and management processes with varying degree of influence and
having significant bearing on the service delivery of education. These stakeholders
include teachers, teacher unions, bureaucracy including officials from the education,
finance and planning and development departments, political parties and public
representatives, just to name a few. They pursue their entrenched, and often narrowly
defined, interests mostly to the detriment of education service delivery. Teacher unions
and teachers are a major group exercising considerable influence, and in most cases as
a disadvantage and impediment to education service delivery at the school level. For
instance, in almost every province, teacher unions have so far been able to resist
significant changes aimed at improving teacher rationalization, accountability
procedures, etc. among others. The parents and local communities are least influential
among the key stakeholders. They not only lack knowledge, but also do not have
appropriate forums to represent their demands and influence decision-making. It is
significant to note that there is an exception to this in the case of access-related
initiatives, which for the most part result in a convergence of interests of most key
stakeholders including the parents along with teacher unions, public representatives and
education department officials since this category of schemes implies additional new
public sector investments to increase the numbers of schools, classrooms, teachers,
teaching supplies etc. Conversely, however, public sector initiatives aimed at
improving the quality of education—such as teacher rationalization, improving quality
of teaching etc.—seldom see such a confluence of interests by the diverse stakeholders
and, in fact, are often resisted by the more powerful entrenched interest groups like
teachers’ unions, etc.
8. Ad hoc Appointments and assigning of Additional Charges is a Common Feature.
Instead of giving permanent appointments, vacant positions are often filled by ad hoc
appointments or delegating/assigning additional charges to the existing officials. For
instance, until the appointment of the current Project Director of PMIU (Punjab) in
November 2017, the post of PD remained vacant for about two years. Similarly, at the
district tier in Punjab, the Chief Executive Officers of the DEAs have not yet been
recruited and senior officials at the district level have held additional charges for the
post of CEO.
9. Lack of Institutional Capacity at the District Level in Pro-equity and Data-based
Planning, Budgeting and Feedback. The district education administrations assist
provincial education departments in the collection of schools’ data, but lack capacity to
use this data for planning and monitoring purposes. Districts also lack the culture of
data-based monitoring and feedback to schools. None of the sampled districts across
the provinces has the capacity to carry-out pro-equity, needs-based sector planning
using the available education data-sets.
10. Limited Coordination and Communication between Province, District and Sub-
District Tiers. During the course of the study, it was identified that the district officials
are less involved compared to provincial service delivery functionaries in decisions
relating to sector planning and budgeting, teacher training, curriculum design and
textbook development. Just like the weak coordination between province and district,
the coordination between district and sub-district tiers is also not very strong. Very few
school visits are conducted by the DEOs or other officials. In Balochistan, there exists
no forum that allows regular meetings between district and sub-district level education
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
officials. In Punjab, Sindh and KP monthly meetings are held between district and sub-
district officials. Most of the districts in Punjab conduct District Review Committee
(DRC) meetings that offer an opportunity for intra-district coordination. Similarly, sub-
district officials in Punjab coordinate with school leadership through cluster level
monthly meetings. In the cluster level meetings, schools discuss their issues and
challenges besides sharing progress against key indicators on access and quality of
education. However, in Sindh, Balochistan and KP the coordination between district
tier and schools is weak. So, in these three provinces when schools face any issues the
principals have to report these issues to individual sub-district officials on a case by
case basis and no organized or regular forum exists which deals with the complaints or
problems reported by schools.
11. District Education Managers’ Time is Utilized on Responsibilities Not Linked to
Education Service Delivery. These include inter alia polio and dengue campaigns,
election duties, disaster relief duties and security related duties. These extra
administrative responsibilities consume around 16 percent of these officials’ average
workday. The percentage is seemingly low as a portion of the workday of the official,
however it has significant bearing on how the rest of the workday unfolds for the
official. Additionally, the education managers are mostly performing ancillary
functions, such as public relation activities, responding to miscellaneous information
requests from provincial directorates and the secretariat, etc., thus leaving less time for
actual education management and ensuring quality service delivery.
Recommendations
Keeping in view the findings of this assessment, the following recommendations are shared for
improvement in education service delivery:
1. In order to address the challenges of role duplication, mandate overlaps, gaps,
and blurred lines of responsibilities, each province should devise a consolidated
education management framework clearly delineating roles, responsibilities and
linkages of each entity at the provincial and district level. Such a consolidated
framework should be developed by bringing all provincial entities together to
deliberate upon their mandated roles and responsibilities. Any overlaps,
duplications, gaps and blurred lines of responsibility should be identified and
eliminated through mutual consultation with all stakeholders under the guidance of
the education department and political leadership. While finalizing mandates and
responsibilities of departments, their operational and coordination linkages (both
vertical and horizontal) should also be discussed, finalized, and documented.
2. Strong evidence-based policy engagement is needed with government officials and
public representatives. In order to deal with strong political interests and to support
evidence-based decision making there is need to a) generate evidence on the
political economy that causes the emergence of parallel structures and/or assigning
of overlapping mandates to existing attached institutions, and b) garner strong
political will to discourage and even reverse the practices of establishing parallel
structures and assigning overlapping mandates to provincial institutions.
3. A specialized pool of new education managers needs to be trained and developed.
Officials from this pool will help provide needed human resources with specialized
management and administrative skills required for effective service delivery. At the
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
same time, existing education managers at the district tier need to be provided with
specialized management and administrative training to equip them for effectively
supporting service delivery at the district tier.
4. There is need to improve accuracy, depth and integration of education data
systems in provinces to enable localized and targeted planning and financing that
ensures equitable access to quality education services. The education department in
each province should integrate all available data-sets and information sources (e.g.
EMIS, monitoring unit data, assessment data and teacher’s information system) on
one accessible portal. Besides integration into one platform, the depth and diversity
of data should also be improved especially by regularly collecting data on quality
indicators, social and economic inequities, disability profiles, etc.
5. There is a need to design and effectively implement Performance Management
Frameworks (PMFs) across provinces to link career progression and incentives of
staff with objectively verifiable performance against mandated roles and
responsibilities. Training of officials on PMF, along with instituting a mechanism
to ensure performance evaluation is in line with KPIs and JDs at the provincial and
district levels is imperative to support and improve education service delivery at
school level.
6. Every province should make particular efforts to clarify and improve vertical and
horizontal operational linkages of district education management. Especially,
there is a need to improve the role of districts in provision of missing facilities,
designing CPD programs for teachers, allocation of non-salary and development
budgets and designing direct interventions to improve learning outcomes in the
schools. Within the district there is need to improve coordination, communication
and operational linkages of district education management with the elected local
governments, district administration and stakeholder forums like DEGs in
Balochistan.
7. Initiatives should be designed and implemented to enhance institutional capacities
for equity-responsive, targeted planning and budgeting at the district level. The
provinces should develop comprehensive capacity development programmes to
enhance the knowledge and skills of education managers at the provincial and
district levels towards making pro-equity and gender responsive strategic plans and
annual budgets.
8. Provincial Governments should effectively and practically devolve administrative
functions and financial matters to the district level. Based on the principle of
subsidiarity, functions such as recruitment of staff on contract basis, building of
additional classrooms, purchase of furniture and other equipment, teachers transfers
and posting etc. must be devolved to the appropriate level of district education
administration to better support and achieve effective service delivery.
9. There is need to identify, embed and institutionalize, and share best practices for
effective service delivery. The best practices need to be identified more
systematically focusing on the administrative, operational and capacity challenges
at provincial and district education service delivery levels. In order to ensure
context specific adoption of best practices, these should be shared more widely with
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
all relevant stakeholders through a well-designed engagement and communication
strategy. There is a need to develop operational SOPs dealing with planning,
monitoring, and horizontal and vertical coordination at provincial, district and sub-
district levels.
10. The findings of student assessments and examinations data should drive teachers
training programs, teachers training modules and the development of textbooks
and learning materials.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
INTRODUCTION
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Context and Approach
Pakistan has made significant strides towards achieving the goal of equitable access to quality
education over past several years. A number of reform initiatives have been witnessed at both
the federal and the provincial tiers to improve the education sector across the country. These
initiatives entail a range of supply and demand side interventions aimed at improving the
education sector governance, retention and transition of students, student learning
achievements and professional development of teachers and education managers. However, the
evidence indicates that despite a long history of reforms in all provinces, education indicators
in Pakistan still remain low. According to UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS), more than 28
percent of primary school age children in the country are out of school. Though there is slight
reduction in number of OOSC from 24 million in 2016 to 22.8 million in 2017, but the situation
is still not encouraging.2
Similarly, it is alarming to note that children who are in the school are not learning well. Gender
disparities in the education sector are also stark. Despite introduction of various reforms
initiatives across provinces, these persistently low education indicators of the country point
towards larger challenges related to sector governance, management and service delivery
capacities. The provincial policy frameworks and sector plans also highlight the need to address
planning, management and implementation capacity challenges especially at the district and
sub-district levels.3
In 2010, introduction of Eighteenth Constitutional Amendment Act led to the devolution of all
administrative and legislative functions relating to education to the provinces4. As a result,
education policy, planning, governance and management processes were reconfigured across
all provinces. Provinces also took initiatives to improve service delivery by giving more
responsibilities and expanding the mandates of district education management. Despite wide-
ranging reforms and initiatives undertaken at the provincial and district levels, the challenge of
effective education service delivery continues to persist across all provinces.
An overview of education services in Pakistan highlights the need for effective and well-
coordinated management processes and service delivery mechanisms at all management tiers
for attaining targets against the key education indicators such as enrolment, student and teacher
attendance, student learning outcomes and reducing student dropouts. Almost all of the above-
mentioned indicators are dependent upon factors and variables that are partially external to the
district domain and that require strong vertical operational linkages of district tier with the
provincial and sub-district tiers. For instance, student learning outcomes are reliant on a
number of determinants including; adequate supply of trained teachers, students’ socio-
economic background; parents’ literacy levels; availability of a conducive learning
environment in the school including access to basic facilities; the quality and availability of
2 NEMIS. (2018). Pakistan Education Statistics, 2016-17. 3 Please see: Elementary and Secondary Education Department. 2015. School Sector Plan 2015-2020,
Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Pg. 18. And Education and Literacy Department. 2014. Sindh
Education Sector Plan 2014-18, Government of Sindh. Pg. 19. 4 The Gazette of Pakistan, Extr. Pt.1, Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act 2010, Act No X of 2010, P 267,
20th April 2010.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
textbooks and supplementary material; the quality of assessment and examinations etc.
Likewise, increase in enrolment or reduction in dropouts depend upon factors like quality and
perception of public schools in the eyes of parents, which among other things is influenced by
access to basic facilities and teacher availability. While the districts can well ensure teacher
attendance, they are not able to create provisions for improved quality of teaching or ensuring
basic facilities without the support from the provincial governments. In the same manner for
targeted and need responsive planning and budgeting a district requires operational
coordination and technical guidance from the province. In this context, this assessment
employs the approach for assessing challenges and capacity constraints in district education
service delivery. Following frame in Figure 1 explains the overall approach for this assessment:
Figure 1: Assessment Approach: Horizontal and Vertical Operational Frame
Employing the above approach, this assessment maps operational coordination and capacity
constraints within and across provincial education department, attached provincial institutions,
district education management and sub-district structures in each province.
1.2 Objective and Scope of the Study
The report assesses education management and service delivery capacities especially at
provincial and district levels in all the four provinces of Pakistan. The study maps and compares
existing structures, management processes and practices with existing policies and governance
District Tier
Provincial Tier
Schools
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
frameworks in each province. The study also assesses operational disconnects and bottlenecks
at the provincial, district and sub-district levels that impede effective education service
delivery. It also presents analyses of horizontal and vertical coordination mechanisms in place
to ensure effective service delivery. Horizontal coordination involves linkages, communication
and liaison at the provincial tier between education departments and attached institutions; and,
vertical coordination involves coordination between province and districts, as well as, district
and sub-district levels. The study explicitly does not address in much detail the service delivery
issues and challenges related to the relationship between district and school-level officials and
personnel, or service delivery within/at the school level—these are simply beyond the scope of
the present report and would be better suited to future efforts focusing on particular provinces
or within the context of specific projects and reform efforts.
The assessment provides evidence to inform the efforts for system strengthening and improved
service delivery capacities at provincial and district levels. At provincial level, the assessment
maps overall structure, institutional setup and mandated roles of education departments,
attached institutions and autonomous bodies. Besides mapping governance structures, it
examines overlapping roles and blurring lines of responsibilities as experienced by the
provincial education departments and allied institutions.
At the district level, the assessment focuses on management practices, operational linkages and
capacities of various tiers of district education administration in each province. The assessment
of devolved management tiers covers key functions and areas like human resource and
financial management, planning, monitoring, coordination, communication, reporting, etc.
Within the overall horizontal and vertical operational structure, the study focuses on four key
areas i.e. administrative and structural loopholes, operational gaps, coordination challenges and
capacity constraints that hinder effective education service delivery. The study also provides
recommendations to address these gaps and challenges.
The areas of assessment and analysis are presented in Figure 2 below.5
Figure 2: Four Key Focus Areas of Assessment and Analysis within the Horizontal and Vertical
Operational Structures
5 These four “areas of assessment and analysis” are part of the study’s analytic framework to assess institutional
arrangements, relationships, and the issues and challenges within the horizontal and vertical operational
structures and are not intended to serve as the report’s organizational structure.
Administrative and Structural Loopholes 1
Operational Challenges Impeding Functioning of the Departments 2
Gaps in Existing Coordination and Communication Channels 3
Capacity and Financial Needs and Constraints 4
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
1.3 Methodology The study benefits from extensive literature review, quantitative and qualitative data, and the
findings of key informant interviews at provincial and district tiers, survey of sub-district
officials and focus group discussions (FGDs) at district level. At provincial level, key officials
in the provincial education departments and attached institutions participated in the study.
District level assessment was conducted in a sample of 12 districts. From each province, 3
districts were selected covering geographic diversity and education ranking variants within that
province.
The list of selected districts6 is provided in the table 1 below.
Table 1: Sample of Districts for the Survey, Key Interviews and Observation
District Literacy Rate (15 years & above) Education Ranking Location
Punjab
Rawalpindi 81% 01 North
Sargodha 59% 15 Center
Rahim Yar Khan 42% 33 South
Sindh
Noshero Feroz 64% 02 Center
Hyderabad 59% 04 South
Jacobabad 32% 22 North
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
(KP)
Peshawar 56% 05 Center
Dera Ismail Khan 41% 16 South
Shangla 30% 22 North
Balochistan
Quetta 57% 01 Center
Kila Saifullah 36% 14 North
Chaghi 26% 22 South
Source: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). PSLM 2014-15
Within each district, the assessment covered a sample of officials from different tiers of
education management (district and sub-district) and head teachers of high schools7. To ensure
maximum representation of different tiers of the district education management as per structure
and staffing in each district a sample (presented as Annexure A) was finalized for this study.
Since the district level management of the education department varies in each province, this
study has attempted to cover at-least the top-two tiers of education management in the sample.
For each data collection method, separate instrument was developed.
1.4 Structure of the Report
The report is structured into six sections and an executive summary. The first section of the
report indicates about the background, objectives and methodology of this assessment. The
6 The districts were finalized in consultation with the World Bank team. 7 As per ToRs of the assignment, only high schools were covered.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
subsequent four sections review the education management and service delivery capacities for
each of the four provinces: Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Each
provincial section starts with an overview of education indicators in the province, followed by
presentation of policy landscape, existing administrative structure (province, district and sub-
district levels) for education service delivery and processes flow on core education functions.
After setting the context, each section on a province first presents horizontal (provincial level)
service structure, coordination and capacity challenges and then vertical (district and sub-
district level) service management and delivery challenges are discussed. Hence, each section
has three major sub-sections i.e. i) context, policy landscape and structure as well as functions
of education services; ii) provincial operational constraints and capacity gaps; and iii) district
and sub-district service delivery challenges. The last section of the study provides conclusion,
and recommendations for improving education service delivery from province to districts and
school level in Pakistan
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
BALOCHISTAN
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
BALOCHISTAN
EDUCATION GOVERNANCE AND SERVICE DELIVERY
CAPACITIES
2.1 Education in Balochistan at a Glance
Balochistan has a total of 15, 051 schools from pre-primary till higher secondary including
public, private and other public institutions. Out of these 13,845 are public schools with 4,007
for girls and 9,838 for boys8. There has been slight increase in the enrolment of children in
public and private schools (pre-primary till higher secondary) of the province in past two years,
where enrolment increased from 1,163,572 in 2016 to 1,184,050 in 2017.9 While there has been
some improvement in the enrolment rate in recent years, Balochistan continues to lag behind
other provinces on various educational indicators. The overall literacy rate (10 years and above)
of the province was 41 percent in 2015-16, which was far below the national average (58
percent) and other three provinces. There is a marked difference in male (56 percent) and
female (24 percent) literacy rates in the province. The net enrolment rate (NER) at primary
level in the province is 33 percent, which again highlights gender gap i.e. 38 percent for boys
and 26 percent for girls.10
2.1.1. An Overview of Education Policy Landscape
Following the adoption of Eighteenth Amendment, policy and planning in relation to education
became a matter of provincial jurisdiction. Nonetheless, a Joint Declaration on Education was
signed on September 16, 2011 whereby all the federating units unanimously adopted National
Educational Policy 2009 (subject to such adaptations as necessitated by the 18th Constitutional
Amendment). Similarly, the National Curriculum 2006 and the National Textbooks and
Learning Materials Policy, 2007 were also adopted by the provinces in 2011. As agreed upon
in the joint declaration, Secondary Education Department Balochistan developed an interim
policy document Balochistan Action Plan. Similarly, Balochistan EFA Plan 2011-15 and Early
Childhood Education Plans were also developed11.
In 2013 Secondary Education Department developed a comprehensive Education Sector Plan
(BESP) 2013-18 that provides strategic guidance for effective education service delivery in the
province. The plan is based upon the goals as enunciated in the NEP 2009 and the Balochistan
Action Plan. BESP 2013-2018 is the key strategic and planning document in the province. It
focuses on six interrelated areas for education reform namely: improving quality of education;
early childhood education; access and equity; governance and management; and adult literacy
and non-formal education. It also includes a performance appraisal framework as well as an
implementation and monitoring plan. The implementation of BESP primarily rests with the
Secondary Education Department (SED), Government of Balochistan, however, its
8 NEMIS. (2018). Pakistan Education Statistics, 2016-17. Academy of Education Planning and Management,
Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Government of Pakistan. 9 Ibid. 10 Government of Pakistan. (2018). Chapter 10. Education. Economic survey of Pakistan 2017-18. 11 I-SAPS. 2016. Implementing Eighteenth Amendment: A Review of Legal, Institutional and Financial
Developments in the Education Sector. Islamabad
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
implementation requires effective linkages and robust horizontal (across provincial entities)
and vertical (between province and districts) linkages and efficient coordination.
In order to be compliant with Article-25-A, The Balochistan Compulsory Education Act
(BCEA), was enacted in 201412. It provides policy and strategic guidance to the Government
of Balochistan (GoB) to ensure universal access to quality education13. Balochistan Private
Educational Institute Registration and Regulation Authority Act (BPEIRRA), 2015 has been
enacted in the province to provide for the registration, regulation and promotion of the private
educational institutions of the province. These two enactments provide an enabling policy
environment to plan and pursue the goal of universal access to school education in the province.
With a comprehensive sector plan and a robust legal framework in place, recent evidence
indicates that the province continues to struggle for addressing the challenges of low enrolment,
retention, learning outcomes, and poor school infrastructure. It has been largely attributed to
institutional capacity deficit and weak operational linkages between province and districts for
evidence-based and context specific planning, financing and effective performance
management14.
2.1.2. Education Management and Service Delivery Structure: Province, Districts and
Schools
Balochistan has an elaborate education management structure at province, district and school
levels for planning, financing, management of teachers, data collection, teacher training,
curriculum development, preparation and provision of textbooks, literacy, as well as private
schools. The key actors in education service delivery and their operational relations at province,
district and school levels are explained below:
2.1.2.1 Provincial Institutional Setup
Balochistan Secondary Education Department (SED) is the administrative department15
responsible for education policy, planning and service delivery in the province. At provincial
level, and as seen below in Figure 3, SED is supported by its attached departments and
autonomous bodies/special institutions including16;
a. Attached Departments17:
i. Directorate of Education – Schools
ii. Bureau of Curriculum (BOC)
b. Autonomous Bodies/Institutions/ Board
i. Balochistan Text Book Board
ii. Provincial Institute for Teachers’ Education
iii. Balochistan Education Foundation
12 Originally promulgated as Balochistan Compulsory and Free Education Ordinance, 2013 on March 15, 2013. 13 Balochistan Compulsory Education Act 2014. Balochistan Act No. V of 2014 was passed by the Provincial
Assembly on January 28, 2014 and was assented to by the Governor on February 4, 2014. 14 Please see: The World Bank. (2018). Strengthening Budget Management to Improve Education Service
Delivery. Islamabad. and Alif Ailaan. (2018). 2013-2018 Five Years of Education Reforms in Balochistan.
Wins, Losses and challenges for 2018-2023. Islamabad. 15 Administrative Department is defined as a “… self-contained administrative unit in the Secretariat …
responsible for the conduct of business of Government in a distinct and specified sphere and declared as such by
the Government; Rule 2(1) j The Balochistan Government Rules of Business, 2012. 16 Please see, Schedule II and III (Rule 2 (1) (c), The Balochistan Government Rules of Business, 2012 17 Rule 2(1) (b), The Balochistan Government Rules of Business, 2012
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
iv. Balochistan board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE)
v. Policy, Planning and Implementation Unit (PPIU)
vi. Balochistan Assessment and Examination Commission (BAEC)
vii. Balochistan Education Endowment Fund (BEEF)
Figure 3: Secondary Education Department- Balochistan
The mandates and responsibilities of these attached departments and autonomous
bodies/special institutions in provincial education policy, planning, financing and service
delivery are elaborated here in Table 2:
SecretaryScondary Education
Director Schools (DOS)
Bureau of Curriculum(BOC)
Autonomous Bodies
Balochistan Text Book Board
Provincial Institute for Teachers’ Education
Balochistan Education Foundation
Balochistan board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE)
Balochistan Assessment and Examination Commission (BAEC)
Adl Sec (Adm)
DS Judicial
SO Inquiry
DS Adm
SO Adm
Adl Sec (Schools)
DS Schools
SO Schools
Adl Sec (Development)
DS Develop-I
SO Budget
DS Develop-II
Policy Planning and
Implementation Unit (PPIU)
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
Table 2: Matrix on SED’s Key Attached Departments and Autonomous Bodies/Institutions/ and
their Assigned Responsibilities
Provincial Institution Responsibilities and Functions Assigned
1. Directorate of Schools
(DOS)
• The Directorate of Schools (DoS) is responsible for all public sector
schools and issues ancillary to this mandate. These include
management of the teacher cadre and the administrative and financial
matters related to them.
• It has field formations at divisional tier headed by Director Schools
(6 Divisions) and at district levels led by District Education Officers
(DEOs).
• DOS is the executing arm of the Department having the primary
responsibility for education service delivery.
(Source: Balochistan Education Sector Plan, 2013-2018. Pg. 14) 2. Policy, Planning and
Implementation Unit
(PPIU)
• Lead planning and coordination of education sector initiatives;
o Develop policy in coordination with relevant provincial departments
o Develop sector plans and action plans
o Undertake occasional targeted research in support of planning (e.g.
understanding the major barriers to access)
• Monitor performance and implementation
o Further develop the BEMIS system to provide more information on the
performance of schools
o Monitor implementation of initiatives, with regular meetings to assess
what has been done and what results have been achieved
o Commission third party evaluations of impact
• Coordination and communication
o Communicate sector and action plans throughout the system
o Coordinate implementation of key priorities (e.g. textbook
improvement)
o Ensure coordination between government agencies, districts, donors,
and the provincial leadership
3. Provincial Institute of
Teachers Training
(PITE)
The institute is responsible for the provision of in-service teacher
education in Balochistan. PITE’s stipulated responsibilities include:
• To enhance the quality of education through in-service teacher’s
professional development.
• To work in the sphere of material development for the professional
development programs of teachers.
• To carry out research activities in the field of education to enhance the
quality of teaching practices.
4. Balochistan Textbook
Board (BTBB)
The main functions of the Balochistan Textbook Board include;
production and publication of error free quality textbooks on
affordable price, supplementary material and teaching aids.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
5. Bureau of Curriculum
(BOC)
BOC has the primary responsibility of Curriculum
development/review, prepare and monitor curriculum implementation
framework (CIF), development of standards of education, and
conducting audit the output standards,
6. Balochistan
Assessment and
Examination
Commission (BAEC)
The key functions of BAEC include:
• Improve the quality of examination at all levels to shift away from
testing of memory to assessment of critical analytical ability
• Shift to curriculum-based examinations from textbooks-based
examinations.
• Ensure credibility of public examinations at all levels.
• Enhance provincial capacity to develop and conduct quality
examinations.
• Develop provincial capacity to conduct diagnostic assessments to
support decisions on systemic improvements.
7. Balochistan Education
Management
Information System
(BEMIS)
BEMIS is responsible for collection, collation and analysis of data on
education. It conducts an Annual School Census (ASC) of public
schools under the provincial education department. (Source: Balochistan Education Sector Plan, 2013-2018. Pg. 14)
8. Balochistan Education
Foundation (BEF)
BEF is mandated to register, regulate and support the privately
managed educational institutions in Balochistan.
2.1.2.2 District and Sub-district Administrative Arrangements
Government of Balochistan (GoB) in recent years has introduced a number of reforms aimed
at better organisation and improving service delivery at the District and Sub-district tiers.
Besides introduction of administrative reforms, a number of functions have also been devolved
to the districts and schools in order to streamline and ensure effective education service
delivery in the province. With Directorate of Schools at the provincial tier and supported by
six subordinate Directorates of Education at Divisional tier, each district has an education
office headed by District Education Officer (DEO). Each DEO is assisted by two District
Officers (DOs) one for boys’ schools i.e. DO (Male) and other for girls’ schools i.e. DO
(Female). At the Sub-district (Tehsil) level the education services are managed by Assistant
District Education Officers (ADEOs). (Please see Figure 4)
In order to provide a forum to diverse stake holders for supporting the efforts for improving
education at district level, SED created District Education Groups (DEGs) in 2013. With DEOs
as the Chair and DOs as the Secretary, the groups besides having representation from Social
Welfare Department, and Principals of Degree Colleges also had one representative of
Teachers Union and three from Civil Society18.
In addition to the formation of DEGs, with the purpose of strengthening education service
delivery at the district level, SED also established District Education Authorities (DEAs) in
18 PPIU Notification No: 242-47, September 10, 2013
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
201419. With DEO as the Chairman, the eight member DEAs included; Deputy Commissioner
or his representative, District Accounts Officer, DO- Male, DO- Female, Deputy DOs (Male
and Female), Head Teachers and Learning Coordinators. The composition of DEAs was
revisited in 2016 and Deputy Commissioners (DC) were made the Chairman of DEAs in 2016.
Additionally, in order to achieve BESP targets, District Monitoring Coordinators were placed
in the Deputy Commissioners’ offices. The District Monitoring Coordinators were tasked with
operationalizing Real Time Monitoring System (RTMS)20.
Figure 4: Mapping Education Administration
In order to guide and inform the planning process at the district tier SED Balochistan has also
developed District Education Plans (DEPs) for all the 31 districts in Balochistan. The DEPs
have been developed in line with the strategic priorities, planning and targets presented in the
BESP. However, an overview of DEPs indicates that SED was predominantly steering the DEP
development process and the role of district authorities in need identification, planning and
target setting was minimal and mostly passive.
At the district level, School Clusters have been established as the education management
entities. Each cluster is led by a High School, which plays a key role in education service
delivery through cluster-based management. In case of boy schools each cluster has 5 to 40
feeding elementary and primary schools. While in case of girls’ schools each cluster consist of
20 to 60 feeding schools. Additionally, Parent Teacher School Management Committees
(PTSMCs) serve as the forum where community, parents and school administration work
collectively to improve education service delivery. It is important to note that DEP
19 Notification No. SO (Admn.) 15-63/2014/2219-240, February 3, 2014 20 UO No. PS/CS/Misc: 98-Vol-XII/9819-29. May 5, 2016
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
implementation and delivery of key education services require that DEAs have effective
horizontal (with province) and vertical (with clusters and schools) operational relations.
2.1.3 Process Flow in Core Education Functions: Horizontal and Vertical Linkages
In order to perform the core education functions there is need for effective operational linkages
and coordination within and across provincial and district education managements. Following
description of the process flow in performance of core education functions highlights the
horizontal and vertical operational linkages required for effective education service delivery.
2.1.3.1 Teacher Recruitment
The process for recruitment of teaching staff in schools is elaborated in the Recruitment Policy,
2014.21 The policy provides a merit-based system for the recruitment of teachers. Key features
of the new merit-based system comprised screening test to be conducted by the National
Testing Service (NTS), weightage policy on the basis of proximity of candidates to the school
of duty, formulation and engagement of district recruitment committees (DRCs)22, preference
to hiring female teachers for primary schools and making recruitments non-transferable. The
following flow chart (see Figure 5) presents that process flow for recruitment of teachers in
Balochistan as per the Recruitment Policy, 2014:
Figure 5: Teacher Recruitment Process Flow
The District Recruitment Committee is chaired by DC, as observed in the case of DEAs, the
role of DEO has been relegated even in the affairs pertaining to education. This has a direct
bearing on the service delivery of education at the district and sub-district levels. The
recruitment process is not responsive to the challenge of quality of incumbents appointed as
21 Government of Balochistan. (2014). Recruitment Policy - 2014 for appointment of teaching and staff of SED
BPS 5-15 (other than drivers). Quetta: Secondary Education Department, Government of Balochistan. 22 District Recruitment Committee has five members: Deputy Commissioner Chairs the committee, with DEO,
District Accounts Officer and DO (Male and Female) as the members of the committee.
Vacant Posts (Alresady lying vacant or created through SNEs)
Advertisment of Vacant Posts
Submission of Application Forms to Appointing Authority and NTS
Candidates Appearing in NTS Categtory-wise NTS Result Merit
List
DRC Prepares Recommendation List based upon NTS Results and
other criteria
Appointing Authority Finalizes List with the approval of
Chairman DRC
Selected Candidates Issued Letter of Agreement
Appointing Authority Verifies Academic Degress/Certificates of
Final Candidates
Finalize Appointment and Replacement
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
teachers. For instance, despite that a third-party, NTS, has been involved by the SED to make
recruitments more transparent and merit-based, the process does not adequately test subject
specific skills, knowledge and competence of the candidates. Furthermore, the recruitment
process also does not assign due weightage to the degree-awarding institutes of candidates. The
review of the process also indicates that though with clearly defined steps, it has yet to be
embedded in the governance routines.
2.1.3.2 Curriculum Development
Under the chair of Secretary Secondary Education, the Department with the assistance of a
Steering Committee comprising heads of all provincial education institutions is responsible for
making decisions regarding development and revision of curriculum, its approval, monitoring
and implementation. Bureau of Curriculum (BOC) Quetta, is the key provincial entity
responsible for development or revision of curriculum. BOC is also mandated for the final
review and approval of textbooks. The Bureau is headed by the Director and supported by
Deputy and Assistant Directors. Figure 6 presents the process flow of Curriculum Development
as per the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), 201323:
Figure 6: Curriculum Development Process Flow
BOC takes lead in the curriculum development and during this process requires strong
coordination and support from BTBB, DOS, BISE, BAEC and PITE at provincial level.
Whereas, curriculum implementation requires coordination, communication and capacities
both at provincial and district levels.
2.1.3.3 Textbook Development and Distribution
As per the SOPs for Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Curriculum Development and
Revision, Textbook Development, Review and Approval 2013, the BOC is responsible for
23 Government of Balochistan. (2013). Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Curriculum Development and
Revision, Textbook Development, Review and Approval. Quetta: Secondary Education Department, Government
of Balochistan.
Conduct Needs Assessment -BOC, BTBB, DOS, BISE, PEAS
& PITE
(1 month)
SWOT Analysis
Constitute Curriculum Revision Committee and Sub-Committees
(3 Weeks)
First Draft of Curricula
(1 Month)
Consultation/Appraisal/Feedback
(1Month)
Incorporate Feedback and Comments
(1Month)
Prepare Second Draft
(1Month)
Piloting (as Modularized Texbooks) -BOC, BTBB, DOS,
PEAS & PITE (2 Months)
Final Draft
(2 Weeks)
Approval of Final Draft from Competent Authority
(1Month)
Curriculum Implementation
(1Month)
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
ensuring the quality of textbooks and BTBB is mandated to manage textbook development and
internal review. Figure 7 elaborates the process for textbooks development in Balochistan.
Figure 7: Textbooks Development Process
According to SOPs, private publishers are engaged to develop textbooks in Balochistan. The
textbook writers are hired by the publisher. Both the publisher and authors are hired based upon
a pre-defined criterion. BTBB establishes an Internal Review Committee (IRC) which ensures
that manuscripts are aligned to the national curriculum. The BOC constitutes a Provincial
Review Committee (PRC) that reviews the revised manuscripts shared by publishers to ensure
that all manuscripts completely adhere to the guidelines provided to authors for textbook
writing. If manuscripts are found compliant then BOC issues a No Objection Certificate (NOC)
to publishers for printing, binding and dissemination of textbooks. The textbooks distribution
process is coordinated by Directorate of Schools, where Additional Director (Books) is
responsible for the timely provision of textbooks to the respective districts. At the district level
the textbooks distribution to schools is made possible with the support of district education
officials and school heads.
Following sub-sections capture the education service delivery challenges and capacity needs
at provincial, district and sub-district levels in Balochistan.
2.2 Horizontal Operational Constraints and Capacity Challenges: The Provincial
Tier
The following sub-sections present the opportunities and challenges identified after review of
administrative structures, management practices, operational linkages and core capacities at
BTBB to Provide Learning Materials
and Textbooks
(4 Weeks)
Invitation of BTBB to Private Publishers
(4 Weeks)
BTBB Sets Criteria for Publishers
(4 Weeks)
Set Criteria for Selection of Authors
(3 Weeks)
Agreement of Publishers with
Authors
(1 Week)
Checklist for Desk Review at Balochistan
Textbook Board
(1 Week)
Composition of Initial Review Committee
(IRC)
(4 Weeks)
Review Criteria for IRC
(2 Weeks)
Standard format for IRC report writing
Checklist for publishers after
incorporating IRC recommendations
(3 Weeks)
Composition of Provincial Review
Committee
(3 Weeks)
Review Criteria for PRC
(4 Weeks)
Standard format for writing PRC report
Resubmission as Pre-Press Copy
BOC issues NOC Letter
Printing, Pricing, Binding and Distribution
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
the provincial level in Balochistan. It also points out specific areas for improvement in
education planning, management and service delivery capacities.
2.2.1. Administrative Inefficiencies, Overlapping Mandates and Institutional Gaps
There are significant gaps and overlaps among various provincial institutions in terms of their
mandates and assigned responsibilities, signifying inefficient use of the available resources.
The study finds that all departments/institutions are well aware of their mandated roles and
functions. However, there are few allied provincial education institutions that are currently
focusing only on select assigned responsibilities and are not carrying out some of their
mandated functions. The following are some of the cases which highlight such gaps and
overlaps.
a. Duplication of mandated roles and responsibilities is major challenge at the provincial
tier. For example, PSDP for overall school sector is maintained at DOS. Therefore, the
planning for PSDP and non PSDP are also assigned to the Directorate, where officials
have been dedicated for this particular subject in accordance with the guidance and
supervision of the Secretary SED. However same tasks are also being carried out by the
Additional Secretary, respective Deputy Secretaries and PPIU. So, at one time three
different offices are undertaking the same task. Moreover, matters pertaining to transfer
posting of teachers, matters related to their General Provident Fund (GPF), pensions are
in the mandate of Directorate of Schools. However, these are simultaneously being dealt
with by the secretariat officials including the Additional Secretaries and their
subordinate staff. Such instances not only result in unnecessary deployment of the
available human resource but also has implications in terms of time and also contributes
towards administrative inefficiencies.
b. Balochistan Assessment and Examination Commission (BAEC) is mandated to conduct
diagnostic assessments and provide support in education decisions-making.24 However
BAEC has not conducted diagnostic assessments for last many years. For last two years,
the data on grade 5 and grade 8 student examination by BAEC has not been made
publicly available. It was found during the course of the study, that the report has also
not been made available to the relevant departments/organizations working within SED
Additionally, the data is not being used by the relevant institutions in the decision
making for teacher trainings, budgeting and preparation of learning materials.
BAEC is also mandated to provide support in teachers’ training on students’ assessments
but it has not been able to provide any support in this regard. As per mandated function
of BAEC the commission is required to recommend measures for the capacity building
of the teachers for improving the system of formative assessments at school level25. In
line with this mandated function, the commission prepared a concept note and shared
the same with the Secretary Education, but there is no progress on the assessments
beyond this.
c. Balochistan Textbook Board (BTBB) is mandated to develop textbooks in accordance
with the curricula besides providing enriched and research-based supplementary
24 As mentioned on the government website. Please see the web-link:
http://emis.gob.pk/website/BalochistanAssesmentCommision.aspx 25 Section 9 (f) Balochistan Assessment and Examination Commission Act, 2014.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
material and teaching aids26. Currently, the textbook board is developing manuscripts
and printing textbooks. However, for last several years, it has not developed any learning
materials for students or the teachers’ guides. It is being attributed to limited demand for
such materials from the districts and schools. Furthermore, the manuscript development
is outsourced by BTBB to the private publishers for learning materials and teachers’
guides. However, private publishers do not show much interest in applying for
manuscript development in view of small volume of material to be published.
d. The role of PPIU is defined as of a unit for undertaking planning, performance
monitoring, research on education related issues and implementation activities. The unit
was created to strengthen the existing administrative structures, however instead of
strengthening key institutions like Directorate of Schools, Divisional Directorates etc.
findings from the field suggest a number of issues. The challenge of lack of clarity of
PPIU role and its relation vis-à-vis Directorate of Schools, has been documented in a
number of cases. For instance during the implementation of Early Childhood
Development Project (ECDP) in Balochistan, notification of PTSMCs and hiring of
ECD teachers was delayed due to a turf war between DOS and PPIU. Both the entities
considered these actions to be performed by them. Which had to be settled by the then
Additional Secretary, by clarifying the role of both the entities. The ambiguity in the
roles have a direct impact on the quality of service delivery. The unit is aimed at
strengthening the planning and implementation of education service delivery it would
have been practical to situate it within the Directorate of Schools where actual planning
is done and most of the implementation activities are carried out and supervised.
e. Bureau of Curriculum (BOC) is also carrying out limited functions from its stipulated
mandate. BOC is the primary custodian of standards and other relevant provincial
entities must align their processes and outputs (such as textbooks, pedagogies and
assessments) to the standards notified by the Bureau. However, there has been no
progress towards the development of education standards in the province. The study
found that the development of standards remain a low priority area for the Secondary
Education Department, Balochistan. The delay in development of education standards
has serious implications for ensuring delivery of quality education in the province.
f. BOC has developed the curriculum for
Urdu language for grade 1 to 5.
Curriculum for the rest of the subjects
has yet to be developed. It is also
important to note that after the
devolution of education to provinces,
BOC has not received any budgets to
conduct stakeholders’ consultations
and workshops etc. for development of the curriculum. It is important to note that 93%
of the allocated budget for BOC in 2017-18 was for salaries and related expenditure
while only 7% budget was earmarked for non-salary purposes that can be used for
undertaking activities like workshops etc. Because of this limited non-salary budget, the
93% budget (for salaries and related expenses) also becomes ineffective as the
department is unable to perform its core mandated function. Furthermore, a comparison
26 Please see the mandate mentioned on web-link: http://emis.gob.pk/website/BTB.aspx
Despite being the mandate of
the Bureau of Curriculum, there
has been no progress towards
development of education
standards in the province
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
of allocated budget and expenditure shows that 50% of the allocated budget for BOC
remained unspent during 2017-18.
2.2.2. High Turnover in Appointments at Key Provincial Posts
The appointment of senior most government officials at a particular post for at least 2 to 3 years
helps to ensure effective education planning, leadership and service delivery. However, the
education department and attached institutions in Balochistan are used to frequent transfers and
postings at senior posts. For example, there have been frequent changes in the senior
management of PITE and BOC, which has adversely affected the performance and
coordination of these two provincial entities. Over the last decade, both departments witnessed
frequent transfer and postings at the position of Director for their respective institutions. On
the post of Director PITE, around 9 officials were appointed and transferred in the last ten
years, whereas, there were 10 postings at the position of Director BOC. On average a senior
official on these posts spent a little more or less than one year. The frequent transfer and posting
at the senior most management level results in loss of institutional memory and has
implications for the planning, services and pace of reforms in both departments.
2.2.3 Ad-hoc Appointments and Capacity Challenge
Instead of appointing officials for a specific
tenure, vacant positions are filled by ad hoc
appointments or delegating/assigning
additional charge to the existing officials.
For example, the BOC currently has 9
Research Officers (ROs), who have been
transferred from other departments on ad-
hoc basis and these officials do not possess
requisite skills and competencies for
research. BOC officials expressed their concern that after the transfers or posting of these ad-
hoc officials back to their respective departments, the seats of ROs will remain vacant and the
experience/capacity these staff will have acquired over their tenure in the BOC will be lost.
2.2.4 Lack of Need-based and Demand-driven Budgeting
The budget making process in the province is not demand driven but supply driven. Although
the department receive SNEs from the field but there is no mechanism whereby request from
the field are automatically processed further. Although the development and recurrent budgets
are developed by the Secondary Education Department, but the department exercises limited
autonomy when it comes to inclusion of these schemes in the final provincial budget. For
example, in financial year (FY) 2018-19, around 395 development schemes have been
sanctioned in the budget. According to the department, out of all the schemes only 16 are
proposed by the department based upon the needs identified, whereas 380 schemes are not
needs-based but still are part of annual development program.
2.2.5. Political Economy of Education Service Delivery
Political decisions influence every aspect of education management and service delivery
ranging from legislation to budgetary allocations to provision of required administrative and
9 officials have been appointed as
Director PITE in the last ten years.
Similarly, there have been 10
different officials who have served
as Director BOC during the same
period.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
teaching staff in the department and schools. An important case in this regard has been
mentioned in the preceding sub-section where a number of development schemes were added
in the PSDP without the knowledge or initiative by the department. It is important to note that
development schemes including infrastructure related projects are considered particularly
lucrative as they allow the political capital to pursue various interests including gaining
political mileage, award of contracts, appointments against various posts, etc. Education
managers at the district level are susceptible to political influence, especially because of their
promotions and postings. Therefore, public interest is at times undermined by their personal
incentives. They usually do not resist the changes proposed by political representatives in the
financial priorities and investments in district education. The political economy surrounding
various initiatives significantly curtail data-based and evidence-driven policy and planning
affecting the service delivery at district and sub-district levels.
2.2.6. Missing Data on Private Schools
BEMIS only collects data of public schools in the province. It does not have data relating to
madrassah schools or private schools in the province. BEF is mandated to register private
schools in the province and thus it has some data regarding private schools. However, there is
no integration between BEF data and BEMIS. In the absence of updated data on private
schools, the provincial and district education management does not have sufficient information
to inform decision-making and planning to achieve education for all (EFA) and sustainable
development goals (SDGs) in the province.
2.2.7. Communication and Coordination Challenges
There is no formal provincial forum in Balochistan where various allied institutions of
provincial education department could come together to discuss the overall performance of the
education sector and plan a joint and coordinated response for improved access to and quality
of education. Furthermore, there is lack of coordination and communication among provincial
tier institutions, and between province and districts, which has serious implications for the
provision of quality education service delivery at the school level. The study indicates that:
a. There is little coordination between PITE, other departments and district management with
regard to human resource capacity development. The trainings are largely designed in-
house by the subject experts of PITE and in this regard not much input is sought from the
districts and schools. In the current scenario, the districts are expected to comply only with
the provincial demand for nominating teachers for training and they are not involved in
design of training agenda, follow-up, monitoring, or holding the trainers
accountable. Limited engagement with the districts and schools in professional
development needs assessment, planning and delivery is likely to arrest the gains from
PITE services.
b. There is no active coordination between BAEC and other provincial departments to ensure
that the findings of student learning assessments are fed into the processes of BTBB, BOC
and PITE etc. The results of student assessments can play a significant role in designing
needs-based trainings, improving curricula and textbooks. Results from standardized exam
are also expected to inform educational policy, school improvement, or instructional
practices. However, the coordination and communication between BAEC and other
provincial entities is sub-optimal. BAEC publishes a report and holds a dissemination
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
seminar inviting all the government departments and stakeholders to share the results of
assessments conducted by it. But this is usually just one-time event and not a rigorous
communication and dissemination drive.
2.2.8. Capacity and Financial Resource Constraints
The following are few capacity and financial constraints which have a bearing on effective
working of the education department and attached institutions at provincial and district tiers:
a. The evidence from the field indicates
that generally the key provincial
education institutions do not carry-out
data-based planning and financing. For
instance, the PITE trainings are less
informed by student assessments.
Moreover, the BEMIS has been
functional for more than twenty years, but its data is seldom used in policy and planning.
The budgeting in most of the allied provincial institutions is carried-out on incremental
basis. Partially, the non-usage of data is owing to capacity constraints among the relevant
staff of key provincial institutions. Most recently, the BESP has been developed using
the available education data. The sector plan also makes recommendations for improving
the awareness and capacities of officials from various allied education entities in the use
of available education data for planning, financing and monitoring.
b. During the course of assessment, it was highlighted that PITE faces financial constraints
that effect delivery of its mandated functions and services. For instance, during the last
many years, PITE could not design and provide needs-based trainings to the teachers
owing to financial constraints. However, most recently PITE commenced trainings for
the teachers through finances made available from the government and through donor
support. Similarly, BAEC also faces financial constraints that is one of the contributing
factors for not conducting the diagnostic assessments.
c. DOS is also facing capacity and resource constraints. Financial resource constraint is
attributed as one of the major reasons for missing facilities in the public schools of the
province.
2.3 Vertical Coordination and Service Delivery Challenges: The District and
Sub-District Tiers
The discussion in this section narrows the focus on the district and sub-district levels to identify
key challenges and constraints district service delivery capacity:
2.3.1. Inconsistent Transfer Pattern and Frequent Transfers and Postings
The frequent transfers of district officials on key posts is a common feature in some districts.
In some cases, senior district officials served at their respective positions for 3-7 years and in
other cases, the officers were posted and transferred within 1-1.5 years. There are also instances
In 2017-18, a budget of Rs.
98.3 million was allocated for
PITE; out of which 31% budget
was earmarked for training
purposes
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
when few officials got transferred within few months of their appointment. Frequent transfers,
no matter how few, are likely to hinder the education service delivery process and should be
avoided to the extent possible.
2.3.2. Diluting Powers of Education Managers:
The establishment of DEAs in 2014 was aimed at devolving powers to DEO office and
strengthening it. However, within two years of DEA working the DEO was replaced by the
Deputy Commissioner as the Chairman of the DEA27. Thus, effectively transferring the key
decisions such as posting transfer from BPS1-16 to the office of Deputy Commissioner.
Similarly, the Regional Directors can transfer education officials up-to BPS-18, however with
the concurrence of the secretary28. Thus, instead of empowering the education managers the
recent reforms have diluted and curtailed their powers. Such a situation has a significant
bearing on their effectiveness to ensure quality of education service delivery at the district and
sub-district levels.
2.3.3. Management Capacity and Skills Gap
A significant majority of district officials
started their careers as school teachers, at
the primary or secondary levels, and at
various stages of their careers were posted
as education managers. After being
inducted these officials were never provided
any specialised training which could enable
them for the required job. They lack
education management and planning skills, hence affecting their ability to perform efficiently.
2.3.3 Less Involvement of District Tier in Planning
A review of district education plans (DEPs) and the assessment at district level indicates that
there is insufficient coordination and communication between province and districts when it
comes to the five-year strategic planning for the district. Current, DEPs have been mainly
developed by SED and the role of district management in planning and targeting setting was
passive. This led to weak ownership, poor operational coordination and no significant
improvement in services that is contrary to the targets and priorities set in the DEPs.
The priorities and strategies in the DEPs were based on the broad priorities identified in BESP
and not based on the unique requirements of districts. This presents an example of top-bottom
planning which is mostly supply-driven and not needs-based. Effective needs-based education
planning requires bottom-up planning where the priorities and targets of each district are set
based upon the unique needs of that district and then all district plans are aggregated at
provincial level to contribute to the provincial sector plan.
2.3.4. Lack of Institutional Capacity for Data-based Planning and Feedback
27 UO No. PS/CS/Misc: 98-Vol-XII/9819-29. May 5, 2016 28 NO. SO(Admn) 15-63/2014/2036-2218. February 3, 2014
Education managers at the
district level, who came from the
teaching cadre have no training
on education management and
planning skills.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
The district administration assists SED in collection of schools’ data under BEMIS but they
lack capacity to use this data for planning and monitoring purposes. Districts also lack the
culture of data-based monitoring and feedback to schools. Districts also do not collect any data
other than BEMIS. Additional data on quality indicators could help the district management in
monitoring quality of education services in the schools and provide technical assistance to
school principals and teachers accordingly.
2.3.5. Average Time Spent by District Management on Different Tasks
The activities that take up most of officials’ time in Balochistan revolve around administrative
matters i.e. 2.4 hours (30% of time) - which include staff service-related matters, file-work,
record-maintenance, and official correspondence – and school visits 2.3 hours (28.75% of
time). The time spent on school visits is greater in Balochistan than in other provinces due to
the distance between schools and district education offices. In addition to these activities, on
average 1.1 hours each day (13.75% of time) is spent on coordination and follow-up meetings
with the staff at district and sub-district tiers on various challenges and the way forward. The
data also indicates that district managers in Balochistan spend on average around 0.7 hours
(8.75%) of their workday planning various activities they perform during the day. The officials
also spend on average 7.5% of time in data collection to report to the education department.
The data also points out that district managers spend around 0.9 hours (11.25%) of their time
each day attending on non-productive activities e.g. calls and visits by politically influential
people, public representatives and general public. This time alongside that spent on
administrative activities such as service-related matters of staff, file-work etc leaves only
around the same time for matters related to strategic planning and execution of activities to
improve education service delivery.
2.3.6. Job Descriptions of Sub-District Officials
The study identifies that around one fourth of the sub-district officials are unaware of the
specific role to be performed and required job descriptions. This highlights the need for
provision as well as orientation of officials on their job descriptions and assigned official
responsibilities. All of the officials that claimed to have known their JDs confirmed that key
roles and responsibilities they are performing currently are in line with the described JDs. The
officials who do not have their JDs learnt about their assigned responsibilities through training
(20 percent), on job support (40 percent) or instructions from higher authority (40 percent). It
is important to note that the training needs highlighted by the education managers include
general trainings which they have received over the course of their careers, and not specifically
related to training on management, planning and administrative skills.
2.3.7. Initiatives to Improve School Participation and Quality
To increase enrolment district officials, organize various activities in coordination with school
heads and community members. These activities include awareness walks, display of posters
and banners, and using mosques to announce the importance of education. For retention the
officials work with teachers and heads teachers to create a child friendly school environment
that encourages students to continue to attend school regularly. The Learning Coordinators
(LCs) also play an important role by working with the schools to keep a check on the
performance on key access and quality indicators. Teacher attendance is ensured through close
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
monitoring by district officials especially LCs and actions as per rules are taken against the
teachers that remain absent for a long period.
2.3.8. Time Spent by Sub-district Officials on Different Tasks during School Visits
Analysis of this study’s data reveals that sub-district level officials on average spend around 3
hours (178 minutes) in one school visit. During the visit two major tasks performed by the
officials include student achievement assessment (23 percent of total time spent) and
community mobilization (22 percent of total time spent). Observation of classroom practices,
and support for administration and fund utilization receives least time (6 percent of total time
spent) of an official during a school visit.
2.3.9. Limited Coordination and Communication between Province, District and Sub-
District Tiers
During the course of assessment, it was found that none of the district officials were involved
in any coordination with the provincial authorities relating to planning and budgeting, teacher
training curriculum and textbook development and etc. Many officials feel left out of the
province-district coordination process and are somewhat resentful. This indicates that planning
and decision-making about the districts is taking place at the provincial level without ensuring
involvement of officials like DEOs and DDEOs. This leads to issues of ownership and lack of
accountability. Moreover, this is also an important contributing factor to non-responsive and
supply-driven education planning and financing that does not cater to the needs identified at
district and sub-district levels. It is important to note that issues at the grassroots level, that
should form the basis for all policy and planning, are best known to people working on the
ground, therefore these officials should be taken on board during the sector planning and
budgeting process.
Just like the weak coordination between province and district, the coordination between district
and sub-district tiers is not very strong. Very few school visits are conducted by the DEOs or
other officials. Also, there exists no forum that allows regular meetings between district and
sub-district level education officials. In case of any issues, the principals have to report these
issues to individual officials and no organized forum deals with the complaints or problems
reported by schools. The lax monitoring, non-existence of a coordination forum, and absence
of formal communication protocols all have a significant bearing on the declining quality of
education service delivery.
2.3.10. District Official Capacity Needs
30
41
24
33
40
10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Teachers and Students Attendance
Students' Achievement and Assessment
Mentoring and Support
Monitoring of Learning Environment
Community Mobilization
Administration and Funds Utilization
AverageTime Spent on Tasks in School Visit (in Minutes)
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
In order to improve the quality of education service delivery the capacity of district officials
needs to be built in order to enable them to perform their assigned responsibilities more
efficiently. Around 92 percent of the survey respondents agreed that they need training to equip
them for better performing of their responsibilities. The following key areas have been
identified by the district officials:
a. Data-based planning and target setting
b. Needs-based budgeting and financial management
c. School monitoring and classroom observations
d. Planning and monitoring textbooks distribution
e. Student assessments
f. Use of information technology for data compilation and analysis
g. Report writing
Alongside district officials, school heads and teachers expressed the need to be trained on
leadership skills, and subject specific content and methodology. The following are some key
areas identified by the school heads for capacity development:
a. School management and leadership
b. School budgeting and financial management
c. Mentoring support to teachers
d. Curriculum orientation
e. Community mobilization
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
PUNJAB
40
Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
PUNJAB:
Education Governance and District Service Delivery Capacities
3.1 Education in Punjab at a Glance
Punjab has the largest public education system in Pakistan, comprising 11.7 million students,
352,458 school thousand teachers and 52,411 thousand primary, middle and higher secondary
schools29. Punjab has the highest participation rates and lowest gender disparity in access to
education compared to other provinces and regions of Pakistan. Over the years the province
has been able to achieve improved access and reduced gender disparity in the education sector.
Adjusted Net Enrolment Rate (ANER) at primary level in Punjab is 86 percent, which is higher
than that of other provinces and regions of the country except for the federal capital
Islamabad30. As per the Pakistan Economic Survey 2017-18, the adult (10 years and above)
literacy rate in Punjab is 62 percent, which shows 16 percent increase over the past two decades
(as compared to 46 percent literacy rate in 1998)31.
3.1.1 An Overview of Education Policy Landscape
With National Education Policy 2009 providing the overarching framework, the ‘Chief
Minister’s Roadmap’32 for education reform provided an overall operational policy framework
guiding the education sector priorities and planning of the Punjab School Education
Department (SED) since 2011. From 2003 till 2011 Punjab Education Sector Reform
Programme (PESRP) was the umbrella initiative that led reforms agenda in the province. From
2011 onwards, the reforms roadmap provided renewed reforms agenda in Punjab.
SED developed Punjab School Education Sector Plan (PSESP) in 2013. This was followed by
enactment of the Punjab Free and Compulsory Education Act, in 201433. The act describes the
modalities for provision of free and compulsory education to all school age children in the
province. The PSESP was reviewed in 2016 to ensure its alignment with new developments
outlined in the Chief Minister’s Reforms Roadmap, the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), and Punjab Growth Strategy. As a result of the review, a revised mid-term plan, titled
Punjab Mid-term School Education Sector Plan (PMSESP 2016-18) was developed. PMSESP
2016-18 envisages ensuring that school-age children in Punjab are not only enrolled in schools
but also stay longer in schools (retention) and learn well.
As the implementation timeframe for PMSESP ends in 2018, Government of Punjab (GoPb)
is in the process of developing the new education sector plan for 2019/20 to 2023/24. The next
five-year plan focuses not only on school education but also on special education, and literacy
non-formal and basic education (LNFBE) sectors. Hence, the up-coming five-year strategic
plan for education in Punjab will require stronger than ever institutional linkages and
29 NEMIS. (2018). Op cit. 30 NEMIS. (2018). Op cit. pp. 21. 31 Government of Pakistan. (2018). Op. cit. pp. 156. 32 The key milestones of the Reform Road Map include; improvement in quality of education, enhanced
enrollments, effective monitoring at the district tier, and transparent human resource management. Government
of Punjab. 2014. Punjab School Education Sector Plan 2013-17. pp.15. 33 The Punjab Free and Compulsory Education Act 2014. Act XXVI of 2014. (Originally introduced as an
Ordinance on May 13, 2014, enacted on November 10, 2014.)
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
operational coordination not only within the existing provincial and district administrative
structure of SED but also across the sectors engaging LNFBE and special education.
3.1.2 Education Management and Service Delivery Structure: Province, Districts and
Schools
The education management and service delivery structure in Punjab consists of provincial,
district and school tiers. The key actors in education service delivery and their operational
relations at province, district and school levels are explained below:
3.1.2.1 Provincial Institutional Setup
The School Education Department (SED) is the main administrative unit responsible for school
education legislation, policy, planning, administration, regulation and service delivery in the
province34. At provincial level, SED is assisted by the attached departments and autonomous
bodies to perform its mandated functions for education management and service delivery.
As seen below in Figure 8, these include35;
a. Attached Departments:
i. Directorate of Public Administration (DPI) – Schools
1.Directorate of Public Administration (DPI) – Elementary Education (DPI-
EE)
2.Directorate of Public Administration (DPI) – Secondary Education (DPI-
SE)
ii. Quaid-e-Azam Academy for Educational Development (QAED);
iii. Children Library Complex (CLC)
iv. National Education Equipment Center (NEEC)
v. National Museum of Science & Technology
b. Autonomous Bodies/Institutions/ Board
viii. Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB)
ix. Punjab Examination Commission (PEC)
x. Punjab Education Foundation (PEF)
xi. Punjab Teachers Foundation (PTF)
xii. Punjab Daanish Schools and Centers of Excellence Authority
xiii. Punjab Educational Endowment Fund (PEEF)
xiv. Punjab Education Initiatives Management Authority (PEIMA)36
34 Second Schedule, Rule 2 & 3, The Punjab Government Rules of Business 2011. Services and General
Administration Department (Cabinet Wing). Government of the Punjab. 2018. pp. 68-69. 35 Entry 35, First Schedule, Rule 2 & 3, The Punjab Government Rules of Business 2011. Services and General
Administration Department (Cabinet Wing). Government of the Punjab 36 PEIMA was established in 2018 under the Punjab Education Initiatives Management Authority (PEIMA) Act
2018. The stipulated objective of PEIMA is to devise, implement and manage reformatory and dynamic
initiatives in education sector in partnership with the private sector. At the moment PEIMA is managing Public
School Support Program (PSSP), originally initiated by PEF. The program is aimed to improve quality of
education in low performing public schools in partnership with private sector.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
Figure 8: Mapping Education Administration- Punjab
Additionally, Program Monitoring and Implementation Unit (PMIU) established by SED in
2003 under the Punjab Education Sector Reform Program (PESRP) works as a key entity for
monitoring and evaluation of various programs. EMIS has also been housed at PMIU. The
mandated roles and responsibilities of key attached institutions and autonomous bodies of SED
are provided in Table 3 below:
Table 3: Matrix on Key Provincial Departments and their Assigned Responsibilities
Provincial Institution Responsibilities and Functions Assigned
School Education Department, Punjab 1. Directorate of Public
Instructions –
Elementary Education
(DPI-EE)
• Implementation of Government policies, Directives and Orders
of competent authorities.
• Monitoring & Supervision of Elementary Education.
• Coordination for in-service Training of Teaching and Non-
teaching Staff with training institutions.
• Coordination with Foreign funded Projects and its appraisal
missions regarding Elementary Education.
Secretary Schools
DPI (SE) DPI (EE)
Divisional
Director (SE)
Divisional
Director (EE)
36-District Education
Authority
36 DEO
(Secondary)
36 DEO (EE-
Female)
36 DEO
(EE-Male)
Dy. DEOs
(EE-Male) High/Higher Secondary
Schools (Boys/Girls)
Dy. DEOs
(EE-Female)
Girls
Elementary
Schools
AEOs
Female
Girls
Primary
Schools
Boys Elementary
Schools
AEOs
Male
Boys
Primary
Schools
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
• Inter District Transfers of teaching and non-teaching staff from
BS-1 to 15.
• Dealing with all kind of leave cases of teaching and non-teaching
staff from BS-1 to BS-15.
• Data collection from lower formation and submission to the
Govt. after its compilation.
2. Directorate of Public
Instructions – Secondary
Education (DPI-SE)
• Coordination and cooperation with PMIU in collection of data.
• To decide the leave cases of all employees in BS-18 except study
leave.
• To perform duties/ assignments as are assigned by the Education
Department.
• Coordination for in-service training of teachers.
• Coordination with Punjab examination Commission in conduct
of 5th & 8th class Examinations.
• Preparation of scheme of Internal Merit Scholarship and its
transmission to the lower formation.
• Preparation of budget of receipts and reconciliation of receipt
figures with Accounts General, Punjab.
• To prepare replies to the Assembly Questions and consolidate the
replies coming from field formation and onward submission to
Government.
3. Punjab Curriculum and
Textbook Board (PCTB)
• Curriculum Development
• Implementation of educational policies of the Government in
respect of the production of textbooks, supplementary reading
material and teaching aids
• Publication of textbooks for the primary education, secondary
education, intermediate education and teacher’s training courses
• Production of supplementary material relating to the textbooks
• Production of reference and research material relating to the
problems of curricula and preparation of textbooks
• Control of the policy, relating to distribution of textbooks and
other material. Appointment of agencies for this purpose in
Punjab so as to make the textbooks and material available to the
students well in time
• Holding of training courses for the writers of textbooks
• Preparation and publication of reading material on new
developments in educational concepts and teaching methods and
techniques
• Workshops, seminars and courses for effective use of textbooks
and reading materials
• Conduct research in curricula, textbooks, other reading materials
and teaching aids
• Exhibitions of textbooks and teaching materials
• Maintenance of Library and Resource Centre
4. Quaid-e-Azam
Academy of Academic
Development (QAED)
• QAED serves as an apex institution for in-service and pre-service
training of public schools’ teachers, and one stop shop for capacity
building needs of school teachers in Punjab and furthering the
National Education Policy by focusing on the professional
development of public sector’s teacher and equipping them with
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
modern and innovative teaching techniques and methodologies by
providing leadership and strategic planning to the sector.
• QAED is striving to develop a pool of capable teachers in public
schools of the province. Capitalizing on a strong institutional base,
including 29 Elementary Colleges for Pre-Service teacher
education and an elaborate network district and cluster training
and support centers for in-service training.
5. Punjab Examination
Commission (PEC)
• Design, develop, implement, maintain, monitor and evaluate a
system of examination for elementary education.
• Formulate policies and programs for conducting examinations.
• Collect data from research in order to improve curricula and
teaching methodology.
• Recommend strategies for capacity building of the teachers and
educationists that in turn would improve the assessment system
of students.
• Identify the areas where improvement in training of the teachers
or educationists is required.
• Promote public discussions on issues pertaining to elementary
education.
• Advise the Government on all policy matters relating to the
objectives of the Commission.
• Approve annual research program and annual budget of the
Commission.
• Perform functions that may be ancillary to its functions, or as
may be prescribed or as may be assigned by the Government
6. Punjab Education
Foundation (PEF)
• Provide financial assistance for the establishment, expansion,
improvement, and management of educational institutions and
allied projects.
• Provide incentives to students, teachers, and Educational
Institutions.
• Promote public-private partnerships relating to education.
• Provide technical assistance to Educational Institutions for
testing policy interventions and innovative programmes for
replication.
• Rank private educational institutions based on educational
standards.
• Raise funds through donations, grants, contributions,
subscriptions etc.
• Assist Educational Institutions in capacity building, including
training of teachers.
• Undertake any other function as may be assigned to it by the
Board with the approval of the Government.
7. Punjab Danish Schools
and Centers of
Excellence Authority
• To demonstrate that all children can excel, if given an equal
opportunity
• To rekindle hope amongst the under-privileged
• To develop ethical, value-driven future leaders
• To fight social inequality and alleviate poverty
• To contain extremism by inculcating tolerance, human dignity
and harmony.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
8. Program Monitoring and
Implementation Unit
(PMIU)
• Works in conjunction with the School Education Department,
acting as the monitoring and implementation wing of the
Department.
• PMIU’s key task with regard to monitoring is to regulate an
effective data collection system at the district level.
3.1.2.2 District and Sub-district Administrative Arrangements
District Education Authorities (DEAs) have been established at the district level to ensure
effective education service delivery in all districts of Punjab. DEAs are mandated to oversee
formal education, non-formal education and special education at the district level. These are
also mandated to take a range of initiatives in order to improve access, quality and equity in
education service delivery at the district level37. As per the Punjab District Education
Authorities (conduct of business) Rules, 2017, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of each DEA
is the Principal Accounting Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the district. In practise,
DEA powers are vested largely with the CEO of the DEAs, who are answerable to the
provincial government (SED) rather than local leaders. The Authority in each district is
mandated to implement the policy and standards devised by SED and attached departments for
core functions such as curricula and textbooks, assessments, training and quality of teaching,
reforms programmes and school management38.
DEAs enjoy executive authority over decisions related to school upgradation, teacher
rationalisation, and general responsiveness to school-specific issues. DEAs ensure the
provision of education service delivery through district and sub-district education managers
including District Education Officers (DEOs), Deputy District Education Officers (DDEOs)
and Assistant Education Officers (AEOs). DEAs are assisted by the school leadership and
School Councils (SCs) for the implementation of policies and standards of education approved
by the government. Under the administrative control of PMIU, the office of District Monitoring
Officers (DMOs) was established in 2005 for monitoring teacher attendance, student
attendance, distribution of free textbooks, etc. In order to assist the DMOs 950 Monitoring and
Evaluation Assistants (MEAs) were also recruited and deployed in all the 36 districts.
3.1.3 Management Processes on Core Education Functions: Horizontal and Vertical
Linkages
The provincial, district and school level administrative tiers in Punjab are structured to plan,
manage and deliver quality education services to all school-age children in the province. An
overview of policies and SOPs for key education functions in the province highlight that strong
horizontal linkages and vertical operational relations are prerequisite for smooth and efficient
service delivery. For provincial entities horizontal coordination and linkages are essential as
outputs of one attached department or autonomous body must serve as the input for another
provincial entity. For instance, the curriculum standards developed by PCTB must provide
guidance to PEC and QAED for designing textbooks, student assessment tests and training
packages for teachers’ professional development, respectively. Similarly, in the absence of
vertical operational linkages the policies and standards devised at provincial level cannot be
37 Please see Section 93, of Punjab Local Government Act 2013 for details. 38 Government of Punjab. (2017). Notification No. SOR(LG) 38-10/2017 The Punjab District Education
Authorities (conduct of business Rules, 2017. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department. Lahore.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
brought into effect. Following process flow on core education functions elaborates the
horizontal and vertical linkages required for efficient education service delivery in Punjab.
3.1.3.1 Teacher Recruitment
The process for recruitment of teaching staff in schools is elaborated in the Recruitment Policy,
2017-1839. The policy presented a merit-based system for the recruitment of teachers. Key
features of the new merit-based system comprise screening test to be conducted by the National
Testing Service (NTS), formulation and engagement of District Recruitment Committees
(DRCs), and formation of a Complaints Redressal Cell (CRC). The flow chart in Figure 9
below presents the process for recruitment of teachers in Punjab as per the Recruitment Policy,
2017-18:
Figure 9: Curriculum Development Process
The introduction of NTS based induction, establishment of CRC are steps in the right direction
which are contributing towards enhancing the transparency of the recruitment process.
Nonetheless as observed in case of Balochistan, the process has limitations in terms of
adequately assessing subject specific skills, knowledge and competence of the candidates.
Similarly, the process does not assign due weightage to the degree-awarding institutes of
candidates. In order to ensure the continuity of the reform and making it more robust and
responsive to district level needs, a more effective coordination and communication both at
provincial and district levels is necessary.
39 Government of the Punjab. (2017). Recruitment Policy 2017-18 for Educators and AEOs. Lahore: School
Education Department, Government of the Punjab.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
3.1.3.2 Curriculum Development
Under the chairmanship of Secretary, the School Education Department with the assistance of
a Steering Committee comprising heads of all provincial education institutions is responsible
for making decisions regarding development and revision of curriculum, its approval,
monitoring and implementation. Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PTCB) is the key
provincial entity responsible for development or revision of curriculum. PCTB is also
mandated for the final review and approval of textbooks. It is headed by the Managing Director
and supported by Deputy and Assistant Directors. Figure 10 below presents the key steps in
curriculum development.
PCTB is the lead institution for curriculum development and during this process requires strong
coordination with SED, BISE, PEC and QAED at provincial level. However, it was observed
that mostly the coordination and information sharing is on a limited scale thus impacting the
quality and relevance of the process. Whereas, curriculum implementation requires
coordination, communication and capacities both at provincial and district levels.
Figure 10: Curriculum Development Process
3.1.3.3.Textbook Development and Distribution
Like curriculum development, textbooks development is also one of the key mandates of PCTB.
Out of the two academic wings of PCTB, the manuscript wing is primarily responsible for
development of textbooks and learning materials based upon approved curricula and student
learning outcomes. The process for textbooks development is elaborated below in Figure 11.
The textbooks development process in Punjab is guided by the scheme for the development of
textbooks and supplementary reading material related to textbooks. According to the scheme,
in order to develop the textbooks in all subjects PCTB engages the author/group of authors,
editor/group of editors, person(s) and agency/agencies through an open competitive process.
Out of the manuscripts developed by selected authors, editors, person(s) and agency/agencies
top three manuscripts per subject per class are selected by PCTB. The Board pays the cost for
these manuscripts and copyrights of selected manuscripts of each subject at each grade remain
with the PCTB. The author(s)/editor(s)/agencies whose manuscripts are finally selected for use
as the textbook are paid royalty by PCTB for each selected textbook and for the number of
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
years that textbook is printed by the Board. The responsible author(s)/editor(s)/agencies are
required to make annual improvements in textbooks and if the author(s)/editor(s) refuse to
respond to improvements suggested in the textbooks then the Board has the authority to
withhold their annual royalty payment.
Figure 11: Textbook Development Process
Following sub-sections capture the education service delivery challenges and capacity needs
at provincial, district and sub-district levels in Punjab.
3.2 Horizontal Operational Constraints and Capacity Challenges: The Provincial
Tier
The following sub-sections identify gaps between the assigned responsibilities and actual
functions performed by key provincial institutions and officials; institutional and
administrative bottle necks; coordination and communication challenges; and capacity and
financial needs and constraints in Punjab.
3.2.1. Administrative Inefficiencies, Overlapping Mandates and Institutional Gaps
There are observable issues in terms of mandated roles of various institutions working under
SED, which include mandate overlaps, duplication of roles and responsibilities, and
implementation of limited mandates. Following are some of the key challenges in terms of
mandated roles and performance thereof:
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
i. Over the years the role and mandates of key
provincial institutions have been redefined
and at times expanded through various
notifications. For instance, the role and
mandate of PMIU gradually expanded over
past few years through different notifications.
PMIU initiated its function as an
implementation and monitoring unit under
Punjab Education Sector Reform Programme (PESRP), however, in 2003 it was mandated
to manage and oversee the Education Management and Information System (EMIS) of
SED40. So, after being introduced as a dedicated counterpart to the SED, PMIU has now
evolved into a de-facto monitoring and implementation wing of the Department. The unit
is now mandated to manage the annual school census (ASC) and monthly monitoring
system of the department. These mandates of PMIU have been added through official
notifications and there is no comprehensive administrative document or rules that elaborate
new mandates and management processes of SED, its attached departments and
autonomous bodies. The absence of a consolidated document on the mandates,
responsibilities and management processes at provincial level results in blurring lines of
responsibilities and at times overlaps between provincial entities. These blurred lines of
responsibilities at times lead to unrealistic expectations in allied departments, for instance
PMIU now assumes that SED should seek technical advice of the Unit for every new plan
and reform design.
ii. The Directorate of Public Instruction (Schools) used to be the focal implementation agency
for SED till 2001. DPI used to take lead in not only planning and budgeting process but
also ensured implementation of development initiatives of the department. The divisional
and district tier managers reported to the DPI. Additionally, it also performed the essential
monitoring and evaluation of district and sub-district tier managers. It also used to generate
monthly progress reports on development projects across the province. Thus, assisting
secretariat in all the key functions related to education service delivery. After the
introduction of devolution of powers in 2001, the reporting line of the districts was changed
from DPI to the Secretary, thus instead of devolving the powers the process centralized it
further. Considering the longstanding role of DPI in managing the planning, development,
and implementation functions for education service delivery, it would have been more
efficient to have the PMIU placed within the mandate of DPI, instead of making it a semi-
autonomous entity. The fragmented reform initiatives and interventions over the years
instead of strengthening it have made a functioning institution redundant.
iii. Overlap in mandates is also visible between PMIU and PEC as various student assessments
are being designed and conducted in the province. For instance, PEC is mandated to design,
implement and report on standardized assessments for all students of Grade 5 (primary
school) and Grade 8 (middle school) in all public schools in Punjab. At the same time,
PMIU manages six monthly assessments at Grade 3. Assessments are primarily a mandate
of PEC, but the additional assessments conducted by PMIU are not coordinated through
PEC. There is need to improve alignment and synergies in these assessment routines to
improve design, conduct, reporting and use of student learning achievement data.
40 PMIU – Programme Monitoring and Implementation Unit. (2014). PESRP Reforms. School Education
Department. Government of Punjab. Lahore. pp. 5
There is no laid down and
elaborate written procedure for
coordination and
communication between SED
and the attached institutions.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
iv. A number of provincial education institutions are also performing limited mandated
functions. For instance, Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) is mandated to raise funds
through grants and donations41 and marketing its services. However, it has not yet been
able to successfully raise funds except for government financing and support from
development partners. Likewise, Budget & Planning (B&P) Wing of the SED is mandated
to undertake budget estimation, its preparation, approvals from competent authority,
execution and internal auditing. Out of the mandated responsibilities, the auditing function
of the B&P Wing is rarely performed and there is a long backlog of such cases.
3.2.2. High Turnover of Senior Officials
The study highlights the emerging challenge
related to high turnover at senior positions in
provincial education institutions. Senior
officials at SED and PMIU have recently
started to face transfers and postings. The
results indicate that there are frequent transfers and postings in key education departments
which have an impact on effective functioning of the department. For instance, in the course
of only last six months (since June 2018)42, the SED has had its 4th administrative secretary.
Also, before the appointment of current PD of PMIU in November 2017, there was no regular
PD of the Unit for about two years. It is also important to highlight that there was an added
interest by officials to join attached institutions like PMIU and QAED as they received
financial incentive for working in attached departments. This incentive has now been taken
back with effect from 1st July 2018 through a government notification.43
3.2.3. Capacity and Human Resource Deficits
QAED, formerly known as the Directorate of Staff Development (DSD), is mandated to
undertake training and capacity development of teachers and education managers in the
province. In order to perform this, QAED is running a number of training programs including
Punjab Education and English Language Initiative (PEELI), School Leadership Development
Program (SLDP), as well as promotion-linked and induction trainings. The study at hand
highlights that out of QAED’s mandated responsibilities, the department could not perform the
feedback and analysis function mainly due to dearth of requisite trained human resource44.
41 Section 10 (1) of Punjab Education Foundation Act, 2004 states: There shall be established a Fund which shall
vest in the Foundation and to which shall be credited–
(i) grants made by the Federal, Provincial Governments and the local bodies;
(ii) income from investments made by the Foundation;
(iii) donations, endowments and subscriptions from organizations and individuals;
(iv) revolving funds placed by the Government at the disposal of the Foundation;
(v) donations, endowments and grants from international organizations, subject to approval of the
Government; and
(vi) all other sums received by the Foundation from any other source. 42 Please see information available on official website: https://schools.punjab.gov.pk/oursecretaries 43 Finance Department. (July 2018). Notification No. FD.SR-I9-20/2006 Project Allowance for Projects,
Programme, Policy and Policy Cells. Government of the Punjab. Lahore 44 This challenge was also pointed out in previous evaluations of the department, which include Third Party
Validation (TPV) study conducted by UNESCO and World Bank in 2007, besides, the World Bank review of
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and DSD in 2010-2011. Both studies identified the challenge of
insufficient human resource at DSD that is required to carry out important functions like analysis, reporting and
feedback on trainings.
During only last six months, the
SED has had its 4th
administrative secretary.
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Another case of lack of qualified officials is the case of B&P wing of the SED. In the B&P
wing of SED, the staffing gap is very severe as against 60 sanctioned positions in the unit only
45 are currently filled-in. It was also noticed that at times the computer operators from schools
are engaged to work with B&P wing so that backlog could be reduced.
3.2.4. Political Will and Support
Punjab has been successful in achieving number of goals and targets set in education reforms
roadmap and previous five-year sector plan. One of the main contributing factors to this
achievement has been the political will and ownership at the highest government level in the
province. Owing to political leadership’s ownership of the reform agenda and continuous
performance management through well-known ‘stocktake’ routines, Punjab has demonstrated
sustainable improvement in education governance and outreach. The study indicates that
discontinuity of the established routine of stocktaking of the education reform process has
serious consequences for the quality of service delivery at the district and sub-district tiers.
3.2.5. Political Economy of Education Service Delivery
Policy, planning and management processes in Punjab is also a function of political economic
considerations. In this regard, the development schemes for the education department in 2011-
12 provide valuable insights. School education department identified 1664 development
schemes for provision of missing facilities and infrastructure across schools in Punjab as
highlighted by the data. These schemes reflected the needs of schools at the local level and the
SED made sure that schools were identified in accordance with set criteria. At the same time,
public representatives were also given discretion to identify development schemes relating to
improvement in schools. It is important to note that in an overwhelming 1315 cases, the
schemes highlighted by the public representatives were at odds with the schemes identified by
SED on the basis of data and evidence. This chasm between the needs-based schemes
highlighted by data and the ones identified using the discretion of public officials provides
valuable insights into the political economy of education service delivery in the province.
3.2.6. Operational Coordination and Communication Challenges
There is no laid down and elaborate written procedure for coordination and communication
between SED and the attached institutions. Currently, such interactions are done on needs
basis. During the previous regime, quarterly meetings called the Stocktakes were held under
the Chief Minister. It provided an opportunity to bring together all the key education
stakeholders in the province, review the progress on key indicators and reform initiatives and
improve accountability across departments and districts.
Presently, there is no platform that could bring together all the stakeholders, except on a need-
basis where select attached departments of the SED may meet. The absence of a regular
meeting forum or platform leads to lack of ownership, accountability and involvement of all
stakeholders, and it also contributes to slippages and poor performances. Most importantly it
leads to a lack of shared vision and poor coordination among key provincial entities and
partners.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
In the absence of an effective communication forum, the coordination and operational linkages
between attached departments (PEC, PCTB, QAED and PMIU) have become weak. For
instance, PEC, alongside conducting Grade 5 and 8 annual examinations, is mandated to
provide feedback to QAED for designing its teacher training programs in light of the weak
areas identified through the examination. Also, PEC may undertake research to inform and
improve curricula. However, apart from the annual report published by PEC, there is no sharing
of information that might benefit QAED and PCTB. Furthermore, PEC and PCTB boards have
representation from other bodies including SED, QAED etc., and while board meetings are the
only platform available to raise coordination issues, the assessment finds out that this forum
has not been utilized to discuss and improve inter-departmental coordination.
There are also no forums as such where the representatives of various departments could meet
to discuss the challenges and opportunities related to education budgets and resolve them. In
particular, there is need to discuss the challenges related to transfer and release of funds as well
as fund utilization and reallocation. Besides operational and budget coordination gaps there is
also challenge of disconnect in storage and use of data available with different provincial
entities such as PMIU, DPI, PEC and PEF.
3.2.7. Delays in Transfer and Release of Funds
There are significant delays in transfer of funds from FD to the SED and districts. For example,
in case of PEF, the 1st Quarter of every financial year is challenging for PEF as payments are
released late by the FD. Because PEF has to make payments to schools on monthly basis, it has
to address the financing shortfalls by making stop-gap arrangements; for example, through its
endowment fund. A recent third-party validation (TPV) of PEF informed that for financial year
2016-17, the first quarter’s payment was made by the Finance Department on 2nd September
2016. For 2017-18, the first tranche was released on 18th August 201745.
3.3 District and Sub-District Service Delivery Challenges
This study highlights following challenges and constraints at the district and sub-district levels:
3.3.1. Frequent Transfers and No Performance Framework
Like the provincial tier, frequent transfers and postings are a big challenge among other things
at district level. Frequent postings and transfers act as a barrier in the way of effective education
planning and service delivery. This study finds that there are frequent transfers of district
managers, with the appointment timeframe ranging from 3-4 months to 1-1.5 years. Frequent
transfers impede continuity, ownership and accountability of reforms. A recent example on this
count is the transfer of seventeen (17) CEOs by the Chief Minister in one day. Such large-scale
transfers tend to erode the commitment and willingness of the education managers for effective
education service delivery. Short term appointments of key officials also create challenges for
international organizations and development partners implementing projects and programs in
the district as they need to start afresh with every new official who needs time to get on board.
Alongside frequent transfers, there are also no performance management frameworks available
45 I-SAPS. (2018). Third Party Validation of Punjab Education Foundation Programme. Department for
International Development.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
for the district and sub-district education officials. This weak accountability at devolved
education management level leads to poor service delivery.
3.3.2. Average Time Spent on Different Tasks
The study finds out that out of an average 8 working hours of the district managers in Punjab,
around 17.5% of the time (1.4 hours) is spent on activities which are not directly related to
education service delivery. These include time spent attending to calls and visits by public
representatives, attending to RTI requests by NGOs and civil society organization, public-
dealing etc. 14% time (1.1 hours) is spent on school visits, 32.5% time (2.6 hours) on
administrative matters including correspondence, file-work, record-maintenance, staff service
related issues etc, 3.75% of time (0.3 hours) in dealing with the accounts office and accounts
related matters, 8.75% time (0.7 hours) in data collection from sub-district tiers and reporting
to respective education departments and attached bodies, 17.5% of time (1.8 hours) in
meeting/coordinating and following up with the staff at sub-district tiers on challenges related
to service delivery as well as the way forward, and 6.25% of time in planning of activities for
the day (0.5 hours).
It is important to note that the time spent on non-productive activities as well as that spent on
administrative activities take up much of time of district mangers. In case of Punjab, it stands
around 50% time of officials and leaves only around the same time for matters related to
strategic planning and execution of activities to improve education service delivery.
3.3.3. Job Descriptions and Awareness of Mandated Roles
Most of the district and sub-district officials are found to be aware of their respective job
descriptions (JDs) that clearly explains their assigned role and responsibilities for education
service delivery. 13 percent of the officials informed that they are not aware of their JDs and
exact responsibilities. Lack of orientation among these officials regarding their mandated roles
has bearing on the quality of service delivery at the school level.
The study also indicates that 92 percent of the officials who know about their JDs, claim that
their key roles and responsibilities that they are performing currently are in line with the given
JDs. The officials who do not have their JDs learnt about their assigned responsibilities through
training (17 percent), on job support (41.5 percent) or instructions from higher authority (41.5
percent).
3.3.4. Initiatives to Improve School Participation and Quality
In order to improve enrolment, the officials place emphasis on contact with the community.
The officials engage the head-teachers and teachers in door-to-door campaign in school’s
catchment area. Advertisements and banners are also placed at prominent points in the area
and the local prayer leaders are also requested to encourage people to enrol their children
through public announcements. The officials largely rely on the head-teachers and teachers to
improve students’ attendance through meeting with parents and community leaders who could
influence the parents in sending their children regularly to schools. Many officials reported that
they have introduced non-financial rewards to encourage the head-teachers and teachers to
ensure minimum attendance of students. District officials mostly use surprise visits to schools
to keep a check on teachers’ attendance. They also use other tools including phone-calls and
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
Watsapp to check on whether teachers are on-time and present in the schools. To improve
quality of teaching and learning in the schools, the district education officials ensure that AEOs
visit each school at least twice in a given month. The Monitoring and Evaluation Assistants
(MEAs) not only records the school visits by the AEOs, but also takes test from sampled
students enrolled in grade-III. This test, called the LND-test (Literacy and Numeracy Drive),
however, is not conducted for students in other grades.
3.3.5. Time Spent on Different Tasks during School Visits
This study indicates that during school visits, an official spends around 3½ hours (215 minutes)
in one school on average. During the visit three major tasks performed by the officials include
community mobilization (20 percent of total time spent), student achievement assessment (16
percent of total time spent) and mentoring support (16 percent of total time spent). Observation
and monitoring of learning environment on average receives least time of an official during the
school visit.
3.3.6. Coordination and Communication between Province, District and Sub-District
Tiers
Districts are not involved in the process of planning or policy development, and the frequently
changing policies cause an ever-present challenge for the districts. New policies require time
to be implemented, but the urgency on the part of province to implement and not taking districts
into confidence, while planning, leads to ineffective implementation of reforms. Also, target
setting is generally done at the provincial level without much consultation with the districts.
The centralized nature of top-bottom reform design creates lack of clarity among district and
sub-district management about the focus, intent and desired outcome of the reform initiatives
and planning targets. An important example of disconnect between province and districts is
witnessed at the design stage of teachers’ continuous professional development (CPD)
initiatives. The districts are engaged by the province only for nominating the teachers for pre-
designed trainings and their role in needs’ identification and CPD design is kept minimum.
Likewise, districts, school heads and teachers are not much engaged in the processes of
curriculum and textbook development.
33
24
34
34
23
42
25
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Others
Teachers and Students Attendance
Students' Achievement and Assessment
Mentoring and Support
Monitoring of Learning Environment
Community Mobilization
Administration and Funds Utilization
AverageTime Spent on Tasks during School Visit (in Minutes)
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
At the district level, the Deputy Commissioners also lead and coordinate a forum called the
District Review Committee (DRC). This intra-district coordination led by the deputy
commissioners is an effective mechanism for progress review and addressing any challenges
in effective service delivery at the district level.
Notwithstanding the effectiveness of DRCs, the study finds that that there is little coordination
between top tier of district officials and officials at sub-district levels. Similarly, there is no
institutionalised mechanisms that could allow for increased coordination and oversight of
district coordination and engagement at schools and community levels.
School head teachers coordinate with the sub-district officials only through monthly meetings.
Meetings are held at the cluster level where issues and challenges are discussed along with
progress against key indicators on access and quality of education. However, there is no
communication and strategic coordination on the role of School Councils as key actors in
education reform success and service delivery improvement.
3.3.7. Delays in Budget Release and Low Absorptive Capacity
Delays in transfer and release of non-salary
budgets to the districts and schools have also
been observed. For the ongoing financial year,
the 1st tranche of non-salary budgets was
released to the districts on 30th August 2018.
Because of delay in transfer of non-salary
budgets and various other issues, schools are
unable to fully utilize the allocated budgets.
For example, the TPV of NSB done by I-SAPS
indicates that around 23 percent of schools reported half or even less utilization of funds during
2015-16.
Because of the intra-department and inter-departmental lack of coordination, there are also
challenges of low budgetary releases and the absorptive capacity of the education department
is also affected. For example, in 2016-17, out of the total allocated budget for education, only
77 percent could be spent.
3.3.8. Lack of Institutional Capacity for Evidence-Based Planning and Budgeting
The DEAs lack capacity and skills to carry-out needs-based planning and target setting in line
with the strategic priorities set at the provincial level. Owing to centralized top-bottom planning
process, the plans and targets set at provincial level generally do not conform to the local
realities as it is mostly done using provincial level aggregate data (in some cases, district data).
As a result, the local level challenges remain largely under addressed.
In the absence of evidence-based planning, the budget allocation and utilization in districts is
also not effective. Evidence indicates that an inverse relationship exists between the proportion
of out of school children of 5-16 years’ age and per student spending at district level. For
example, district Rahim Yar Khan is the most disadvantaged in this regard as 47 percent of its
In 2016-17, 23 percent of the
allocated education budget
remained unspent. A major
reason for this ties to the lack of
coordination within SED and
between SED and other
departments like Finance.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
school-going age children are out of school, yet it receives one of the lowest per student budgets
in the province.46
3.3.9. District and School Capacity Needs
The study indicates that district education officials require capacity development support to
perform their mandated functions more efficiently. Around 23 percent of the study’s
respondents agreed that they need training to equip them better for their responsibilities.
The following areas have been identified through this study for capacity building of district
managers to help improve education delivery. These areas include:
a. School level monitoring and mentoring
b. Data-driven and needs-based strategic planning and target setting
c. Whole school improvement planning
d. Budget preparation and execution
e. IT based approaches for education management
The study also identifies areas for developing capacities of head teachers in the areas of
student assessments and community mobilization. The areas identified for capacity
development of head teachers include:
a. School leadership
b. School budgets and financial records
c. Departmental rules and regulations to better manage schools and teachers.
46 I-SAPS. 2017. Allocate it Right: Decreasing Equity Challenges in Punjab. Islamabad. pp. 9.
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SINDH
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
SINDH:
Education Governance and District Service Delivery Capacities
4.1 Education in Sindh at a Glance
Sindh has 55,244 educational institutions from pre-primary schools till degree colleges
including all public, private and other public institutions. Out of these institutions only 11,193
institutions are specifically designated for girls, whereas, there are 10,526 institutions that offer
co-education. 47 There has been slight increase in the enrolment of children in public and private
schools (pre-primary till higher secondary) of the province in past two years, where enrolment
increased from 7,768,415 in 2016 to 8,019,842 in 2017.48 While there has been some
improvement in the enrolment rate in recent years, Sindh continues to face the access challenge
as around 35 percent of primary school-age children in Sindh are currently not in schools.
Evidence also highlights gender disparities at primary school-age, as more girls (44 percent)
compared to boys (28 percent) are out of schools in Sindh.49 There is also considerable
difference in male (67 percent) and female (44 percent) literacy rates in the province. The net
enrolment rate (NER) at primary level in the province is 48 percent, which again highlights
gender gap i.e. 52 percent for boys and 44 percent for girls.50
4.1.1. An Overview of Education Policy Landscape
National Education Policy 2009 has been adopted as the overarching policy framework for
education in the province. In the light of constitutional obligation under Article 25-A51,
Government of Sindh enacted The Sindh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education
Act, 2013. Sindh is also the only province in Pakistan that has developed the rules of business
under the Act, 2013. Moreover, the province has Sindh Education Standards and Curriculum
Act 2014 which aims to clearly define the role of various attached departments and autonomous
bodies in curriculum and textbooks revision and development, and teachers’ pre-service and
in-service training. In addition to the Act and the rules of business, the legal and policy
framework for access to quality education in the province also includes Sindh Education Sector
Plan (SESP) 2014-18 developed by School Education and Literacy Department (SELD).
SESP is the key strategic document that provides a comprehensive and all-encompassing plan
for addressing education access, quality and governance related challenges. SESP has seven
thematic components that provide a clear picture of government priorities and strategies to be
implemented over five years starting from 2014. The sector plan is being managed and
implemented by the School Education and Literacy Department (SELD) and its allied
provincial entities.
47 NEMIS. (2018). Pakistan Education Statistics, 2016-17. Academy of Education Planning and Management,
Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Government of Pakistan. 48 Ibid. and NEMIS. (2017). Pakistan Education Statistics, 2015-16. Academy of Education Planning and
Management, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Government of Pakistan. 49 NEMIS. (2017). Pakistan Education Statistics, 2015-16. Academy of Education Planning and Management,
Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Government of Pakistan. Pg. 22. 50 Government of Pakistan. (2018). Chapter 10. Education. Economic survey of Pakistan 2017-18. 51 The Gazette of Pakistan. (2010). Ex.Pt.1, Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act 2010, Act No X of 2010.
P267.
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4.1.2. Education Management and Service Delivery Structure: Province, Districts and
Schools
The key actors in education service delivery in Sindh and operational relations at province,
district and school levels are explained below:
4.1.2.1 Provincial Institutional Setup
SESP is the key strategic document that steers government’s priorities and agenda for
education reforms in the province. SELD is the main department responsible to manage and
oversee legislation, planning, management, financing and service delivery in the education
sector. SELD is assisted by its allied provincial entities and district education management for
implementation of the sector plan and for performance of key education functions (see Figure
12).
Figure 12: Education Administration in Sindh - Regional Directorate
The key allied provincial entities supporting SELD include Reform Support Unit (RSU),
Provincial Institute of Teacher Education (PITE), Directorate of Curriculum, Assessment and
Research (DCAR), Sindh Teachers Education Development Authority (STEDA), Sindh
Textbook Board (STB), Sindh Education Foundation (SEF), Standardized Achievement Test
(SAT), Directorate of Inspection and Registration of Private Institutions Sindh (DIRPIS) and
Directorate of Literacy & Non-Formal Education (DLNFE).
Major roles and responsibilities of these attached institutions are provided in the Table 4 below:
Table 4: Matrix on Key Provincial Departments and their Assigned Responsibilities
Provincial Institution Responsibilities and Functions Assigned
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School Education and Literacy Department, Sindh 1. Directorate of
School Education (DSE)
(Primary/Elementary),
Secondary and Higher
Secondary)
• Each regional directorate is responsible to provide strong
leadership in all matters relating to education in respective
region.
• Ensures implementation of government policies, rules and
regulations.
• Acts as main point of contact in relation to education in regions.
• Provides oversight of the operations and delivery of education
services in schools.
Develops and maintains effective and positive relations with
staff at regional, district and Taluka levels. 2. Provincial Institute of
Teachers Education
(PITE)
• Responsible for pre-service teacher education and continuous
professional development programmes based on school education
standards and curriculum for developing professionally competent
teachers
3. Directorate of
Curriculum,
Assessments and
Research (DCAR)
• Curriculum Development /Review of all subjects for classes (I to
XII)
• Capacity Building of Teachers, Head Teachers, Supervisory
personnel, Educational Managers and School Management
Committees.
• Development & Execution of Educational Programs, Projects
and Schemes under Public & Private sector both.
• Dissemination of Educational Policies Plans and Programs.
• Conducting Research in Education.
• Assessment of Achievement of Teachers and Students in Sindh.
4. Sindh Textbook Board
(STBB)
• Development of Textbooks.
• Printing and Publication of Textbooks from Class I to XII in All
Three Languages (URDU, SINDHI, ENGLISH)
• Marketing of the textbooks to private education provider.
• Monitoring of textbook delivery to public schools.
5. Sindh Teachers
Education and
Development Authority
(STEDA)
Certify and accredit teacher education programmes and ensure
quality of both pre-service and in-service teacher education
programmes to prepare professionally competent teachers to
teach curriculum effectively. 6. Reform Support Unit
(RSU)
• To create a capacity that would strengthen the Education
Department's ability to adopt and implement the education policy
and strategy.
• Install a well-integrated and functional monitoring system
through an Institutional Tracking System for tracking the
outreach of incentives.
• The Unit's areas of expertise are data collection, data analysis
and its institutionalized impact on policy and strategy.
• Coordination of Policy and its implementation.
• To ensure education of equitable quality for all to fully harness
the nation's human potential
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7. Sindh Education
Foundation (SEF)
• Conceptualize and spearhead projects for the establishment
of educational institutions especially in less developed or
less privileged areas
• Evolve programs for raising the standard of education
(quality) and improvement in literacy rate (access)
• Conduct research or surveys or hold workshops,
conferences and symposia to study the educational system
to identify its shortcomings and make suggestions for its
improvement
• Provide financial help or grants to various NGOs and other
educational agencies
4.1.2.2 District and Sub-district Administrative Arrangements
The Education Management Reform (EMR) Policy of 2009 highlighted that the management
of education could not keep pace with the devolution process since 2001 in which many of the
education management responsibilities were devolved to the district government. There was
no clear division as far as management responsibilities were concerned which caused more
problems instead of solving them52. As a follow up to the EMR Policy 2009, Government of
Sindh introduced a major reform in the education governance by establishment of Education
Management Cadre (EMC) in 2014.
The education management has been branched in three distinct services. The newly introduced
services include, School Executive Service (SES), School Management Service (SMS) and
School Finance Service (SFS)53. The province is divided into six regions, i.e. Karachi,
Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur, Mirpur Khaas, Shaheed Benazirabad. Under the new
organizational structure, Director School Education (Primary) and Director School Education
(Elementary, Secondary and Higher Secondary) hold the responsibility at the regional level
(see Figure 13).
52 Sindh Education Sector Plan, 2014-18. 53 Education and Literacy Department Notification No SO (B&F) E&L/RE-DESIG-POSTS/2014-15 (DISTRICT)
/ 2014, was issued in pursuance of Sub-rule (2) of rule 3 of Sindh Civil Servants (Appointment, Promotion and
Transfer) Rules 1974. The APT Rules 2014 provides the new structure of education management in Sindh.
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Figure 13: Sindh School Education Department (Field Formation)
At the district level, the education offices are headed by District Education Officer (DEO)
Primary and District Education Officer (DEO) Elementary / Secondary & Higher Secondary.
At the district level the DEOs are assisted by Deputy District Education Officers for Primary
and Elementary / Secondary/ Higher Secondary. At the Taluka (Sub-District) level, Taluka
Education Officers (TEOs) and Assistant Education Officers (AEOs) hold the responsibility.
At the School tier the head-teachers are divided in three categories; Senior Principal heads
Comprehensive / Higher Secondary Schools and Principal heads Comprehensive / Secondary
Schools. Similarly, Senior Head Master / Mistresses are posted as heads of Elementary /
Secondary Schools and Head Masters / Mistresses for managing Campus / Cluster Hub
Schools. The financial matters are assigned to Director Finance under the newly created School
Finance Service. Director Finance is assisted by Deputy Directors Finance and Assistant
Directors Finance at the district tiers54.
Introduction of the new Education Management Cadre is aimed at addressing the limitations
of governance and management in the school education sector which have constrained the
department in achieving the target of performing schools and improved learning outcomes. As
a continuation of reforms, School Consolidation Policy assigns additional responsibilities with
delegation of administrative authority at the respective tiers. DEOs have been assigned the
responsibilities to, chalk out annual work plan, resource planning and management, financial
management, procurement management, human resource management, oversight of the
distribution process of text books, early childhood education, reporting and record management
and monitoring55. Similarly, under the School Consolidation Policy 2011 TEOs are mandated
54 Notification [No SO (B&F) E&L/RE-DESIG-POSTS/2014-15 (DISTRICT) / 2014] 55 School Consolidation Policy 2011: Responsibilities of District Education Officer
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to identify and recommend for consolidating/merging Schools, delegation of administrative
powers, annual working plan, resource planning and management, financial management,
annual work planning for school development, procurement management, financial
management, human resource management and development, Early Childhood Education
(ECE), management of SMCs and Record Management56.
The assigning of new roles and expanded scope for the education managers at the District and
Taluka tiers under the School Consolidation Policy 2012 brought forth new challenges. The
SED while working closely with the education managers have tried to address these with the
introduction of the School Clustering Policy 2016. The education managers, especially the
DEOs have been assigned additional roles including; cluster formation, activity planning for
policy implementation, staffing of CHS Head, guiding teachers and coordinating with various
line agencies of the SED57. Similarly, the TEO has also been assigned new responsibilities of
Cluster Identification, Verification and Support to the Academic and Administrative Cluster
Management58.
4.1.3 Management Process in Core Education Functions: Horizontal and Vertical
Linkages
This sub-section explains the management processes designed for performing core education
functions in Sindh. The process flow elaborated in the flow charts also indicates the horizontal
and vertical operational linkages required for education policy implementation and effective
service delivery.
4.1.3.1 Teacher Recruitment
The process for recruitment of teaching staff in schools is elaborated in the Recruitment Policy,
2017.59 The policy presented a merit-based system for the recruitment of teachers. Key features
of the new merit-based system comprise screening test to be conducted by the National Testing
Service (NTS), formulation and engagement of District Placement Committees (DPCs) and
providing a Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM). The flow chart in Figure 14 presents
process flow for recruitment of teachers in Sindh as per the Recruitment Policy, 2017:
Figure 14: Teacher Recruitment Process Flow
56 School Consolidation Policy 2011: Responsibilities of Taluka Education Officer 57 School Clustering Policy 2016: Responsibilities of DEOs 58 School Clustering Policy 2016: Responsibilities of TEOs 59 Government of the Sindh. (2017). Recruitment Policy 2017 for Teachers and Non-Teaching. Karachi: School
Education Department, Government of the Sindh.
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The above process flow indicates that the system of merit-based recruitment of teachers in
Sindh has been introduced, however it has yet to be made part of the established governance
routines. Additionally, the absence of effective accountability mechanisms to ensure the
robustness of the system seriously impacts the effectiveness of the process. The recruitment
process is ensuring merit, however the process has inadequacies on the count of evaluating
subject specific knowledge, competencies and skills of the candidates. Additionally the
feedback loop to inform the recruitment process with the teachers’ relevant agencies such as
STEDA, PITE etc. is not in place. In order to align the process for having a direct impact on
improved quality of education service delivery, it remains of significant importance to ensure
effective coordination and communication both at provincial and district levels.
4.1.3.2. Curriculum Development
Under the chair of Provincial Minister for Education, the SELD with the assistance of a
Curriculum Council comprising heads of all provincial education institutions is responsible for
making decisions regarding development and revision of curriculum, its approval, monitoring
and implementation. Besides the Curriculum Wing at the SELD secretariat Directorate of
Curriculum, Assessments and Research (DCAR) is the key operational entity responsible for
development or revision of curriculum. It is headed by a Director and supported by Additional,
Deputy and Assistant Directors. Curriculum Wing at SELD Secretariat plays the key role of
coordination for the curriculum development process. Additionally, the Curriculum Wing also
acts as the secretariat for the curriculum council. Figure 15 presents the process flow of
curriculum development:
Figure 15: Curriculum Development Process Flow
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DCAR takes lead in the curriculum development and during this process requires strong
coordination of SELD, DCAR, BISE and PITE at provincial level. Whereas, curriculum
implementation requires coordination, communication and capacities both at provincial and
district levels.
4.1.3.3.Textbook Development and Distribution
In Sindh the process of textbooks development, printing and distribution is guided by the Policy
on Sindh Textbook and Learning Material (production, certification and distribution), 2014.
As per the Policy, 2014 the STBB is responsible to manage authorship, production, copyrights,
printing and distribution of textbooks and learning material in the province. At provincial level
STBB is required to work with other provincial departments to ensure transparent and effective
delivery of services. STBB is required to conduct all procurements in line with Sindh Public
Procurement Rules. DCAR is the competent authority to review textbooks and learning
materials for alignment with the school education standards and curriculum goals. After
approval and printing of the textbooks, STBB is required to develop an effective distribution
strategy using EMIS supported technological innovations in delivery and tracking of textbooks
down to schools and classrooms.
4.2 Horizontal Operational Constraints and Capacity Challenges: The Provincial
Tier
The following sub-sections identify gaps between the assigned responsibilities and actual
functions performed by key provincial institutions and officials; institutional and
administrative bottle necks; coordination and communication challenges; and capacity and
financial needs and constraints.
4.2.1. Administrative Inefficiencies, Overlapping Mandates and Institutional Gaps
The assessment at provincial level pointed out following challenges in performance of
mandated functions of key provincial education institutions:
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
a. In-service teacher training rests with PITE. However, recently, the results of SAT for
grade 5 and 8 spurred RSU to outsource training of select teachers in Mathematics,
Languages and Science to private service provider. Although this decision was taken
in a joint meeting of different departments but since the decision had support at the
highest policy level, therefore it met very little objection from PITE and DCAR. The
outsourcing in this case is reflective of the limitations of the dedicated institutions for
teacher training in Sindh.
b. Different allied provincial institutions in Sindh have been assigned almost similar
functions related to capacity development and trainings. In the official documents, all
of these provincial entities have been assigned slightly different functions; however, in
reality, this has resulted in a plethora of directorates and entities. These institutions
include Curriculum Wing, PITE, STEDA, Directorate of Human Resource and
Training, and Directorate of Teacher Training Institutions.
c. It is important to highlight that a relatively new Directorate of Human Resource and
Training (DHRT) that has been assigned the function of conducting needs assessment
for the teachers in the province. The role of directorate has been slightly differentiated
from PITE by mandating it to conduct need-based assessments across the province and
give input to PITE on where the trainings must be carried-out. However, establishing a
separate entity of needs-assessment is going to increase the financial burden and
administrative complexity of provincial education management. A more cost-effective
and less complex way of mapping needs could be to conduct training needs assessments
(TNAs) by PITE in coordination with regional directorates of schools (secondary and
primary). The second overlapping function of DHRT is to centralize the recruitments
of the teachers in SELD. But this function could also be performed by existing setup of
SELD and allied institutions.
d. Directorate of Curriculum, Assessment and Research (DCAR) previously carried out
research around curriculum and textbooks but it has not done any research in last
several years. One of the main reasons for this is the capacity deficit at DCAR staff.
SELD has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iqra University where
the staff of SELD would get the opportunity to do MPhil, PhD and other research
related courses.
4.2.2. Frequent Transfers of Senior Officials
There have been instances of frequent transfer and postings at the Directorate of School
Education (Secondary and Elementary), Karachi Region. Between 2001 and 2018, there have
been 18 transfers and postings at the post of Director. It is important to share that only in 2012,
there have been 5 transfer/postings at this post. Later, over a period of 3 years (2015-2018), 6
officials were transferred from the said post. The frequent transfer and posting at the senior
most management level has implications for the planning, services and pace of education
reforms.
4.2.3. Political Economy of Education Service Delivery
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There are a number of stakeholders that exercise influence on the policy, planning and
management processes at the provincial as well as district levels in the province. Teacher
unions and teachers are a major group that exercise influence often to the detriment of
education service delivery at school level. The teachers and teachers’ unions potential to
influence and disrupt the reform process is based on multiple factors including their presence
across the province, mobilization capacity, ability to endure long strikes, political patronage
and ability to influence the electoral process. Teachers often exercise this influence owing to
their organization and their ability to articulate their demands. However, group incentives and
interests of teacher unions largely revolve around package of benefits and promotions, and
often at the cost of student needs. The study indicates that due to their vested interests, teacher
unions in the province have so far been able to resist significant changes aimed at improving
service delivery. These include accountability procedures, teacher rationalization etc. among
others. As a result, the quality of service delivery continues to be problematic on major fronts
including supply of teachers and quality of teaching and learning experience across government
schools.
4.2.4. Staffing Gap and Ad hoc Appointments
Another important issue at the SELD and allied institutions is of staffing gap and appointments
based on ad hoc basis. Following table presents the staffing gap at DCAR:
Table 5: DCAR Staffing Status
Position Sanctioned Posts Filled-in Posts
Additional
Director
3 0
Subject Specialist 21 17
BPS – 18 Officers 5 2
BPS-17 Officers 5 5
It is important to note that in order to bridge this staffing gap appointments are were made to
DCAR but 9 out of 17 officials appointed as Subject Specialists have still not joined the
Directorate and continue to work on their previous positions. Similarly, research positions in
PITE are largely filled through internal transfers and postings on ad hoc basis. As a result, the
newly posted incumbents lack requisite skills to carry-out research and other mandated
responsibilities. It is evident from the fact that both DCAR and PITE have been unable to
produce required research around curriculum, textbooks, learning materials etc.
4.2.5 Lack of Need-based and Demand-driven Budgeting
Like other provinces, Sindh also faces challenges in budgeting. Though total budgetary
allocations at provincial level have increased over the years, some departments still face
challenge in getting the budgets required to perform their mandated functions. For instance,
DCAR presented the scheme for conducting diagnostic assessments in the province, but this
scheme was not included in the allocated budget for the current year. DCAR also faces
challenge with reference to release of funds. Owing to the funding deficit regular diagnostic
assessments are not conducted by DCAR. The review indicates that only 4 diagnostic
assessments have been conducted in the province since 2009.
4.2.6. Coordination and Communication Challenge
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The challenge related to effective coordination and communication was more pronounced for
the Directorate of Schools (Secondary and Elementary Education). The DSE faces challenge
of weak coordination with PITE and DCAR. It is important to highlight that PITE has almost
never coordinated with the DSE regarding the subject-specific needs of the teachers or about
any particular geographical area where such trainings need to be imparted. Moreover, there is
no formal provincial forum in Sindh where various allied institutions of provincial education
department could come together to discuss the overall performance of key entities and plan a
joint and coordinated response for improving education services. In this regard, RSU is in the
process of developing a strategy document to improve the coordination between various
departments and reduce overlaps and redundancy issues.
4.3 District and Sub-District Service Delivery Challenges
This study highlights following challenges and constraints at the district and sub-district levels:
4.3.1. Frequent Transfers and Postings
Frequency of transfers for district officials varies from district to district, with most frequent
transfers of staff completing tenure as low only 2 months. Frequent transfer and posting of key
district officials impact the overall performance of the district unfavorably.
4.3.2. Management Capacity and Skills Gap
The study finds that a vast majority of district managers joined the education department as
school teachers (primary, elementary, secondary). As they were posted on managerial positions
over the course of their career, the officials did not receive any corresponding specialized
training or capacity building program to prepare them for their new roles as managers. The
absence of any capacity building opportunities coupled with the fact that officials have been
repeatedly identifying areas in which they need training is indicative that most officials are
facing challenges in smooth delivery of education services at the district and sub-district levels.
4.3.3. District Top Tier’s Average Time Spent on Key Tasks
On average, around 21% of the workday of district managers is spent on activities not directly
related to the service delivery of education. Similar to other provinces, administrative matters
take up most of the time (around 23%) of these officials. The activities related to data collection
from the district and sub-district education officers, coordination and follow-up meetings with
education officials, and monitoring of school processes take on average 11.25%, 23.75% and
21.25% of education managers’ average time. The study found that education managers spend
on average little to no time on planning their daily, weekly or monthly activities.
4.3.4. Lack of Orientation on Job Descriptions
Sindh has developed and notified job descriptions and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of
officials from Directors to the Head Teachers in 2017. The data collected for this study
indicates that two-third of sub-district officials shared that their job descriptions (JDs) explain
their role and responsibilities for education management and service delivery. Almost all of the
officials confirmed that their job descriptions contain the actual responsibilities they are
performing currently. At the same time, the study also found that a significant number of
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officials, around 29%, were not aware of the job description for their positions. The lack of
awareness and orientation of job descriptions and the mandated roles hinder the ability of the
education officials to play an effective role in education service delivery. The officials who are
not aware of their JDs learnt about their assigned responsibilities through training (33 percent),
on job support (50 percent) or instructions from higher authority (17 percent).
4.3.5. Initiatives to Improve School Participation and Quality
To increase enrolment, district officials along with head-teachers and teachers, carry out mass
community engagement campaign before the start of academic year and after the summer
vacations. In their drive for enrollment, they involve community influential and religious
leaders to convince parents to enroll their children, particularly girls, in schools. The officials
also organize door-to-door visits to establish contact with community and identify children of
school enrollment age. The study found that the installation of biometric machines at school
levels to record teacher attendance has resulted in significant improvement in teachers’
presence in school. In order to improve students’ achievement, officials reported that the
students performing better at school are given awards and prizes for encouragement and
motivation. However, the study did not find any strategies that officials use to monitor and
improve teaching learning practices inside classroom.
4.3.6. Sub-district Official’s Time Spent on Different Tasks during School Visits
During a school visit, an official on average spends around 2½ hours (145 minutes) in one
school. During the visit, two major tasks are performed by the officials, including teachers and
student attendance (27 percent of total time spent) and mentoring support (25 percent of total
time spent). Observation and support on administration and fund utilization receive least time
of an official during the school visit.
4.3.7. Coordination and Communication between Province, District and Sub-District
Tiers
District-level coordination meetings are being conducted on monthly basis in all districts.
Survey data and interviews with district officials inform that district level coordination and
communication is also satisfactory as all survey participants reported either moderate or a lot
of coordination across different levels of education administration.
39
27
36
27
16
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Teachers and Students Attendance
Students' Achievement and Assessment
Mentoring and Support
Monitoring of Learning Environment
Administration and Funds Utilization
AverageTime Spent (in Minutes)
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However, the data related to budget allocation and expenditure reveals that the coordination
between provincial and district tiers is not up-to mark in terms of utilizing the allocated
resources. For example, in 2016-17, out of the total allocated budget for education, only 83
percent could be spent.
In majority of the cases, the school head teachers also have good coordination with district
officials through regular visits and meetings. However, in case of few districts, the district
managers hardly conduct any visits to the schools and meetings with officials are not regular.
4.3.8. Lack of Competent Teaching Resource in Sufficient Numbers
There is presently acute shortage of head-teachers at school level, and the department deals
with such cases by giving temporary charge to existing teachers. There is also a deficiency of
subject specialists at the secondary level. Those who are assigned to teach science subjects are
not from the subject-specialist cadre but are the ones who have studied those subjects while
completing their course-work for their degree programs.
4.3.9. District and School Capacity Needs
The study identifies the need for capacity building of district managers to enable them to
perform their assigned responsibilities more efficiently. The following key areas for capacity
building are identified in this regard:
a. Research and report writing
b. Use of information technology (IT) for data compilation and analysis
c. School monitoring and classroom observations
d. Communication and coordination
e. Planning and monitoring textbooks distribution
f. Financial planning and record management
The schools are also in need of more and better trained teachers. The study also points towards
the need for training of head-teachers in areas like school monitoring, communication, general
administration, reporting, community mobilization and lesson planning.
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KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA
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KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA
Education Governance and District Service Delivery Capacities
5.1 Education in KP at a Glance
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province faces challenges of inequitable educational access and
quality as around 2.38 million children of 5-16 years of age are out of school in the province.60
As per recent data KP province has 27,524 thousand primary, middle and higher secondary
public sector schools with 4.49 million students and 131,610 thousand school teachers.61 The
Net Enrolment Rate (NER) at primary level for boys in KP is 58 percent compared with 47
percent for girls. There is a huge decline in NERs at the middle and matric levels in KP as only
21 percent and 10 percent of the age-appropriate population is enrolled at middle and matric
levels, respectively.62 The Gender Parity Index (GPI) in enrolment stands at 0.74 in KP, the
GPI at primary level is 0.84 while at secondary level it significantly drops to 0.60. The overall
literacy rate (10 years and above) of the province is 53 percent in 2015-16, which is below the
national average (58 percent). There is a marked difference in male (72 percent) and female
(36 percent) literacy rates in the province. 63
5.1.1 An Overview of Education Policy Landscape
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Elementary and Secondary Education Department (E&SED) has
adopted National Education Policy 2009 as the guiding framework for education sector in the
province. In order to be compliant with the constitutional obligation under Article 25-A Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa Free Compulsory Primary and Secondary Education Act was enacted in 2017.
The law provides for free and compulsory education for all children in the province.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Education Sector Plan (ESP) 2015-20 provides comprehensive and all-
encompassing policy guidance to deal with the challenges related to access, quality and
governance of education. ESP vision and targets indicate that the Elementary and Secondary
Education Department (E&SED) is strategically planning and carefully prioritizing actions for
sustainable transformation of the sector ultimately leading to provision of quality education to
all children in KP. Besides providing policy guidance, ESP also points towards the need to
address management, planning and implementation capacity gaps at all governance tiers for
successful implementation of the plan and its targets.64 An important feature of ESP in KP is
that it aggregates needs identified in all districts at provincial level, besides it also contains
costed targets for key institutions and education functions at the provincial level.
5.1.2 Education Management and Service Delivery Structure: Province, Districts and
Schools
The education management and service delivery structure in KP consists of provincial, district
and school tiers. The key actors in education service delivery and their operational relations at
province, district and school levels are explained below:
60 NEMIS (2018). Op. cit. p. 41 61 NEMIS. (2018). Op cit. 62 PSLM, 2016 63 Government of Pakistan. (2018). Op. cit. Chapter 10.. 64 Elementary and Secondary Education Department. 2015. School Sector Plan 2015-2020, Government of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). pg. 18.
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5.1.2.1 Provincial Institutional Setup
E&SED is the key provincial department in KP that is responsible for education policy,
planning, service delivery and monitoring. Directorate of Elementary and Secondary Education
(DESE) is the key provincial entity that manages the planning, budgeting, human resource
management and monitoring functions under the policy guidance of E&SED. DESE directly
manages the district education management and it also acts as a bridge between Secretariat of
E&SE and district management. The allied institutions of E&SED at provincial level, which
can be seen below in Figure 16, include Directorate of Curriculum and Teachers Education
(DCTE), Provincial Institute for Teacher Education (PITE), Regional Institutes for Teacher
Education (RITEs), Planning Cell, Provincial Education Assessment Centre (PEACE),
Elementary and Secondary Education Foundation (ESEF), Education Sector Reforms Unit
(ESRU), Education Management Information System (EMIS) and Independent Monitoring
Unit (IMU).
Figure 16: Mapping Education Administration- KP
The following table presents the roles and responsibilities of attached institutions of the
E&SED.
Table 6: Matrix on Key Provincial Departments and their Assigned Responsibilities
Provincial Institution Responsibilities and Functions Assigned
1. Directorate of
Elementary and
Secondary
Education (DESE)
• Financial Management functions including budgets (both
provincial & district), accounts, internal and external audit of
accounts.
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• Human resource development functions comprising recruitment
(provincial cadre posts), personnel database, posting, transfer,
promotion & grant of leave.
• In-service training.
• Performance evaluation.
• Preparation of seniority List (provincial cadre posts)
• Preparation of Provincial Development plan (5/10 years).
• Consolidation of district development plans.
• Preparation of concept paper/feasibility reports for projects.
• Preparation, monitoring and coordination of foreign aided projects.
• Preparation & processing of PC-1 for approval of
DDWP/ ECNEC
• Literacy & Non-formal Education.
• Physical Education (scouts- Girls guide- Tournaments) • Managing functions at District Education Office level
2. Provincial Institute
of Teachers
Education (PITE)
• Conduct and test innovative Pre-Service & In-Service teacher training
programs
• Training of Master Trainers.
• Monitor and assess teachers training programs.
• Design and conduct research in teacher education, evaluation and
assessment.
• Develop training materials, etc.
• Serve as a Provincial Resource Center in education trainings.
• Coordinate educational training programs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• Organize and Conduct educational workshops/seminars as and when
required by the Department.
• Supervise & facilitate bridging Courses for teachers to equate Diploma in
Education/ADE.
• Design and maintain Teacher Education Management Information
System (TEMIS).
3. Directorate of
Curriculum and
Teachers
Education (DCTE)
• Achieving excellence in elementary and secondary teacher education by
producing professionally sound and value-oriented teachers for quality
education in the province.
• Undertake all academic, teacher education, curriculum development and
research assignments with the aim to meet the highest national and
international standards.
4. Education
Management
Information
System (EMIS)
• Providing information to all users to enable these users to conduct their
different tasks more efficiently
• Enabling decision-makers to take better decisions and justifying them,
based on concrete information
• Enabling planning and policy development to address objectively
identified issues, set quantified targets, and realistically estimate the
resources required for implementing plans and policies
• Contributing to improving the efficiency of day-to-day operations of the
education system by providing relevant and reliable information
• Support efficient monitoring of attainment of the stated education goals,
by providing complete, reliable and timely data.
• Support planning, decision making, supervision and management to:
o Facilitate the efficient direction of resources to the needy areas and
eliminate/minimize wastage.
o Accurate and reliable information
o Diagnosis of weaknesses and strengths
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
o Identification and Selection of priorities areas
o Resource allocation
5. Education Sector
Reforms Unit
(ESRU)
• Reforms in Policy Development, Planning Coordination, Monitoring and
Evaluation of various programs under implementation in the Elementary
& Secondary Education Department.
• Monitor implementation of Education Sector Reforms in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
• Effective monitoring of distribution of free textbooks, the stipend
program for girls, teacher’s attendance and reforms under
implementation.
• Monitoring of Training and re-organization of PTCs. Ensure monitoring
of PTCs funds.
• To ensure that the development funds placed at the disposal of the PTCs
for provision of missing facilities and construction of classroom are
being effectively utilized.
• Collection and Analysis of Data from Education Management
Information System (EMIS) for Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation
purpose.
• Reforms in Boards.
• Reforms in Training Institutions.
6. Independent
Monitoring Unit
(IMU)
• Responsible for ensuring that data for all key performance indicators are
collected regularly on monthly basis and uploaded using Smartphone.
• Provide Elementary & Secondary Education Department and its
development partners with a viable means of ensuring that education
sector reforms are efficiently developed and effectively implemented.
• Support the establishment of performance monitoring mechanisms.
• Increase public awareness of the status of school facilities and
infrastructure and the level of education service delivery in the province,
district and the school level.
• Provide access to information on key indicators to increase social
accountability.
• Increase social accountability to improve governance, service delivery
outcomes, planning and resource allocations to the sector
7. Elementary
Education
Foundation
(EEF)65
• To take all such measures as it deems necessary for the promotion,
improvement and financing of education development of human
resources in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through strengthening of
elementary education in the private sectors in line with the education
policy of Government.
• To improve literacy, with particular focus on women, through opening of
new community and non-formal schools and employment of teachers.
• To improve quality of education through effective and systematic
teachers training programme.
• To promote community participation and ownership of elementary
education programmes at the grass root level.
• To give loans to an individual or non-governmental organization for
establishment of elementary education schools.
• To introduce innovative educational programmes relating to literacy and
skill-oriented disciplines for the exceptionally disabled, related and
disadvantaged children
65 Also called the Elementary and Secondary Education Foundation (ESEF).
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8. Private Schools
Regulatory
Authority (PSRA)
• Register and regulate private schools.
• Supervision of their curricula, scheme of studies and academic schedule.
• Formulate policy, guiding principles and criteria for the establishment
and registration of private schools in the province.
• Categorization of schools based on criteria to maintain minimum
standards of education.
5.1.2.2 District and Sub-district Administrative Arrangements
The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has devolved the subject of education to
the district governments66. The KP Local Government Act, 2013, authorizes the District
Government for operation, management and control of devolved offices67, education being one
of them. District governments are responsible for the provision of education services but the
linkages between elected local governments and district education management are not
effective. The KP Local Government Act, 2013, requires allocation of development grant for
local governments by the Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) which is to be not less than
thirty percent (30%) of the total development budget of the province. The grant shall be in
addition to the establishment charges budgeted for the devolved functions and transfers in Lieu
of Octroi and Zilla taxes68. District education management in KP owing to its weak linkages
and administrative relations with local governments is not effectively benefitting from the
finances available with devolved elected government. These additional development financing
can help improve education service delivery in each district.
The district education management works under the administrative control of DESE and it
comprises District Education Officer (DEO) male, DEO female, Deputy DEOs, Sub DEOs and
Assistant SDEOs.
Besides provincial ESP, KP has also developed district education plans (DEP) for each district
in the province. KP DEPs have been developed using district specific data and are responsive
to unique needs of each district. Unlike Balochistan, KP employed bottom-up planning
approach to make sure that each DEP responds to the needs of entire school age population in
that district. The unique features of KP DEPs are that they are not only costed but also aligned
to the policy priorities and goals set in provincial ESP. Implementation of DEPs and delivery
of key education services require that district education management establishes effective
operational relations with the province, local governments and schools. At school level the
district education management is assisted by the school leadership and Parent Teacher Councils
(PTCs) for effective education service delivery.
5.1.3 Management Processes on Core Education Functions: Horizontal and Vertical
Linkages
Following process flow on core education functions elaborates the horizontal and vertical
linkages required for efficient education service delivery in KP.
5.1.3.1. Teacher Recruitment
66 First Schedule, Part A, The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act 2013 67 Section 13, KP Local Government Act 2013 68 Section 53-1(a) & 4, The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act 2013
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The process for recruitment of teaching staff in schools is elaborated in the Teachers’ Induction
Policy, 2017. The policy presented a merit-based system for the recruitment of teachers. The
flow chart in Figure 17 presents that process flow for recruitment of teachers in KP as per the
Teachers’ Induction Policy, 2017:
Figure 77: Teacher Recruitment Process Flow
The above process indicates that the system of merit-based recruitment of teachers in KP
requires effective coordination and communication both at provincial and district levels.
5.1.3.2. Curriculum Development
Under the chairmanship of Secretary, the E&SED with the assistance of a Steering Committee
comprising heads of all provincial education institutions is responsible for making decisions
regarding development and revision of curriculum, its approval, monitoring and
implementation. Directorate of Curriculum and Teachers Education (DCTE) is the key
provincial entity responsible for development or revision of curriculum. DCTE is also
mandated for the final review and approval of textbooks. It is headed by the Director and
supported by Deputy and Assistant Directors. Figure 18 presents the process flow of curriculum
development:
Figure 18: Curriculum Development Process Flow
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DCTE takes lead in the curriculum development and during this process requires strong
coordination of DCTE with E&SED, BISE & PITE at provincial level. Whereas, curriculum
implementation requires coordination, communication and capacities both at provincial and
district levels.
5.2 Horizontal Operational Constraints and Capacity Challenges: The Provincial
Tier
The following sub-sections present the opportunities and challenges identified after review of
administrative structures, management practices, operational linkages and core capacities at
the provincial level in KP. It also points out specific areas for improvement in education
planning, management and service delivery capacities.
5.2.1. Overlapping Mandates and Institutional Gaps
The assessment identifies a number of challenges in terms of mandated roles of various
institutions working under E&SED. These challenges include mandate overlaps, blurred lines
of responsibilities and implementation of limited mandates. Following are some of the key
challenges in in relation to mandated roles of key provincial institutions:
a. In KP, most significant overlap in the mandates is between the EMIS and IMU. Both
the institutions are performing similar functions with minor variation. Both the entities
are collecting data on education indicators, but their data are not aligned or integrated.
Currently the two systems are functioning independently and do not share information
with each other. Data and information collected by both the entities can be integrated
to provide more robust data for education planning, management and monitoring in the
province. In this regard, the mandated functions and scope of both provincial entities
should be redefined and made more dynamic to ensure that education managers and
planners receive most recent and comprehensive data.
b. EMIS is performing its mandated roles but to a very limited extent. This is because of
the capacity issues at hand, and involvement of their staff in other non-EMIS related
tasks, for example, as focal person for IT projects.
5.2.2. High Turn-over of Senior Officials
The study results indicate that frequent transfers is a major challenge for the senior most
positions of the E&SED. Most recently, there have been frequent transfers at the post of
secretary of the department and there were instances when the secretary was transferred after
duration of a few months. It is important to note that only in the course of one year, the
education department in KP has had its 6th administrative secretary. Excessive transfers of
senior management of E&SED is a serious issue that adversely affects quality of education
service delivery at all tiers.
5.2.3. Communication and Coordination Challenges
For the purpose of regular coordination and communication, the E&SED convenes frequent
meetings to discuss departmental plans and progress on various targets. Moreover, the
department also conducts quarterly progress review meetings; budget utilization meetings and
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
stocktakes meeting to ensure the progress against different initiatives. However, institutions
like ESEF and PITE face certain coordination challenges. For example, ESEF faces
coordination and communication challenges as it is required to communicate only through
E&SED. Hence, the long communication route consumes a lot of time and at times results in
delays when ESEF desires to get input from the allied provincial departments. Similar
challenge also exists in the case of PITE.
5.2.4. Low Share of School Education in Budget Allocations
During 2014-15 to 2016-17 the share of primary and secondary education in the education
budget of KP has decreased compared to higher education budget. The share of higher
education budget has increased from 12 percent of the total provincial education budget in
2014-15 to 19 percent of the budget in 2016-17.69 This increase in higher education budget
does not accompany a significant increase in the number of higher education students in the
province during these years. Not undermining the importance of higher education, it is
important that school education receives sufficient budget to improve education services and
to address the challenges of out of school children, student drop-out, low transition from
primary to secondary education and educational quality issues.
5.2.5. Political Economy of Education: Disparities in District Wise Public Spending
An overarching challenge in context of improving district level education service delivery is
that public spending decisions are not always based on need. The allocations are driven by
political expediencies, thus giving rise to disparity in number of schools, facilities in public
schools, and supply of teachers. This is evident from inter-district disparity in case of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
For instance, in KP for the fiscal year 2015-16, out of the total provincial budget of Rs. 488
billion, Rs. 120 billion were earmarked for education. Despite the fact that this is a huge budget,
the money reaching the districts presents vast inequalities. An analysis of the recurrent
education budget data indicates that number of districts like Peshawar, Mardan, Mansehra,
Swat, Abbottabad, Lower Dir and Dera Ismail Khan expensed more than Rs. 4 billion in 2014-
15. These seven districts combined absorbed more than 32 percent of the provincial budget of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. On the other hand, districts like Hangu and Tor Ghar had education
expenditure below Rs. 1 billion. These disparities exist not only in terms of absolute district-
wise expenditure on education, but also at the level of per child education expenditure across
districts. For instance, districts including Tor Ghar and Hangu spent much less than the
provincial average for per child expenditure on the education
5.3. District and Sub-District Service Delivery Challenges
This study highlights following challenges and constraints at the district and sub-district levels:
5.3.1. Frequent Transfers in District Management
This study identifies frequent transfers of district officials in KP. The district officials at senior
administrative positions have been serving anywhere from 3 months to a little over two years.
69 I-SAPS. 2017. Allocate it Right: Decreasing Equity Challenges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Islamabad. pp. 6.
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
In few cases, the posts remained even vacant for a few years. Frequent transfers and delay in
appointments at senior management positions act as a hurdle in the way of effective delivery
and obstruct continuity, ownership and accountability on the government side. Implementing
agencies, national or international, face challenges due to frequent transfer of officials as they
have to re-build relationships with district management, and in many cases the programmes go
a few steps back with each new official who needs time to get up to speed.
5.3.2. Management Capacity and Skills Gap
The education managers started their careers as school teachers and were later promoted to
become education managers. These officials had not received any specific trainings on
education management or leadership. For effective delivery of services and efficient
functioning, it is important to build capacity of officials in skills that are relevant to their
positions and important for ensuring improved service delivery in education in the district. For
instance, courses in areas like data analysis and statistics, inspection and evaluation, HR
management etc. can be very useful.
5.3.3. Coordinating District Education Management with Local Government System
In KP, education is one of the mandates of elected local governments, but this study identifies
that linkages between education management and elected local governments are weak. Local
government with their financial envelop and mandate of accountability offer a good
opportunity to support improved education service delivery. According to KP Local
Government Act, 2013, the district governments receive 30 percent of the development budget
under the Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) award and as per the Section 6.5.1 of the
Planning and Development (P&D) guidelines 2015, local governments have to spend 20
percent of this budget on school education. At the districts level, alignment and coordination
between working of education management structures and elected local government is
fragmented and all the efforts and available finances are not used efficiently.
5.3.4. District Management’s Average Time Spent on Different Tasks
Similar to other provinces, administrative
matters take up most of the time of district
education managers’ workday. Around 2.4
hours (30%) of district managers are spent on
issues related to staff service related matters,
attending to court cases, conflict management
among staff, transfer and posting of education
officials/teachers etc. After administrative
matters, school visits also take up much of the officials’ time (22.5%) due to the distance
between schools and district education offices. The study’s data also indicates that considerable
portion of education managers’ time, 15% goes to matters that are not directly related to
improving service delivery at the school level. The officials nevertheless feel compelled to
attend to the calls and visits by various public representatives and political influential people
for fear of repercussions. Officials also spend on average around 10% of their time on meeting
with officials at district and sub-district tier to discuss and resolve various challenges such as
enrolment, students’ achievement, missing facilities and etc.
On average, 15% of the time of
district managers in consumed
in matters not directly related to
improving service delivery at
the school level.
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5.3.5. Initiatives to Improve School Participation and Quality
The study finds aggressive engagement by the officials and school staff with the community
during the enrollment campaigns including door-to-door visits, organizing walks at busy places
within their communities, and involving the religious leaders to encourage people to have their
children enrolled in schools. As compared to other provinces, the use of community walks and
involvement of religious institutions like mosques as a strategy to increase enrollment is
significantly higher in KP than in other provinces. Once the children are enrolled in schools,
many schools also rewards students to encourage regular attendance. The officials in KPK,
similar to those in Punjab, use surprise visits as a strategy to ensure teachers presence in
schools. In addition to the surprise visits of the education official, IMU staff also visits and
reports teacher attendance across all districts. Many officials also assess students on random
basis during their visits to assess students’ learning, however this practice is not common
among all officials.
5.3.6. Disconnect between Planning and Budgeting, and Local Level Challenges
KP has developed district education plans but mainly using the aggregate district level data
available with the province. The aggregate data is not sufficient to identify the intra-district
inequities and disparities that need to be addressed through targeted planning and service
provision. There is need to improve localized targeted planning by collecting and utilizing
local (union council and village level) data that depicts local level challenges, especially
highlighting inequities and vulnerabilities. The sub-district targeted operational plans can then
be aggregated at district level and like the most recent practice district plans could be
aggregated to add to provincial ESP. This way educational inequities can be identified, and
targeted remedial actions can be taken utilizing all available resources.
5.3.7. Time Spent on Different Tasks during School Visits
During an observation visit, a district official spends around 3½ hours (198 minutes) in one
school on average. During the visit, two major tasks performed by the officials including
student achievement assessment (23 percent of total time spent) and mentoring support (17
percent of total time spent).
5.3.8. Coordination and Communication between Province, District and Sub-District
Tiers
19
25
45
33
23
25
28
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Others
Teachers and Students Attendance
Students' Achievement and Assessment
Mentoring and Support
Monitoring of Learning Environment
Reporting and Data Collection
Administration and Funds Utilization
AverageTime Spent on Tasks in School Visit (in Minutes)
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The role of the province is crucial in ensuring effective service delivery at the district level,
whether it relates to timely releases of budget, supply of textbooks on time, planning teacher
training for the teachers or other activities, and for all these activities close coordination with
the districts is crucial. On province-district coordination, delays have been observed in
textbook delivery at times, and sometimes the provincial authorities do not respond in a timely
manner to district queries or needs.
At the district level, monthly review meetings are conducted on regular basis. These meetings
focus upon issues and challenges and review progress against various key education indicators.
This study identifies that there is poor coordination between district officials and schools; with
officials hardly visiting the schools and the meetings are sporadic and much fewer in frequency.
5.3.9. District and School Capacity Needs
This study finds the need of building the capacity of district officials in order to enable them
to perform their assigned responsibilities more efficiently. Around 83 percent of the district
officials agreed that they need training to equip them better for their responsibilities. The areas
identified in this regard are:
a. School monitoring
b. Budget preparation and financial management
c. Data collection, analysis and report writing
d. Record keeping
e. IT training
f. Community mobilization
g. PC-1 preparation
Regarding the school principals, the following training needs have been identified through this
study:
a. School and staff management
b. School budgeting and financial management
c. Communications and use of IT
d. Reporting
e. Community mobilization
f. Student assessments
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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
Conclusion and Recommendations
The report concludes that effective education service delivery is compromised due to serious
overlapping, unclear, and at times missing official mandates; operational challenges;
administrative loopholes; and capacity deficits at the provincial and district education
departments. It is also exacerbated due to poor horizontal (within province and within districts)
and vertical coordination across the education tiers (province to district to schools). The study
highlights significant gaps, and in a number of cases overlaps, between practices and mandated
roles of the wings and attached institutions of education departments.
Existing job descriptions and rules of business and regulatory frameworks are not sufficiently
clear or detailed when it comes to coordination across entities and hierarchies, whether
horizontal or vertical. It is evident that bureaucratic and administrative routines and clear
protocols are not in place. Various offices of the education departments, particularly at the
district tier, respond to education challenges in an ad hoc manner instead of offering systematic
and sustainable solutions to the challenges of education service delivery. Best practices are not
systematically identified and then embedded in the system when it comes to routine operations.
Districts also do not play an active role in strategic planning despite the fact that they are best
placed to identify issues, set priorities and design localized, targeted responses.
In terms of mandates and policies, there are certain areas that need to be strengthened. In order
to ensure the necessary routines and create a culture that ensures effective service delivery,
there is a need to create SOPs, make sure they are well understood, and then hold officials
accountable for them. Furthermore, the study highlights skill deficits among officials at various
levels of district education administration for effective education service delivery which need
to be addressed to improve the chances for more effective inter-level education management
in support of school-level service delivery.
In view of the above discussion, following are some recommendations to improve education
service delivery:
1. Devise a Consolidated Framework Clearly Delineating Roles, Responsibilities and
Linkages of each Entity at Provincial and District Level
Over the years the role and mandates of key provincial institutions have been redefined and
at times expanded through various notifications. This results in overlaps in mandates. There
is need to bring all provincial entities together to deliberate upon their mandated roles and
responsibilities. Any overlaps, duplications and blurred lines of responsibility should be
eliminated with mutual consultation of all stakeholders under the guidance of education
department and political leadership. Each province should develop a consolidated
framework or rules that should clearly define and elaborate the mandate and responsibilities
of each provincial education entity as well as district and sub-district management. While
finalizing mandates and responsibilities of departments their operational linkages and
coordination linkages (both vertical and horizontal) should also be discussed, finalized and
documented.
2. Political Will and Support to Address Political Economy Challenges
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The culture of assigning overlapping mandates to existing departments or establishing
parallel structures to perform overlapping functions is not just a technical and
administrative issues, it is also a political challenge. Political decisions influence every
aspect of education management and service delivery ranging from legislation to budgetary
allocations to provision of required administrative and teaching staff in the department and
schools. Considering this, there is need to create and influence political will in every
province in favour of clearly defined mandates, improved management practices for
targeted planning, needs responsive budgeting and sustaining education reforms that
demonstrate significant results. To manage strong political interests and promote evidence-
based decision making there is need to a) generate evidence on the political economy that
causes the emergence of parallel structures and/or assigning of overlapping mandates to
existing attached institutions, and b) garner strong political will to discourage and even
reverse the practices of establishing parallel structures and assigning overlapping mandates
to provincial institutions.
3. Minimize or Avoid Frequent Transfers of Senior Officials and Education Managers
Appointment of senior education management officials for a considerable time period is a
pre-requisite for effective education service delivery. In this regard, the education
departments must ensure that senior provincial and district staff complete their mandated
tenure of 3 years before their transfer/posting in line with the service rules. Moreover,
transfer/postings should be based upon well-defined and merit-based criteria, which would
accord due weightage to seniority, staff performance, duration at existing post, etc. This
merit-based and criterion-driven approach to transfers and postings will help ensure
effective education planning, service delivery and accountability at provincial and district
levels
4. Improve Accuracy, Depth and Integration of Data Systems
The education department in each province should integrate all available data-sets and
information sources (e.g. EMIS, monitoring unit data, assessment data and teacher’s
information system) on one accessible portal. Besides integration at one platform, the depth
and diversity of data should also be improved especially by regularly collecting data on
quality indicators, social and economic inequities, disability profiles, etc.
5. Capacitate and Create Specialized Pool of Education Managers
Provincial governments should design programmes and career pathways for capacitating
not only existing managers that have teaching background but also for aspiring school
leaders and teachers. Through well-designed career pathways and professional
development courses, specialized pool of education managers should be developed that is
capable of managing effective education service delivery.
6. Improve Vertical and Horizontal Communication and Operational Linkages of
District Education Management
District education management is not adequately represented at the policy-making,
planning and budgeting processes both at provincial and district levels. There is need to
improve role of districts in provision of missing facilities, designing CPD programs for
teachers, allocation of non-salary and development budgets and designing direct
interventions to improve learning outcomes in the schools. Engagement of district
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management with provincial entities in policy-setting, planning and financing on key
education functions will help to improve ownership, understanding and management of
province-led initiatives at the district level. Within the district there is need to improve
coordination, communication and operational linkages of district education management
with the elected local governments, district administration and stakeholder forums like
DEGs in Balochistan. Improved vertical and horizontal coordination of district education
management will create the momentum for swift and successful implementation of plans
and strategies to improve quality and outreach of education services.
7. Enhance Institutional Capacities for Equity-responsive Targeted Planning and
Budgeting at District Level
Enhanced capacities at the institutional and individual levels are required to make the
education policy, planning and budgeting processes more responsive to equity challenges
and local needs of each district. Each province should develop comprehensive capacity
development programmes to enhance knowledge and skills of education managers at
provincial and district levels towards making pro-equity and gender responsive plans and
budgets. The capacity development efforts should also sensitize the education managers
about the approaches and planning techniques to reduce or manage political influences in
favour of needs-based planning and equity responsive budgeting.
8. Devolve Functions related to Administrative and Financial Matters to the District
Level
Provincial Governments must devolve some administrative functions and financial matters
to the district level. Based on the principal of subsidiarity, functions such as recruitment of
staff on contract basis, building of additional classrooms, purchase of furniture and other
equipment, teachers transfer and posting etc. must be devolved to the appropriate level of
district education administration for effective service delivery.
9. Developing Operational SOPs
There is need to identify, embed and institutionalize, and share best practices for effective
service delivery. In order to embed and institutionalize the best practices for effective
service delivery, there is a need to develop operational SOPs dealing with planning,
coordination and monitoring at provincial and district levels. The best practices need to be
identified systematically and should then disseminated widely to ensure effective adaption
and scale-up.
10. Improve Coordination and Linkages between Student Assessments, Teacher
Training and Textbooks Development
The study highlights that student assessments and examinations should be on the centre-
stage for teachers training and textbooks/materials development. The findings of
assessments and examinations must drive teachers training programs, teachers training
modules and the development of textbooks and learning materials to ensure alignment
between core education functions. This will help to improve design and delivery of quality
education services.
Report on Education Management and Service Delivery at the District Level in Pakistan
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