study on the increase of number of female teachers...
TRANSCRIPT
Study on the Increase of Number of
FEMALE TEACHERS
IN
RURAL SCHOOLS
Dr. Eshya Mujahid-Mukhtar
DNESCO
The views expressed in this document are not those of U N E S C O
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE 5
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S 7
EXECUTIVE S U M M A R Y 9
INTRODUCTION 15
— Objective of the Study 15 — Focus of the Study 15 — Methodology of the Study 16 — Limitations of the Study 17
SITUATION ANALYSIS 19 1. Profile of the Education Sector 19
— National Level Analysis 19 — Provincial Level Analysis 21
2. Profile of Primary School Teachers: 25 — Importance of Female Teachers in Primary Schools 25 — N u m b e r and Distribution of Primary School Teachers 26 — Teacher Training 26 — Capability of Primary School Teachers 30
R E V I E W A N D ASSESSMENT O F POLICIES A N D P R O G R A M M E S
F O R E N H A N C I N G T H E N U M B E R A N D CAPABILITIES O F
F E M A L E PRIMARY TEACHERS IN RURAL AREAS 33
R E V I E W 33 — Education For A U (ERA) 34 — The Education Policy (1992) 34 — Social Action Programme (SAP): 1992 35 — S A P Provincial Operational Plans: 1999/2000: A Brief Review 37 — The National Education Policy (1998-2010) 39
ASSESSMENT 41 — Change in Primary Enrollments 41 — Change in the Number and Percentage of Female Teachers 42 — Changes in Allocations to Teacher Education 44 — Change in Capabilities of Primary Teachers 45
EXPLORATORY FIELD-BASED ASSESSMENT 49 — Focus Group Discussions 49 — Key Findings of Survey 50
CONCLUSION A N D RECOMMENDATIONS 61
PREFACE
Experiences of the developed, as well as developing countries, reveal that female
teachers are better equipped by nature to bring up, and educate children at the primary
level. Moreover, that there is a greater need in the developing countries to focus on the
rural population, and females in particular, for their literacy rate is significantly lower
than the males. This is possible if there are trained teachers available in sufficient
numbers to run schools in the rural areas.
These important aspects have been fully borne in mind to achieve E F A , as
recommended by the High-level Meeting of the Secretaries of Education held in
Nagarkot, Nepal in August, 1997, which was attended by Bangladesh, India, Nepal and
Pakistan. T h e present study has been sponsored by U N E S C O Regional Office in
Bangkok, as a follow-up to the Nepal Meeting. It is a synthesis of earlier literature on
the subject and data generated from the provinces. Containing valuable information, it
is specially important in the social context of Pakistan, where majority of the people
living in the rural areas, prefer to send their daughters to schools, which are run and
managed by female teachers.
T h e researcher concludes that female teachers have a positive impact on female
enrolment, regular attendance and academic performance. M o r e female teachers in the
rural areas, where the rate of literacy is the lowest in the country, should therefore
enable girls in gaining access to basic education. It is hoped that this report will facilitate
exchange of information with the other E - 9 countries, and help in evolving a broad-
based framework, for the sub-regional programme for female teachers.
I appreciate the efforts m a d e by Dr . Eshya Mujahid in the synthesis of data and
information, and preparing this report. I also express m y thanks to the provincial field
teams w h o , provided useful data through field surveys. I hope the report will also
provide useful information to educational planners, and administrators and those
interested in female education in the rural areas of Pakistan.
August 2000 P. K . Kasaju
Director/Representative
U N E S C O , Islamabad
5
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
T h e present study, a synthesis of available literature and data on the subject was made
possible with the assistance and cooperation of a number of individuals and
organizations. I wish to extend m y appreciation and gratitude to all of them and
especially to U N E S C O Office, Islamabad for the opportunity given to m e to prepare
this report.
I wish in particular to extend m y gratitude to Dr . (Mrs.) Anjum Riyazul-Haque
(Programme Specialist, U N E S C O ) for her guidance and technical inputs; to M r .
Arshad Saeed K h a n (Programme Officer, U N E S C O ) for his valuable inputs to
formulation of the questionnaire, and expert technical advice; to Professor Attiya
Batool (Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad), Professor Kamaluddin (Deputy
Director, Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Centre, Quetta, and Mr . Sher
M o h a m m a d Baloch (Principal, Govt. Elementary College of Education, Khairpur)
w h o , despite summer heat, completed their work within the stipulated time.
I also wish to thank M s . Shahnaz Wazir Ali (Education Specialist, World Bank,
Islamabad), M s . Nargis Sultana (Technical Specialist, World Bank, Islamabad), Dr.
Zafar Iqbal, O p e n University, Islamabad), and Dr. M u h a m m a d Saleem (Assistant
Educational Adviser, P N E Wing, Ministry of Education, Islamabad) for sharing the
relevant information for the study. Thanks are also due to the specialists w h o
participated in the seminar, and extended invaluable suggestions, to M r . Fakhar-ud-
Din, for skillfully preparing the electronic presentation for the seminar, and Mr. Meraj
A h m a d for grappling with all the logistical problems during the study.
July 2000 Dr. Eshya Mujajid Mukhtar
7
EXECUTIVE S U M M # 1 ^ ~ ^ N N
•5-' ^xitM^ .
^
G S * & \ -•'•"-* . »
; of theS5eäteta:t Based o n the recommendation of the High-Level Meeting of the^Se'a'etariejí oí¡
Education held in Nagarkot, Nepal in August 1997, ct%jaulttáions a m o n / ^ h ' e
Governmen t s of Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan took laàs ifter whicfí^mese
countries agreed to adopt strategies, for increasing female primal-teachers in rural
This Study attempts to review and assess the country specific policies and programmes ,
in particular provisions and strategies, adopted during the 1990s, to enhance the number
andcapabilitiesof female teachers in rural areas.
Situation Analysis
Based o n secondary information, the Study develops a detailed situation analysis of the
country's education sector, and the profile of primary teachers, the key features of
which are:
— unlike urban areas, there is a wide gender gap in the primary stage enrollments in
rural areas
— lower proportion of female primary schools teachers in rural areas vis-à-vis male
teachers
— the relative importance of female teachers in primary schools: a female teacher,
compared to a male teacher, has a higher positive impact on students' academic performance,
especially in rural areas
— lower proportion of trained female primary teachers than their male counterparts;
limited capabilities of female teachers, especially in Mathematics.
Review of Policies/Programmes
The Study reviews the following key policies/programmes, in the context of
recruitment and training of primary teachers, particularly females:
• Education For A U ( E F A ) 1990
In die context of teacher recruitment and training, E F A stressed the recruitment of
academically qualified teaching staff, certified to teach. Besides enhancing girls
primary education in terms of access and quality, through establishing 107,000 n e w
primary and m o s q u e schools,/>rowj7o«j' were to be made for training and recruitment of 265,000
school teachers, andforprovidingfemak teachers in mixed schools as well.
9
• Education Policy (1992)
This Education Policy, announced shortly after the E F A Conference, focused on the
following issues, which included an emphasis on in-service training programmes for primary
school teachers in government schools.
• Social Action P r o g r a m m e (SAP) 1992/93
With highest share (over 60%) of resources allocated to it, education is the most
important component of SAP. Under this, key targets included increasing primary
enrollments, and improving the quality of education imparted, with special emphasis
on females and rural areas.. It realized that availability of female teachers in less
developed and rural areas, posed a problem for operation of girls' schools. In order to
overcome this problem, SAP ensured flexibility of recruitment rules (such as relaxation of age and
qualification requirements), for female teachers in these areas, with preference for female teachers from
the local community.
• National Education Policy (1998-2010)
The main priority area of the National Education Policy, besides educating and training
the future generation of Pakistan as true practising Muslims, includes basic education,
which consists of universal primary education, and increasing the rate of literacy.
Policy Targets
S o m e key targets of the n e w Education Policy (1998-2010) include:
— T o achieve universal primary education by using formal and non-formal
approaches, to provide a second opportunity to school drop-outs, by establishing
basic education c o m m u n i t y schools all over the country
— T o m e e t the basic learning needs of children in terms of learning tools and
contents
— T o ensure that all boys and girls, desirous of entering secondary education, get
access to schools
— T o increase the effectiveness of the system by institutionalizing in-service training
of teachers, teacher trainers and educational administrators. T o upgrade the
quality of pre-service teacher training p rog rammes , by introducing parallel
p r o g r a m m e s of longer duration, at post-secondary and post-degree levels
— T o develop a viable framework for policy, planning and development of teacher
training p r o g r a m m e s , both in-service and pre-service, and
— T o develop technical and vocational education in the country for producing
trained m a n p o w e r , commensura te with the needs of the industry.
10
Policy Provisions For Recruitment and Training of Teachers
S o m e key policy provisions for training of teachers are as follows:
• Effective measures shall be taken to strengthen in-service institutions, for
providing regular and quality in-service training, to the existing corps of
educational administrators
• Both formal and non-formal means shall be used to provide increased
opportunities of in-service training to the working teachers, preferably at least
once in five years
• Special arrangements shall be m a d e for the training of teacher educators by using
the National Institute of Teachers Education, and its affiliated centres
• T h e curriculum and the methods of instruction in teacher training institutions,
shall be reviewed and revised, for bringing them in line with the requirements of
m o d e r n trends in this field
• Special incentives shall be provided to attract and retain talented students in the
teaching profession
• A n e w stream of vocational and technical training shall be introduced in pre-
service teacher training institutions, initially at post-degree level
• A n e w cadre of teacher educators shall be created.
Assessment of Policies/Programmes
A n assessment of the policies /programmes reveals that considerable progress was
m a d e in terms of increase in enrollments, teacher recruitment and training. M o r e
specifically:
— empirical evidence suggests that female enrollments have increased both in urban
and rural areas; supporting evidence is provided by the reduction of female drop
out rates in both areas
— student-teacher ratio for females has increased from 41 in 1985/86, to 61 in
1998/99
— female students as a percentage of total students, increased from 3 3 % in 1985/86,
to 41 .5% in 1998/99; however, female teachers as percentage of total teachers,
remained constant (around 32%). Similarly, female schools as percentage of total
schools remained constant (around 28%)
— expenditure on teacher education, as percentage of total education expenditure,
remained constant over the past three five-year plans. Despite a relatively higher
allocation to teacher education in the 8" Plan (1993-98), expenditures failed to
increase. This could be partly, because stated policy was not implemented
11
practically, due to lack of ownership of these polices at the ground level, or
alternatively, the systemic inertia and implementation problems counteracted fhe
policy direction
— in the context of improvements in teachers' capabilities (assessed through training
opportunities availed), besides fhe pre-service and in-service training of female
primary teachers, in regular institutions all over the country, which train 200
students per institution per a n n u m , the Allama Iqbal O p e n University has
contributed effectively in training primary school teachers
— Several innovative schemes for teacher training were also sponsored by donors e.g.
T h e Mobile Teachers Training P r o g r a m m e in Balochistan which trained about
3,300 girls in remote rural areas, and T h e Primary Teacher Mentoring P r o g r a m m e
( P T M P ) in Balochistan under which, by June 1999, 22 of Balochistan's districts
(involving approximately 7,000 teachers) were participating, or had completed two
years of direct support, as part of the programmes. There were several other
similar initiatives undertaken in other provinces as well.
Exploratory Field-based Assessment
T o supplement the findings and assessments derived from secondary sources, an
exploratory field-based assessment was undertaken as part of this Study. Howeve r ,
given the time and resource constraints, it was not possible to stretch the field-based
assessment, to cover a large sample; instead, it was confined to the rural areas of one
district per province. In addition, the District Education Officers collected s o m e
insights through focus group discussions.
Information from the field yielded the following conclusions:
1. Female teachers have a positive impact o n female students' enrollment, regular
attendance, and academic performance.
2. M o s t teachers report that recruitment of primary teachers is generally not merit-
based, and that government rules and regulations are too strict.
3. There is a shortage of female teachers in rural areas, largely due to shortage of
qualified teachers, socio-cultural constraints, and lack of appropriate transport
facilities.
4 . Transport problems, and the related concern for security, are a severe constraint on
attracting female teachers in rural areas.
5. There is also a lack of in-service training opportunities for rural teachers, except in
areas e.g. Balochistan, where training schemes, such as the mobile teaching
training, primary teachers mentoring programmes, and other similar innovative
schemes have been active.
6. Teachers d o not seem "adequately satisfied" by the monetary incentives. M o s t of
them however, are reasonably well-satisfied with the respect thev get from
12
administration, colleagues and students. They feel nevertheless, that most parents
do not take sufficient interest in their children's education, nor do they respect or
cooperate fully with the teachers.
7. M o s t teachers are satisfied with the work environment; in some areas, however, the
lack of electricity' supply can create problems, especially during the summer heat.
^commendations
Based o n the information from the secondary and primary sources, the following are a
set of recommendations or "guidelines", for improving the number and capabilities of
female teachers in the rural areas:
1. Recruitment of all teachers should be based on the criteria of "local recruitment",
and merit.
2. Transport problems in rural areas need to be addressed urgently. This would not
only greatly help in meeting the shortage of female teachers in these areas, but also
encourage w o m e n to participate in other economic activities e.g., health services,
family planning services, and other public or private sector employment.
3. T o improve the monetary package for teachers, an additional "rural teachers"
allowance should be added, to the regular salary of female teachers in rural areas.
4. M o r e in-service training opportunities should be provided to rural teachers
through programmes, which "take the training to the teacher", instead of
dislocating the teacher for the training.
5. Donors can focus on the improvement of in-service training programmes, besides
solving the transport problems (with pilotprojects, as a beginning).
It is hoped that the n e w policy measures of parents-teacher committees and the
incentive scheme for rewarding dedicated and honest teachers, would add to the
respect accorded to the teacher, by the parents and the community.
Umitations of the Study
T h e Study is multi-faceted. Although, its focus on female primary teachers in rural
areas appears simple, but in a country like Pakistan where education is a provincial
subject, the scope of study was expanded manifold: pronounced variations in
educational indicators, and number and capabilities of primary teachers across these
provinces, besides the fact that all levels of schools (e.g. middle and high ) conduct
primary teaching as well, the study proved too ambitious, particularly with reference to
the time and resource limits allotted.
13
In addition, the study required the consideration o f too m a n y statistical comparative
d imensions for each province e.g.,
(a) female pr imary teachers vs. m a l e primary teachers.
(b) female/male rural primary teachers vs. female/male urban primary teachers.
(c) f ema le /ma le ; urban/rural; a n d trained/untrained primary school teachers.
A n exploratory field-based assessment, m o r e o v e r w a s a d d e d to s u p p l e m e n t secondary
data with fresh insights f rom the field. H o w e v e r , this, too, given the resource a n d t ime
constraint, w a s limited in scope a n d sample size.
14
INTRODUCTION
Based o n the recommendat ion of the High-Level Meeting of the Secretaries of
Education held in Nagarkot, Nepa l in August 1997, consultations with the
G o v e r n m e n t s of Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan took place, and subsequently
these countries agreed to adopt strategies for increasing female primary teachers in
rural areas. Experiences, from South Asia, and also other parts of the world s h o w that
a female teacher in the school tends to reassure parents, and thus m a k e s a positive
impact o n participation and retention of girls in primary schools. T h e nature and extent
of the impact however vary from o n e socio-economic and cultural context to another,
and there are other factors which contribute as well, such as distance to school,
relevance of curriculum, availability of water/toilets/learning materials, and
opportunity costs. There is n o doubt that female teachers especially in rural schools
have a major role to play, in increasing and improving girls' participation in primary
education. A female teacher can provide a role m o d e l to girls and their parents, and
contribute to the pull factor of the school and the education system. Quality of female
teachers, would indeed play an important role in influencing the quality of basic
education, for girls as well as boys.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
This Study attempts to review and assess the country specific policies and programmes ,
existing provisions and strategies which have been adopted to enhance the number and
capabilities offemale teachers in rural areas.
FOCUS OFTHE STUDY
In this context, the Study will:
1. Rev iew and assess country specific policies and p rog rammes , focusing on analysis
of national schemes, and plans for increasing the percentage of female teachers in
the teaching force.
2 . Assess on-going country p r o g r a m m e s .
3. Identification of problems and obstacles to increase female teachers.
4 . R e c o m m e n d improvement of present policies and strategies for increasing female
teachers in rural areas, aiming at promoting girls' access to basic education.
T h e Study is divided into the following five sections: T h e first section comprises the
Introduction, Objectives, Focus and Methodology of the study. T h e second section presents
the Situation Analysis, based o n a description of the current situation in the country's
primary education sector along with a profile of female primarv teachers, particularly in
15
rural areas. T h e next section reviews and assesses the Government Policies and Programmes
adopted in the 1990s, with an overview of the existing provisions and strategies,
adopted to enhance the number and capabilities of primary school teachers. It also
includes a brief review and analysis of selected innovative schemes, implemented in
Pakistan, to increase the number and capabilities of primary school teachers: T h e
fourth section is based on rural-based Exploratory Fieid-basecL-îssessment of four selected
districts in Pakistan, focusing on the conditions and problems faced by female primary
school teachers. T h e final section includes a set of Recommendations for improvement
of present policies and strategies, for increasing female teachers in rural areas.
METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
T h e Study is a qualitative analysis, based on two kinds of information:
1. Published or secondary information
Recent information from reliable national sources is used to:
• develop the Situation Analysis for primary education, highlighting the profile
of female primary school teachers;
Q review and assess the country-specific policies and programmes implemented
during the 1990s, which particularly address issues related to increasing the
number of female teachers and their capabilities; and
Q compile an inventory of key donor-sponsored programmes and projects
which address issues related to enhancement of number and capabilities of
primary female teachers, particularly in rural areas.
2. Primary data or field-based information
T o supplement the above analysis and present the actual situation regarding
conditions faced by female teachers in rural areas, a survey based on limited sample
was conducted.. T h e questionnaire was administered to rural female teachers only
in one selected district in each of the four provinces. Respondents were asked
about their levels of satisfaction with economic incentives, work environment,
government rules and regulations, and the nature of work load. In addition,
respondents were asked about the quality of students, the attitudes of parents
towards teachers, the transportation/other problems faced by the teachers, and the
nature of in-service training opportunities available to them. Information from
focus-group discussions organized by the District Education Officers ( D E O s ) in
these districts also helped in assessing the conditions of female teachers in rural
areas.
16
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
T h e S tudy is multi-faceted. A l t h o u g h , its focus o n female pr imary teachers in rural
areas appears simple, but in a country like Pakistan w h e r e education is a provincial
subject, the scope o f study w a s e x p a n d e d manifold: p r o n o u n c e d variations in
educational indicators a n d n u m b e r a n d capabilities o f pr imary teachers across the
provinces, besides the fact that all levels o f schools (e.g. midd le a n d high ) conduc t
pr imary teaching as well, the study p roved too ambitious particularly with reference to
the time a n d resource limits allotted.
In addition, the study required the consideration of too m a n y statistical comparative
d imens ions for each province e.g.,
(a) female pr imary teachers vs. m a l e primary teachers.
(b) female/male rural primary teachers vs. female/male urban primary teachers.
(c) f e m a l e / m a l e ; urban/rural; a n d trained/untrained primary school teachers.
Besides, a n exploratory field-based assessment w a s a d d e d to supp lemen t secondary
data, with fresh insights f r o m the field. H o w e v e r , this, too, given the resource a n d time
constraint w a s limited in scope a n d sample size.
17
SITUATION ANALYSIS
Pakistan achieved steady increases in economic growth and development levels over
the past five decades but, unfortunately, these failed to translate into any substantial
progress in social indicators. H u m a n resource development, particularly education, a
key sector in the social sphere, did not register any substantial progress: adult literacy
levels are very low, and despite concerted efforts during the past decade, gross and net
enrollments in primary education increased slowly, with high drop-out rates a m o n g
girls in rural areas. Quality of education remains poor with shortage of qualified and
motivated teachers, high degree of teacher absenteeism, and limited opportunities for
in-service teachers training. Defective management, and lack of supervision
accentuate the problems faced by the education sector in Pakistan.
This section is based on a statistical situation analysis of Pakistan's education sector,
highlighting, wherever possible, the discrepancies across gender, provinces and
locations (rural vs. urban). The analysis comprises the following two parts:
1. Profile of the Education Sector
This partis based on two levels of analysis:
(i) National Level Analysis, and
(ii) Provincial Level Analysis
2. Profile of Primary School Teachers.
1. PROFILE OF THE EDUCATION SECTOR
(I) NationalLevelslnalysis
T h e participation rates in Pakistan range between 7 7 % for primary level, to 36% for
higher school level, with 51% for the middle school level (Table 1). Participation of
females in education is lower than for males at each level of education but the gap is the
widest (30%) at the primary level, than at the middle (almost 27%), and higher levels
(19%).
TABLE 1 Participation Rates by Level of Education
(1998-99)
Level
Primary Level (Class I-V)
Middle Level (Class VI-VIII)
Higher Level (Class IX-X)
Year 1998/99
Male
92
64
45
Female
62
37
26
All
77
51
36 Source: Economic Survey 1998/99; Finance Division; Govt, of Pakistan
1 Depending on data availability
19
T h e public educational institutions in Pakistan, too, exhibit a marked difference across
gender (Table 2). Given that the bulk of the population resides in rural areas, it is not
surprising to observe that mos t of the schools are located in rural areas, but an
overwhelming proportion of m o s q u e and primary schools (over 90%), are located in
rural areas. Although there is a similar distribution between boys and girls schools in
urban areas, but rural areas display a wide divergence with institutions for boys far
outnumbering those for girls. It is, however, interesting to note that there is a higher
proportion of higher secondary schools for girls, than for boys in the urban areas.
TABLE 2 Number and Distribution of Schools offering Primary Education
By Gender and Location
(1997-98)
NO. of Schools
%Boys
%Girls
%Mixed
%URBAN
%Boys
%Girls
%Mixed
%RURAL
%Boys
%Girls -
%Mixed
Mosque
29,772
66.07
1.34
32.59
8.07
5.44
0.27
2.37
91.93
60.63
1.07
30.22
Primary
94,865
54.91
38.87
6.22
9.92
4.63
4.37
0.92
90.08
50.27
34.50
5.30
Middle
9,715
50.58
45.39
4.02
14.22
7.18
6.56
0.47
85.78
43.40
38.84
3.55
High
7,544
67.48
29.29
3.22
28.59
15.95
12.10
0.54
71.41
51.54
17.19
2.68
H i g h Sec
526
57.98
37.83
4.18
44.87
19.58
23.57
1.71
55.13
38.40
14.26
2.47
Total
142,422
57.62
30.96
11.42
10.95
5.63
4.14
1.18
89.05
51.99
26.82
10.24
Calculations for Pakistan are based only on the four provinces; these exclude Islamabad Capital
Territory (I CT); the Federally AdministeredTribal'Areas (FATA), and Northern Areas (NA). Source: School Education Census (EMIS); 1997/98; Academy of Education Planning and Management;
Government of Pakistan.
Statistics for primary stage indicate that almost 6 0 % students enrolled are boys, and
only 4 0 % are girls (Table 3). Similar to institutions, enrollments, too, are mostly (80%) in
rural, than in urban (20%) areas. T h e gender gap in enrollments is m u c h wider in rural
than in urban areas, and therefore policy needs to address this issue and raise rural female
enrollments.
20
TABLE3 Primary Stage Enrollments and Distribution by Gender and Location
(1997-98)
Enrollment
%Bojs
%Girh
%URBAN
%Bojs
%Gir/s
%RURAL
%Bojs
%Girh
Katchi
2,556,978
59.72
40.28
14.01
7.12
6.89
85.99
52.59
33.40
Pakki
2,256,404
60.16
39.84
21.59
11.15
10.44
78.41
49.00
29.40
Class 2
1,846,424
60.82
39.18
23.04
11.88
11.16
76.96
48.93
28.03
Class 3
1,643,581
61.17
38.83
24.39
12.50
11.90
75.61
48.68
26.93
Class 4
1,498,370
62.19
37.81
26.01
13.48
12.53
73.99
48.71
25.28
Class 5
1,318,324
63.06
36.94
27.77
14.51
13.26
72.23
48.55
23.68
TOTAL
11,120,081
60.93
39.07
21.83
11.26
10.57
78.17
49.68
28.49
Calculations forPakistan are based only on the four provinces; these exclude Islamabad Capital
Territory (1CT), theFederally AdministeredTribal'Areas (FATA), and Northern Areas (NA). Source: School Education Census (EMIS); 1997/98; Academy of Education Planning and Management;
Government of Pakistan.
T h e public sector expenditure on education was estimated at Rs. 68.3 billion in
1998/99. This compares well with the previous year's expenditure of Rs. 64 billion,
and Rs. 58.3 billion in 1996/97. However, as a percentage of G N P , expenditure on
education marks a gradual decline over the past three years (Table 4).
TABLE 4 Public Sector Expenditure on Education
(Rs. m Billion)
Expenditure on Education
Development Expenditure
Non-development Expenditure
TOTAL
Total Expenditure as % of GNP
1996/97
5.90
52.40
58.30
2.50
1997/98
7.90
56.10
64.00
2.25
1998/99
6.10
62.20
68.30
2.20
Source: Economic Survey 1998/99; Finance Division; Govt, of Pakistan
(II) Provincial Level Analysis
In Pakistan, education is a provincial subject. In this respect, each province enjoys
autonomy to adopt measures within the framework of the overall national policy. A s
provinces differ in socio-cultural conditions as well as economic status, often similar
policy measures indicate varying levels of implementation, with varying outcomes.
21
A s such, gross and net enrollments ratios at the primary level, especially for girls, display
considerable differences across province (Table 5). Recent comparative data indicate
thatgross enrollments formales are higher in N W F P (81.7%), and Balochistan (62.7%)
than in Punjab (60.5%) and Sindh (59.3%). Female gross enrollments are highest
(50%) in N W F P , followed by Punjab (47.9%) and Balochistan (40.8%). In Sindh, both
gross (34.5%), and net ((30.7%) enrollments lag far behind than the other provinces.
TABLE 5 Primary Gross and Net Enrollment Ratios by Provinces
(1998)
Gross Enrollment Ratio (%) Male Female All
Net Enrollment Ratio (%) Male Female All
PAKISTAN*
63.6 44.7 54.5
56.5 40.4 48.9
Punjab
60.5 47.9 54.4
54.8 45.7 50.4
Sindh
59.3 34.5 47.5
52.9 30.7 42.3
NWFP
81.7 50.0 66.5
71.7 39.2 56.1
Baloch
62.7 40.8 52.8
50.1 31.3 41.6
Calculations for Pakistan are based only on the four provinces; these exclude Islamabad Capital
Territory (ICT); the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Northern Areas (NA).
Inclusion of these wouldyield higher values
Formulae: Gross Enrolment ratio= N u m b e r of students enrolled in primary classes / Total number of children aged 5-9 years Net Enrolment ratio= N u m b e r of students aged 5-9 years enrolled in primary classes / Total number of children aged 5-9 years Source: Education For All: The Year 2000 Assessment; Country Report (Pakistan); Ministry of Education;
Islamabad.
It is a fact that m o s t children do get admitted to primary school, but the major problem
is their retention in primary classes. Given the poverty, high opportunity- costs of
children attending school (as they are sometimes required to contribute either in the
family's economic activities or to the household chores); parents' low perception about
education, low quality of education, teacher absenteeism, and/or child's poor health,
only one-half of children "survive" primary education upto grade 5.
In Pakistan, the overall survival rate in primary school is almost 5 0 % (Table 6). This rate
is higher for males (54%) than for females (44.1 % ) . It is interesting to note that a m o n g
all provinces, N W F P has the highest overall survival rate (71.7%). This is mainly
attributed to the high survival rate for males (78.5%) in N W F P , whereas it is the females
in Balochistan w h o display highest survival rates (65.3%) in primary schools. Females in
Punjab, surprisingly, have the lowest survival rate (35.4%) a m o n g the provinces.
22
O n e possible reason for this m a y relate to the positive impact on school attendance of
various incentive schemes, launched with active donor involvement through
government departments, to promote the participation of girls in primary education in
N W F P , Balochistan and Sindh. These incentives include: school nutrition
programmes, provision of free textbooks, distribution of edible oil for regular
attendees, fellowships, stipends and other incentives."
TABLEÓ Survival Rate to Grade 5
(1998)
Survival Rate to Grade 5 (%) Male Female A U
Pakistan
53.9 44.1 49.7
Punjab
45.2 35.4 41.5
Sindh
45.0 56.0 51.2
NWFP
78.5 59.9 71.7
Balochistan
54.4 65.3 57J
Source: Education For All: T h e Year 2000 Assessment; Country Report (Pakistan); Ministry of Education; Islamabad.
In the four provinces, there are a total number of 142,422 schools which offer primary
education, with the bulk (85%-90%) of them located in the rural areas (Table 7). Also,
in each province, there are more boys' schools than girls' school except in Punjab where
it is interesting to note that more primary (51.14%) and middle (58.48%) schools are for
girls than for bovs. In Sindh, on average, 40° o schools are reported as mixed schools,
with a predominant proportion (75%) of mosque schools and a smaller proportion
(24°/o) of primary schools functioning as mixed schools.
2 For details refer to Farwa Zafar and Eshya Mujahid-Mukhtar."Incentive Schemes for Promoting Girls' Participation in Primary Education": U N E S C O ; March 2000.
3 Details show that these schools are more for girls in both urban as well as in rural areas.
23
TABLE 7 Province-wise Distribution of Schools Offering Primary Education by
Gender and Location: 1997-98
PUNJAB
% Boys
% Girls
% Urban
% Rural
SINDH
% Boys
% Girls
% Mixed
% Urban
% Rural
N W F P
% Boys
% Girls
% Urban
% Rural
B A L O C H .
% Boys
% Girls
% Urban
% Rural
Mosque
11,889
98.66
1.34
10.51
89.49
12,996
23.49
1.85
74.66
6.59
93.41
4,038
100
0
—
—
849
100
—
—
—
Primary
45,220
48.86
51.14
8.60
91.40
24,886
53.95
22.33
23.72
13.83
86.17
16,731
62.55
37.45
8.25
91.75
8,028
75.97
24.03
8.74
91.26
Middle
5,496
41.52
58.48
12.25
87.75
1,977
51.19
29.03
19.78
20.94
79.06
1,558
68.55
31.45
10.53
89.47
684
80.70
19.30
19.01
80.99
High
4,451
66.39
33.61
24.06
75.94
1,436
55.22
27.86
16.92
52.86
47.14
1,279
80.92
19.08
14.31
85.69
378
81.48
18.52
38.10
61.90
H i g h Sec
273
57.14
42.86
38.10
61.90
121
42.15
39.67
18.18
67.77
32.23
132
74.24
25.76
37.88
62.12
—
—
—
—
—
Total
67,329
58.25
41.75
10.38
89.62
41,416
44.27
16.46
39.27
13.41
86.59
23,738
70.37
29.63
8.44
91.56
9,939
78.56
21.44
10.53
89.47
Source: School Education Census (EMIS); 1997/98; Academy of Education Planning and Management; Government of Pakistan
O f the primary stage enrollments in the provinces, almost two-thirds are boys and one-third are girls - with wider gaps in the rural than in urban areas (Table 8). The gender gap, however, is the smallest in Punjab. The highest (36.6%) urban enrollment is in Sindh, and the highest rural enrollment (86.3%) in N W F P .
24
TABLE 8 Primary Stage Enrollments by Gender and Location
Punjab
Sindh
NWFP
Balochistan
PRIMARY STAGE E N R O L L M E N T S
Province
Total No.
6,013,916
2,222,639
2,294,530
588,996
% Boys
57.5
65.2
65.6
65.4
% Girls
42.5
34.8
35.4
34.6
Urban
% Urban
18.9
36.6
13.7
28.1
% Boys
9.1
19.3
8.1
15.9
% Girls
9.8
17.3
5.6
12.2
Rural
% Rural
81.1
63.4
86.3
71.9
% Boys
48.5
45.9
56.5
49.6
% Girls
32.6
17.5
29.8
22.3
Source: School Education Census (EMIS); 1997/98; A c a d e m y of Education Planning and Management; Government of Pakistan
2. PROFILE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS: IMPORTANCE, NUMBER, TRAINING AND CAPABILITIES
(I) IMPORTANCE OF FEMALE TEACHERS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS
T h e quality of education is strongly correlated with the quality of teaching in the classroom. T h e teacher is considered the most crucial factor in the education system. In the context of girls' education, female teachers play a pivotal role in ensuring girls' enrollment and attendance, and empirical evidence indicates thatfemale teacher also exerts a positive influence on the academic performance of all students, both boys and girls (Table 9). Although, girls perform better w h e n taught by a female teacher yet interestingly, boys performed better w h e n taught by a female teacher, whether in urban or rural area.
TABLE 9 Students' Composite Score According to Teacher's Gender
Teacher's gender
Female
Male
URBAN
Girls
63
53
Boys
60
56
Total
62
54
RURAL
Girls
63
50
Boys
71
59
Total
64
55
Source: Determinants of Primary Students' Achievements; National Survey Results; M S U ; Islamabad; 1995
25
(II) N U M B E R AND DISTRIBUTION OF PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS
In the public educational institutions offering primary education, there are a total of
586,476 teachers in Pakistan, with almost 5 0 % in primary schools (Table 10). O n
average, over 6 0 % of all teachers are males while the remaining i.e., about 4 0 % , are
females. H o w e v e r , there are wide discrepancies between urban and rural areas: almost
3 0 % of teachers teach in urban institutions, whereas 7 0 % teach in rural institutions.
There is an almost equal distribution between male and female teachers in urban areas,
in all kinds of institutions, except m o s q u e schools (which are predominantly male
institutions), hvctgendergap is very wide in rural areas where almost male teachers are almost twice as
many as female teachers. This is in line with the gender gap in rural schools and
enrollments.
TABLE 10 N u m b e r of Teachers in Institutions Offering Primary Education
by Gender and Location
Total Number
Total %
Male
Female
U R B A N
Male
Female
RURAL
Male
Female
M o s q u e
39,558
100.0
97.6
2.4
13.3
11.6
1.7
86.7
85.9
0.7
Primary
281,643
100.0
60.2
39.8
22.8
11.2
11.5
77.2
48.9
28.3
Middle
109,159
100.0
53.5
46.5
33.7
16.4
17.3
66.3
37.1
29.2
High
134,855
100.0
65.9
34.1
44.0
23.8
20.2
56.0
42.1
14.0
Higher Secondary
21,261
100.0
57.6
42.4
59.2
27.5
31.7
40.8
30.1
10.7
All Institutes
586,476
100.0
62.7
37.3
30.4
15.7
14.7
69.6
47.0
22.7
Source: School Education Census (EMIS); 1997/98; Academy of Education Planning and Management; Government of Pakistan
(III) TEACHER TRAINING
It is heartening to observe, that the impact of teachers' training o n student
performance is very encouraging (Table 11). Students taught by pre-service trained
teachers, tend to score better academically, than those taught by non-trained teachers,
especially in rural areas.
4 Refer to Tables 2 & 3.
26
TABLE 11 Students' Composite Score According to Teacher's Pre-Service
Training
Pre-service Training
O f Teacher
Training received
Training not received
URBAN
Girls
63
61
Boys
58
57
Total
61
59
RURAL
Girls
66
58
Boys
68
53
Total
67
55
Source: Determinants of Primary Students' Achievements; National Survey Results; M S U ; Islamabad; 1995
In Pakistan, there are 90 Colleges of Elementary Education which offer teacher
training programmes for P T C (Primary Teaching Certificates), and C T (Certificate in
Teaching) to primary school teachers (Table 12). For secondary school teachers, there
are 16 Colleges of Education, offering graduate degrees in education, and there are 9
university departments which train teachers at the master's level. There are only 4
institutions which offer in-service teacher training. Besides, the Allama Iqbal O p e n
University, Islamabad, offers a very comprehensive teachers' training programme,
based on distance learning (see Box I).
TABLE 12 Teachers' Training Institutions by Province
Programmes and Institutions
P T C / C T (GCETs)
B.Ed/B.S.(College of Educ.)
M . E d / M . A . (Ed.)/Univ.Deptts
In-service Educ.
P.I.TE.s
Punjab
34
8
4
1
1
Sindh
24
4
2
1
1
NWFP
18
2
2
1
1
Baloch
10
1
1
1
1
Federal
4
1
0
0
0
Total
90
16
9
4
4
Source: Education For All: The Year 2000 Assessment; Country Report (Pakistan); Ministry of Education; Islamabad.
27
Box I Allama Iqbal Open University's Teacher Training Trogramme
Allama Iqbal Open University was the first Distance Education Institute of South East Asia. Established in 1975, its Institute of Education is one of its main teachers' training institution. Its initial responsibility was the in-service training of 155,000 primary school teachers, with the n e w primary curriculum introduced in the country, the Primary Teachers Orientation Course ( P T O C ) . In 1985, the Teacher Education Department was established as a separate department, the largest department catering for training of both in-service and pre-service teachers.
Objectives: Besides focal objectives of in-service and pre-service training of teachers, the department also works towards:
— Introducing innovations in teacher education through the distance teaching system of the university.
— Updating teacher education curricula in view of latest research in the field.
— Designing and launching teacher training programmes at different levels.
— Preparing study materials and courses for teacher education.
— Conducting research related to child psychology.
Pre-Service Programmes:
There are two pre-service teachers training programmes offered by A I O U :
(i) Primary Teaching Certificate ( P T C ) : This is a five credit p r o g r a m m e for training teachers, teaching grades 1 -5. During 1980-99,288,604 teachers were been trained, of w h o m 5 6 % were females; another 78,922 teachers are presendy enrolled, of w h o m 5 2 % are females.
(ii) Certificate of Teaching (CT): This too is a five credit p rogramme but for lower secondary level teachers, teaching grades 6-8. During 1985-99,130,373 were trained of w h o m 6 0 % were females; of the presendy enrolled 16,472 students, 6 0 % are females.
In-Service Programme: In-service training was offered to 155,000 primary school teachers through P T O C programme during 1975-78; in addition, 72,575 primary school teachers were provided in-service training through N O R A D sponsored one semester N e w P T O C programme.
Future Programmes: A three-year Diploma in Education to replace, in a phased manner, the existing P T C and C T programmes and pre-school education for training of teachers teaching Montessori and kindergarten are in the process of development at A I O U .
28
In Pakis tan, on average, 95% of urban and 93% of rural teachers in primary schools are
trained (Table 13). N W F P is the only province, where 100% of both urban and rural
teachers in primary schools are trained. In Punjab and Sindh this proportion is
approximately 91%. In Balochistan, 98.5% of such teachers are trained.
TABLE 13 N u m b e r of Teachers by Location and Percentage of Trained Teachers
Pakistan
Urban
Rural
Punjab
Urban
Rural
Sindh
Urban
Rural
NWFP
Urban
Rural
Balochistan
Urban
Rural
Mosque
Total
39,558
5,279
34,279
14,307
1,675
12,632
19,159
3,092
16,067
6,092
512
5,580
—
—
% Trained
92.4
93.4
92.2
91.5
94.2
91.1
90.6
91.9
90.4
100.0
100.0
100.0
—
—
—
Primary
Total
281,643
64,111
217,532
146,257
21,103
125,154
79,151
34,950
44,201
50,075
7,0111
43,074
6,160
1,057
5,103
% Trained
93.7
95.2
93.3
92.1
95.0
91.6
92.3
94.2
90.7
100.0
100.0
100.0
98.4
97.7
98.5
M i d d l e
Total
109,159
36,772
72,387
61,028
10,249
50,779
9,338
3,432
5,906
30,864
21,218
9,646
7,929
1,873
6,056
% Trained
80.7
87.7
77.2
75.7
83.2
74.2
75.5
8.3.4
70.9
87.2
89.5
82.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
High
Total
134,855
59,290
75,565
95,271
33,797
61,474
30,864
21,218
9,646
—
—
— 8,720
4,275
4,445
% Trained
79.0
85.3
74.1
74.5
80 7
71 0
87.2
89.5
82.0
—
—
— 100.0
100.0
looo
Higher Secon
% Total
21,261
12,579
8,682
11,029
4,749
6,280
5,116
3,915
1,201
5,116
3,915
1,201
—
—
—
Trained
74.9
78.8
69.4
67.0
73.9
61.8
83.5
81.7
89.4
83.5
81.7
89.4
—
—
—
All Institutions
Total
586,476
178,031
408,445
327,892
71,573
256,319
143,628
66,607
77,021
92,147
32,646
59,501'
22,809
7,205
15,604
Trained
87.1
89.1
86.3
83.1
85.2
82.5
89.6
91.3
88.0
94.8
91.0
96.9
99.6
99.7
99 5
T h e figures are c o m b i n e d for H i g h a n d M i d d l e School's teachers in N W F P Province.
Gender-disaggregated analysis reveals that in N W F P , 100% of all male and female
primary school teachers are trained (Table 14). The proportion of trained female
teachers, in relation to trained male teachers, is marginally lower in Punjab as well as in
Sindh (91%), and Balochistan (96.8%).
29
TABLE 14 Number of Teachers by Gender and Percentage of Trained Teachers
Pakistan
Male
Female
Punjab
Male
Female
Sindh
Male
Female
NWFP
Male
Female
Balochistan
Male
Female
Mosque
Total
39,558
38,601
957
14,307
14,307
— 19,159
18,202
957
6,092
6,092
—
—
—
—
% Trained
92.4
92.5
87.7
91.5
91.5
— 90.7
90.8
87.7
100.0
100.0
—
—
—
—
Primary
Total
281,643
169,422
112,221
146,257
77,598
68,659
79,151
53,036
26,115
50,075
34,894
15,181
6,160
3,894
2,266
% Trained
93.7
94.4
92.6
92.1
92.8
91.4
92.3
92.7
91.4
100.0
100.0
100.0
98.4
99.3
96.8
Middle
Total
109,159
58,400
50,759
61,028
27,180
33,848
9,338
5,793
3,545
30,864
19,073
11,791
7,929
6,354
1,575
% Trained
80.7
81.3
80.1
75.7
73.7
77.4
75.5
78.7
70.4
87.2
86.6
88.1
100.O
100.0
100.0
High
Total
134,855
88,822
46,033
95,271
63,040
32,231
30,864
19,073
11,791
— —
— 8,720
6,709
2,011
% Trained
79.0
77 0
83.1
74.5
71.6
80.2
87.2
86.6
88.1
—
—
— 100.0
100.0
100.11
Higher Secon
% Total
21,261
12,239
9,022
11,029
6,397
4,632
5,116
2,921
2,195
5,116
2,921
2,195
—
— —
Trained
74.9
74.0
76.2
67.0
66.1
68.2
83.5
82.6
84.8
83.5
82.6
84.8
—
—
—
All Institutions
% Total
586,476
.367,484
218,992
327,892
188,522
139,370
143,628
99,025
44,603
92,147
62,980
29,167
22,809
16,957
5,852
Trained
87.1
87.2
87.0
83.1
81.9
84.6
89.6
90.1
88.4
94.8
95.1
94.0
99.6
99.8
98.8
T h e figures are combined for H i g h and Middle School teachers in N W F P Province.
(IV) CAPABILITY OF PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS
Despite a large proportion of school teachers being trained, it is observed that
capabilities of female teachers in N W F P and Balochistan, and of rural teachers in
Sindh, are considerably limited, in a core subject like Mathematics. A n evaluation of
teachers' capabilities, measured through a survey undertaken by the Multi-donor
Support Unit ( M S U ) , displays the following patterns (Table 15):
• In both urban as well as rural areas and across all provinces," male teachers achieved
higher scores than female teachers, in Mathematics and General Knowledge, while
female teachers scored more than male teachers in Comprehension.
• In rural areas male teachers scored the highest in General Knowledge, followed by
Comprehension and then Mathematics; female teachers scored highest in
Comprehension, followed by General Knowledge and then Mathematics;
• In urban areas both male as well as female teachers scored the highest in
Comprehension, followed by General Knowledge and Mathematics
• Rural-urban comparison: rural male teachers performed better than urban male
teachers in Mathematics and Comprehension, but urban female teachers
performed better than their rural counterparts in all subjects.
5 The Survey was also undertaken in Sindh but the results were later cancelled.
30
TABLE 15 Primary Teachers' Capabilities
Average percent Score of Teachers
RURAL Mathematics Male
Female
G e n . Knowledge Male
Female
Comprehension Male
Female
U R B A N Mathematics Male
Female
G e n . Knowledge Male
Female
Comprehension Male
Female
Pakistan
87.95
74.35
94.11
91.28
92.48
94.67
85.27
78.84
93.71
93.17
94.66
96.20
Punjab
92.88
79.21
96.41
91.82
92.82
94.95
94.24
83.99
95.82
94.00
98.55
96.00
Sindh
—
—
NWFP
91.67
54.83
94.58
91.58
81.67
87.37
86.25
58.33
91.50
84.85
87.00
93.94
Baloch
74.56
67.95
83.16
90.77
94.74
96.92
80.70
69.93
90.53
90.00
93.68
95.65
Source: Determinants of Primary Students' Achievements: National Survey Result; Social Action Programme; M S U ; 1995.
Despite the large proportion of trained teachers in Pakistan," critics feel that it is
unfortunate that investment in teacher education in Pakistan has remained a neglected
area, and the existing teacher education programme is not adequately responsive, to the
demands for quality education. Following are some issues in teacher education
which, despite several measures in a series of policies, have failed to be resolved:
— Given the low economic returns, the profession of teaching is usually the last
choice for young people, especially m e n ; as such, teachers are neither committed
nor motivated to teach.
— There is no effective relationship, between the demand and supply of teachers, at
any level of education in Pakistan. Teacher training is being carried out without
any viable policy and planning framework. As such there is an acute problem of
unemployed trained teachers in the country.
— Mos t teacher training programmes are too short in duration to impart meaningful
training.
— T h e quality of textbooks in teacher education is said to be poor and outdated. The
learning materials neither relate to real educational environment, nor inspire and
motivate the prospective teachers for further studies.
6 Refer to Tables 13 and 14 7 Identified by the National Education Policy (199K-2010)
31
— Teachers training institutions face budgetary and financial constraints, and are
inadequately equipped to meet the quality requirements.
— In-service training programmes for teacher educators are almost non-existent.
Also, teacher educators are not being provided with necessary support services nor
are teachers training institutions supervised in an effective way.
— T h e examination system of teacher education programmes is highly defective.
Box II Key Characteristics of Female Primary School Teachers in Rural Areas
T h e key characteristics of female primary school teachers in Pakistan's rural areas
are:
• Lower proportion of female primary schools teachers in rural areas vis-a-vis
male teachers.
• T h e relative importance of female teachers in primary schools: a female
teacher, compared to a male teacher, exerts a higher positive impact o n
students' academic performance, especially in rural areas.
• Lower proportion of trained female primary teachers than their male
counterparts.
• Limited capabilities of female teachers, especially in Mathematics.
32
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF
POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES FOR
ENHANCING THE NUMBER AND
CAPABILITIES OF FEMALE PRIMARY
TEACHERS IN RURAL AREAS
REVIEW
In the 1990s, Pakistan adopted a series of policies and programmes to improve its
quantity and quality of primary education. These included the approval and adoption
of the World Declaration on Education for All, and the corresponding Frame of Action, the
formulation of the Education Policy (1992), the initiation of the Social Action
Programme (SAP) in 1992/93, followed by the development of a comprehensive
medium-term Education Policy (1998-2010).*
M o s t of these policies aimed at improving girls' enrollments, especially in rural areas.
For this, measures were designed to increase the number of female teachers. Basically,
these included: (i) relaxation in the recruitment rules regarding age and qualification of
teachers and (ii) additional allowance for primary teachers in rural areas. M o r e recently,
a reward scheme for teachers has been introduced to award cash and certificates to
outstanding teachers. Also, several teachers training institutions, along with a distance
teachers training programme, were encouraged to develop the capabilities of existing
and potential teachers. Further, several donor-sponsored projects assisted in
improving the number and capabilities of school teachers. A m o n g these, the edible oil
distribution scheme was introduced in rural schools in N W F P and Balochistan,
primarily to promote enrollments but alongside, prevent teacher absenteeism. Mobile
teachers training and peer mentor training programmes were introduced in Balochistan
to improve teachers' capabilities.
E D U C A T I O N F O R ALL (EFA)
T h e last decade of the 20" century began with the World Conference on "Educationfor
All", with 155 United Nations m e m b e r countries assembling in Jomtien, Thailand in
8 T h e initiatives also included a medium-term vision, the Programme 2010, in which adult literacy and education Figured prominently. This initiative, however, has n o w been abandoned by the present regime.
33
1990, and pledging to provide education for all by year 2000. The Conference,
sponsored by U N D P , U N E S C O , U N F P A , U N I C E F and the World Bank,
unanimously adopted the 'World Declaration on Education for All' ana the corresponding
'Frame of Action'. Subsequently, Education for All is viewed, as a major strategy of
development all over the world.
T h e Conference was organized, in response to wide spread concerns over the
deteriorating education systems o n the one hand, and the end of the cold war, the
emergence of n e w market economies, and democracies, on the other. T h e importance
of education in national and global development, and the need to strengthen the
educational structures was recognized. T h e maladies of the education system were
clearly alarming: just a decade before the n e w century, there were 960 million adult
illiterates, and 130 million children out of school. It was realized that the world order
would be in danger if it were to enter the 21st century, with a large mass of illiterate and
unskilled workforce, and ignorant and uneducated mankind.
In Pakistan, the main programmes, agreed strategy, and plan of action to achieve the
E F A goals and targets, as reflected in the National Education Policy (1992), the Social
Action P r o g r a m m e (SAP) and the Eighth Five Year Plan (1993-98) included: (i)
Primary Education; (ii) Literacy; (iii) Learning Achievements: and (iv) Education for
Better Living. ' E F A stressed the recruitment of academically qualified teaching staff,
certified to teach. Besides enhancing girls primary education m terms of access and
quality through establishing 107,000 n e w primary and m o s q u e schools,provisions were to
be made for trainingand recruitment of 265,000 school teachers, and for providingfemale teachers in
mixed schools as well.
The Education Policy (1992)
This Education Policy, announced shortly after the E F A Conference, focused o n the
following issues, which included an emphasis on in-service training programmes for
primary school teachers in government schools:
(i) achieving universal primary education, eliminating drop-out rates; and fulfilling
the basic learning needs by the year 2002.
(ii) raising the quality of public instruction through an extensive in-service teachers' training
programme.
(iii) stressingwomen's education.
(iv) diversifying vocational streams, along with expansion of graduate and
postgraduate level courses.
(v) reforming the examination system.
9 Source: Education for All: The Year 2000-Asscssment (Pakistan Country Report); Ministry of Education; Government of Pakistan; Islamabad; October 1999.
34
(vi) introducing computer education at school level, and
(vii) encouraging the participation of private sector in education.
This Policy is n o w replaced by the n e w Education Policy (199 8-2010).
Social Action Programme (SAP): 1992
In the 1980s, Pakistan failed to achieve any substantial improvement in its social
indicators, despite impressive economic growth. In terms of h u m a n development, the
country ranks 135" on the h u m a n development index. N o t only are the aggregate
levels of key social indicators l o w in Pakistan, but they are lower for w o m e n and girls.
Major reasons identified for this situation include limited allocation of resources to
social sectors, population expansion, and grave implementation problems, which
h a m p e r the efficient and productive use of the few resources allocated to the social
sectors.
T o r emedy the situation, the government launched a Social Action P r o g r a m m e (SAP)
in 1 9 9 2 / 9 3 , which addressed the needs of primary education (especially female
education), primary health, population welfare and rural water and sanitation. T h e first
phase of S A P (1992-96), launched at a total cost of U S $ 7.7 billion, aimed to improve
the coverage, quality and effectiveness of service delivery, m these social sectors.
Actively supported by the donor community, S A P was developed and implemented at
the provincial level.
W i t h highest share (over 60%) o f resources allocated to it, education is the m o s t
important c o m p o n e n t of S A P . U n d e r this, key targets included increasing primary
enrollments, and improving the quality of education imparted, with special emphasis
o n females and rural areas.. It realized that availability of female teachers in less
developed and rural areas posed a problem for operation of girls' schools. In order to
overcome this problem, SAP ensured flexibility of recruitment rules for female teachers in these areas
with preference for female teachers from the local community. It focused on countrywide issues covering
primary education, teacher education and adult literacy.
In education, S A P followed a supply-side s trategy that aimed to:
• improve the efficiency with which public education services are provided.
• increase access to schools, and
• improve the quality of schooling provided.
A range of measures were designed to achieve the above objectives which included,
besides decentralization of m a n a g e m e n t systems, increased access to schooling
10 Composite human development indicator developed by U N D P ; Human Development Report; 2000-
35
through school construction, school extension and classroom renovation, promotion
of greater c o m m u n i t y involvement in school m a n a g e m e n t , an upward adjustment of
teacher staffing levels, with freeze on primary teacher recruitment lifted; and control, through
supervision, absenteeism, high transfer rates and poor teacher performance.
S A P laid particular emphasis on primary school female teacher training and
recruitment. In this context, the following steps were taken by the provinces:
Punjab: T h e upper age limit for recruitment of primary school teachers (male and
female) w a s relaxed to 50 years (and further to 52 years to accommoda te those affected
by the two-year ban o n recruitment). Also, if suitable staff w a s not available, it was
decided to recruit untrained teachers, and send them for two years training. In addition,
to overcome the difficulty faced by female teachers in finding residential
accommoda t ion in rural areas, the government decided to construct hostels under a
pilot project.
Sindh: A special package for female education and health staff in rural areas was
announced. This included relaxation in selection criteria, pertaining to age and
qualification, where qualified local teachers were not available.
NIVFP: In the primary education sector, a n u m b e r of decisions to attract female
teachers to rural areas 'were taken. These included relaxation in qualifications and age
requirements, and posting of teachers near their h o m e s . Initially, an additional
allowance of R s . 500 per m o n t h was envisaged for rural female teachers, but this was
never implemented. T h e original allowance of Rs. 75- Rs .300, however, continued for
remote and unattractive areas. In addition, there was a proposal to appoint retired male
teachers in girls schools, in case female teachers were not available.
Balochistan: T h e incentive package for female primary school teachers included: (i)
relaxation of qualifications from matriculation to middle school level (ii) relaxation of
age limit for recruitment from m i n i m u m of 18 years to 16 years and the upper age limit
at 4 0 years (iii) a rural area allowance of Rs . 500 per m o n t h , " and (iv) the setting up of a
mobile female teacher training system.
T h e second phase of S A P (1997-2001/2), costing over U S $ 10 billion, has been
evolved, to consolidate the outcomes of the first phase, with the following cross-
sectoral objectives to improve quality, efficiency, sustainabilitv and governance:
— improve governance through merit-based staff recruitment, facility site selection
and e m p l o y m e n t incentives, and measures to reduce absenteeism a m o n g staff.
— continue increasing the non-salary portion of the recurrent budget to ensure
adequate provision of quality inputs.
11 As reported by Economic Survey 1992/93: Finance Division; Economic Adviser's Wing; Government of Pakistan; Islamabad.
12 This allowance was given for 3 years only i.e., 1994/95; 1995/96 & 1996/97, and then discontinued.
36
— strengthen government systems of service delivery through improved planning,
management , monitoring and implementation, including financing non
government provision of services, and
— increase community and beneficiary participation.
Under SAP-II, the scope of some areas has been widened, with education extended to
include middle-level schooling; healm expanded to incorporate tehsil-level facilities
(tehsil hospitals), and peri-urban areas covered under water supply and sanitation. The
important role of non-formal education ( N F E ) , as a means of improving literacy and
educational levels, has also been recognized.
SAP (Provincial) Operational Plans: 1999/2000: A Brief Review
The S A P Operational Plans (1999/00), represent the activities that the provincial
governments intend to undertake, in pursuance of the provincial and national overall
strategy for improving the delivery of services, covered by the Social Action
Programme.
A review, of the four provincial operational plans for education sector, reveals the
following c o m m o n policy principles:
(i) Improving the access to, and quality of, learning in primary schools through
better qualified teachers, improvement of textbooks and materials, and efficient
school supervision and management.
(it) Decentralizing and reorganizing management structures and procedures to
ensure transparency and accountability7.
(iii) Strengthening service delivery by involving parents/communities, N G O s and
the private sector.
(iv) Improving and decentralizing the planning, monitoring and management
capacity7 of the education departments, and ensuring accountability at all levels,
through establishing and implementing a monitoring and evaluation system, and
regularly collecting and compiling relevant statistics through an Education
Management Information System (EMIS).
(v) Increasing access, particularly for girls, through establishing n e w community
schools where needed, in under-served areas and improving the quality of
existing buildings and services.
T h e education system in Pakistan has expanded rapidly over the past decade, and this
has increased the difficulty7 of the provincial governments to provide support services,
for delivering a reasonable quality of education to the children. Also, financial
resources have squeezed heavily, and the ability to make use of foreign project
assistance is limited, due to poor management capacity. This has resulted in the
isolation of m a n y schools, and teaching supervisors find it difficult to visit schools
frequendy.
37
Quality of Teaching
D u e to low salaries and problems related to transportation and housing, teachers,
especially female teachers in rural areas, are often poorly motivated and investments in
training and materials are not as effective as they could be. Organizational changes are
envisaged, which will decentralize the government system of education, so that it is
closer to schools and communities, and allows "strengthening of schools" to
contribute to quality improvement.
In the context of improving the quality of teaching in elementary education, each
provincial operational plan has outlined a set of measures, most of them c o m m o n
across provinces. These measures include the following:
1. Establishing school management committees, to involve parents and teachers, in
the monitoring of the education system at the local level.
2. Recruiting primary school teachers strictly on the basis of merit. Relaxation of
qualification and training requirements would be possible only due to non
availability of qualified female or male teachers.
3. Rationalization: Re-deployment of teachers from schools, where the teacher-
student ratio exceeds the defined norm, to schools where more teachers are
required. For this, E M I S data will be used.
4. Strict monitoring of teacher absenteeism will be undertaken through regular
checks by the District Education Officers.
5. Conducting training programmes for both in-service as well as pre-service
teachers.
In addition to these, there are some measures which are specific only to a particular
province. In Balochistan, the provincial operational plan emphasizes the provision of
teachers' in-service training, through the Mobile Teachers' Training Programme, which
has proved very effective in the province. In N W F P , the plan suggests "school
clustering" i.e schools will be clustered into groups, around existing middle schools, or a
centrally located primary school, where there is no middle school. This will improve
local school management, facilitate training of teachers and provide a potential system
of localized professional support to teachers. In Sindh, a study will be undertaken to
analyze the problems of untrained teachers, and steps will be taken to provide training
to all existing in-service untrained teachers. In Punjab, an incentive package is being
prepared for teachers. Hard-working, honest and dedicated teachers, identified by a
foolproof system (to be evolved), will be awarded cash prizes and certificates. A n
amount of Rs. 80 million has been earmarked for this purpose, with 50% for
elementary school teachers, 3 0 % for secondary school teachers and 2 0 % for college
teachers.
38
T h e National Education Policy (1998-2010)
T h e N e w Education Policy (1998-2010) was designed with assistance from
intellectuals, educationists, lawyers, scientists, teachers, media representatives, and
other cross sections of the society. T h e main priority area, besides educating and
training the future generation of Pakistan as true practising Muslims, includes basic
education, which consists of universal primary education, and increasing the rate of
literacy.
Policy Targets
S o m e key targets of the n e w Education Policy (1998-2010) include:
— T o achieve universal primary education by using formal and non-formal
approaches, to provide a second opportunity to school drop-outs, by establishing
basic education community schools all over the country.
— T o meet the basic learning needs of children in terms of learning tools and
contents.
— T o ensure that all boys and girls, desirous of entering secondary education, get
access to schools.
— T o increase the effectiveness of the system by institutionalizing in-service training
of teachers, teacher trainers and educational administrators. T o upgrade the
quality of pre-service teacher training programmes, by introducing parallel
programmes of longer duration at post-secondary and post-degree levels.
— T o develop a viable framework for policy, planning and development of teacher
training programmes, both in-service and pre-service, and
— T o develop technical and vocational education in the country for producing trained
manpower , commensurate with the needs of the industry.
Policy Provisions for Recruitment andTrainingof Teachers
S o m e key policy provisions for training of teachers are as follows:
• Effective measures shall be taken, to strengthen in-service institutions for providing regular and quality in-service training, to the existing corps of educational administrators.
• Both formal and non-formal means shall be used,. to provide increased opportunities of in-service training, to the working teachers preferably at least once in five years.
• Special arrangements shall be made for the training of teacher educators, by using the National Institute of Teachers Education and its affiliated centres.
• T h e curriculum and the methods of instruction in teacher training institutions
39
shall be reviewed and revised, for bringing them in line with the requirements of m o d e r n trends in this field.
• Special incentives shall be provided to attract and retain talented students in the
teaching profession.
• A n e w stream of vocational and technical training shall be introduced in pre-
service teacher training institutions, initially at post-degree level.
• A n e w cadre of teacher educators shall be created.
Incentive Scheme for Primary S choolTeachers
In addition, the Education Policy also includes s o m e innovative p rogrammes ,
repeatedly endorsed by a great majority of persons, w h o submitted proposals for the
formulation of Policy recommendations. O n e of these p r o g r a m m e s is the Incentive
S c h e m e for Primary School Teachers, the basic features of which are as follows:
(a) Objectives of the Scheme
— E n h a n c e the status /près tige of primary school teachers in the society, to promote
their confidence and motivational levels.
— Identify the training and professional needs of primary school teachers with
particular reference to multigrade teaching.
— Provide a c o m m o n platform to teachers wherein the teachers could get benefit
from the knowledge and experiences of each other through interaction at
district/division and national levels.
— Identify and discuss the botdenecks hampering promotion and expansion of
primary education, and solicit recommendations for improvement in the quality of
primary education.
— Identify defects in the instructional material which lead to learning difficulties
a m o n g students.
— Provide incentives to g o o d teachers through healthy competition and replication.
(b) Primary S choolTeachers' Conference and S election Criteria forParticipants
T o recognize and acknowledge their meritorious services, and encourage the primary
school teachers, an incentive scheme for Primary School Teachers shall be launched
throughout Pakistan, starting from the grassroots level. U n d e r this scheme, a
Conference of Primary School Teachers will be organized every year at District,
Division and national levels, where the.teachers will be awarded merit certificates and
cash prizes. T h e y will also be provided a forum to discus issues confronting primary
education in the country, and suggest radical measures to overcome them. U n d e r this
scheme, Primary School Teachers from the educational institutions, both urban and
40
rural, adjudged the best on the basis of results of Class V examination, from every
district/division, would be invited to attend the Primary School Teachers Conference.
This would not only encourage the teachers, but will also enable the planners and policy
makers to obtain useful information and practical suggestions, for improvement of
primary education.
Physical Targets
While the N e w Education Policy attempts to universalize primary education in
Pakistan, it will also strive to increase the number of primary teachers, by almost 5 2 %
during 1998-2010. T h e target anticipates an increase of male teachers bv 36%, and
female teachers by 8 0 % during this period (Table 16).
TABLE 16 Physical Targets for 1999-2010
Primary Participation Rate (%)
Male
Female
TOTAL
N O . of Teachers (000)
Male
Female
TOTAL
1997-1998
90
60
75
220.5
125.8
346.3
1998-1999
92
64
79
218.5
134.7
353.2
1999-2000
94
68
82
216.3
144
360.3
2000-2001
96
72
85
213.4
154.1
367.5
2001-2002
98
76
87
209.9
164.9
374.8
2002-2003
100
80
90
205.7
176.5
382.2
2010
110
100
105
301
226
527
Source: N e w Education Policy (1998-2010); Ministry of Education; Government of Pakistan; Islamabad.
ASSESSMENT
(i) C h a n g e in Primary Enrollments
T h e major objective of each education policy/programme has been to improve the
primary enrollment rates, especially of girls in rural areas of the country. In this
context, empirical evidence suggests that female enrollments have increased, both in
urban and rural areas; supporting evidence is provided by the reduction of female
drop-out rates in both areas (Table 17).
41
TABLE 17 Change in Primary Enrollments and Drop-out Rates
1991-1997
Gross Enrollment
Urban
Rural
Drop-out Rate
Urban
Rural
Male
86
97
82
16
14
17
1991
Female
59
87
48
20
12
27
Both
73
92
66
17
13
20
Male
80
95
74
15
13
17
1997
Female
64
91
53
17
8
25
Both
72
93
64
16
11
20
Source: Pakistan Integrated Household Survey; 1996/97; Federal Bureau of Statistics; Government of Pakistan.
(ii) Change in the Number and Percentage of Female Teachers
While there is a lack of regular time series information on the levels of teachers'
capabilities, government sources provide reliable gender-disaggregated data on the
number of teachers, student enrollments and educational institutions (Table 18). A n
analysis of these data indicate that during the 1990s, government policies had the
desired effect in increasing female gross enrollment rates, as well as the proportion of
girl students in primary education. However, the effect of policies on the improving
the proportion of female teachers does not appear significant. While the absolute
number of female teachers more than doubled, from 57,200 to 117,000 during
1985/86-1998/99, perhaps due to the increase in the number of girls' schools, the
proportion of female teachers in total teachers, remained more or less constant: the
ratio of female to male teachers ranged between 2:1 i.e., of the total teachers, female
teachers were between 30%-35% while the remaining 65° o-70% were male teachers.
Also, the 1990s witnessed rapid increases in girls' enrollment, with the number of
teachers rising, but less than proportionately, with the result that female student-
teacher ratio soared, from 39 in 1990/91 to 61 in 1998/99.
14 Refer to Table 15 for the Levels of Primary School Teachers' Levels of Capabilities in both rural and urban
42
TABLE 18 Student-Teacher Ratio and Percent of Female Teachers, Students and
Schools 1985/86-1998/99
1985/86
1986/87
1987/88
1988/89
1989/90
1990/91
1991/92
1992/93
1993/94
1994/95
1995/96
1996/97
1997/98
1998/99
Student-Teacher Ratio
Total
39
40
41
37
37
39
37
43
41
43
44
48
48
46
Male
38
40 4Q
H 56
39
35
40
39
39
40
44
42
39
Female
41
41
42
39
40
40
39
48
46
49
52
55
58
61
% of Total
Female Teachet
31.7
32.7
32.8
32.0
30.1
33.4
32.3
32.2
34.0
34.3
33.0
34.6
33.4
31.2
Female Student
33.3
33.1
33.6
33.5
32.1
33.9
34.6
36.1
38.0
39.5
39.3
40.0
40.7
41.5
Female Schools
29.1
24.1
23.5
26.4
27.1
27.3
28.1
29.2
29.8
30.1
30.3
28.1
27.7
27.2
Source: Economic Survey; 1998/99; Finance Division; Government of Pakistan; Islamabad
Based on these data, Figure 1 traces the pattern of change in the percentage of female
teachers in total teachers, percentage of female students in total students, and
percentage of female schools in total schools. While percentage of female students in
total students has risen steadily over the years, the percentage of female teachers in total
teachers and percentage of female schools in total schools, remain somewhat steady,
and as such one m a y assume a close relationship between the two, attributing the
increase in female teachers, largely to the increase in the female schools.
43
Figure 1: Changes in the Percentage of Female Teachers in Total Teachers; of Female Students in
Total Students; and of Female Schools in Total Schools
This apparent lack of effectiveness of government policy to induct a larger percentage of females as
primary school teachers could be attributed to the difficulties " (mainly transport problems) and
correspondingly, the unwillingness of female teachers, of working in rural and remote areas. M o s t
of the employed female teachers are concentrated in urban, or rural areas which are in
close proximity to the urban centers, (refer to Table 10).
This highlights the fact that in order to enhance the n u m b e r and proportion of females
teachers in primary schools, m o r e focused and concerted efforts are needed to resolve
the problem of lack of female teachers in "unattractive" areas. This can be done by
targeting local w o m e n to b e c o m e school teachers, and by making their recruitment
"facility-specific" i.e., they would not be re-assigned to any other place but the school(s)
of their initial recruitment.
(iii) Changes in Allocations to Teacher Education
A n important policy variable is the budgetary allocation for a particular purpose. In the
early 1990s, with the initiation of the Social Action P r o g r a m m e (SAP) , the
government allocated a considerably higher budget towards primary education and
teacher education, but expenditure on teacher education as percentage of total
education expenditure, remained constant over the past three plans (Table 19).
15 Refer to Section IV: Case Studies of Primary School Teachers in Rural Areas
44
TABLE 19 Allocations and Expenditures to Teacher Education as Percentage of
Total Allocations and Expenditures to Education
Primary Education
Secondary Education
Teacher Education
Others
T O T A L (Education)
Sixth Plan (83-88)
Allocation
37%
22%
1.6%
39.4%
100%
Expenditure
19%
19%
1%
61%
100%
Seventh Plan (88-93)
Alloca tion
44%
28%
1.2%
26.8%
100%
Expen diture
32%
27%
1.3%
39.7%
100%
Eighth Plan (93-98)
Alloca tion
47%
24%
5%
24%
100%
Expen diture
34%
7.1%
1%
57.9%
100%
Source: National Education Policy (1998-2010); Ministry of Education; Government of Pakistan; Islamabad.
(iv) Change in Capabilities of Primary Teachers
Given the lack of systematic time series data, to measure any direct change in the level
of teachers' capabilities or training levels during the 1990s, one can, however, rely on
the impact analyses, compiled for selected donor-sponsored schemes in this context.
Selectedlnnovative Schemes to increase tbelSSumberand
Capabilities of Primary School Teachers
(a) Edible Oil Dis tribu tion
Besides shortage of female teachers, teacher absenteeism is a major issue in
primary education, especially in rural areas of the country. T o improve girls'
enrollment and regular attendance, as well encourage female teachers, the World
Food P r o g r a m m e launched a project titled, "Promotion of Primary Education for
Girls in Balochistan and N W F P " .
T h e project, focusing on rural schools, provides a monthly incentive of vegetable
oil (one tin of 5 kilograms) to all girls, w h o attend school at least 20 days each
m o n t h , and teachers are provided two tins of vegetable oil, if they maintain regular
attendance of at least 22 days each month. T h e incentive is applied during a school
year, between nine to ten months.
Impact Analysis
Implementation of the project began in 1994 for a five-year period till 1999. O n
average, there has been a 6 0 % increase in enrollment in the target communities, as a
result of this incentive. T h e project has helped to increase the attendance levels of
girls and teachers to 95%. T h e project has proved instrumental in bringing
mothers in contact with teachers, particularly o n oil-distribution day, w h e n m a n y
visit parents visit the school. This provides an opportunity to the teachers to create
45
greater awareness o f the benefits accruing f r o m girls' education, as well as to discuss the progress o f their students. It also s e e m s to enhance the status o f the teachers in the c o m m u n i t y .
(b) T h e Mobile Female Teachers Training Programme in Balochistan
In the 1990s, teacher quality and supply has been improved through three types of programmes in Balochistan: (i) on-service training through an accelerated teacher training program ( P T A C ) . (ii) pre-service training through the Government Colleges for Elementary Teachers ( G C E T ) , and through a culturally-acceptable Mobile Female Teacher Training Programme ( M F T T P ) for rural females, and (iii) in-service training of trained teachers to upgrade skills in multi-grade teaching, and support for Learning Coordinators.
T h e Mobile Female Teacher Training Programme ( M F T T P ) , funded by U N I C E F , was an experimental p rogramme launched in 1993 in Balochistan. It was designed to create a pool of potential female teachers in rural and remote areas. In these areas, young w o m e n with an 8" grade pass or better, were unable or unwilling to participate in the regular residential pre-service training programmes, due to cultural constraints. A s such, the M F T T P "brought the training to the teacher". Training was conducted in high school premises in village centres, to which girls from surrounding areas were transported daily. T h e p rogramme a three-month course, offers the P T C equivalency programme, and enables the candidates to be appointed as a teacher. U p o n improving her qualification to matriculation, a teacher is eligible to be promoted to a regular Basic Pay Scale 7 teacher position without further training.
Impact ^Analysis A c c o r d i n g to a recent assessment, about 3 ,300 girls in remote rural areas w e r e successfully trained b y M F T T P , transforming t h e m into a pool o f teachers eligible for teaching in pr imary schools.
(c) T h e Primary Teacher Mentoring P rog ramme ( P T M P ) in Balochistan
Under the Balochistan Primary Education Development.Programme ( B P E P ) , the Teacher and Training and Support ( T T & S ) designed and implemented an innovative initiative called the Primary Teacher Mentoring Programming ( P T M P ) , which was based on a decentralized model of school-based teacher peer-coaching, on an on-going monthly basis. Prior to 1996, the only in-service training which the primary teachers in Balochistan received was through formal two-week in-service courses attended by 1,000 teachers at a time, at relatively centralized training venues delivered by m a s ter-trainers, w h o had no experience at the primary level.
17 Zafar, FatAv.i: Incentive Sclicmcs ¡or Primary Yidutatitm m Paki^an; U N K S C O ; Islamabad; August 1998
18 This term "on-scrvicc training" is used for untrained teachers w h o are already on the |ob and require training to
obtain a certificate. This term should be distinguished from "in-service training" which is provided for trained
Teachers w h o need to upgrade their teaching skills.
46
Although, the training courses attempted to impart a student-centred, activity-
based approach, but after participating in the two-week courses, most teachers
reverted back to their former teacher-centred approaches to teaching. A s such, the
learning process in schools continued to be relatively uninspiring for primary
students and, considering the investment made in terms of time and financial
resources, the gains 'were unimpressive.
In 1996, this in-service programme was supplemented by the P T M P . The major
objectives of the n e w programme were:
• Upgrade teachers' content knowledge.
• Improve teachers' use of the n e w textbooks, teacher guides, and teaching kits.
• Improve teachers' problem-solving skills and their capacity for critical
reflection.
• Reduce isolation and enhance teacher collegiality
Under this n e w programme, ten clusters of approximately 30 teachers were
formed in a district. These clusters are near the district headquarters, to facilitate
implementation and monitoring. Teachers were placed in clusters in such a way
that no teacher must travel more than 16 kilometers. T h e District Education
Officers were asked to nominate the most capable primary teacher, from each
cluster to serve as the mentor, for the teachers in that cluster. The ten nominees
were screened and then trained for eight weeks at the Institute for Educational
Development, Aga K h a n University in Karachi. The training, for 30 mentors from
three districts at one time, covers topics such as mentoring, problem-solving,
reflective practice, and appropriate methodologies for teaching major subjects.
Following the initial training of the mentors, the programme was ready for
operation the group of three districts.
Under the programme, a two-day workshop for teachers is held every month at the
central site of each cluster, supervised by the mentor. This includes "formal
training"; problems experienced in past workshop, and scanning ahead in their
textbooks to solve anticipated problems.
T h e programme expanded in increments of three districts each half-year. By June 1999, 22 of Balochistan's districts (involving approximately 7,000 teachers) were participating, or had completed two years of direct support as part of the programmes.
Impact A. nalysis
A survey, undertaken to analyze the impact of the P T M P , revealed that an overwhelming majority of the stakeholders (teachers, mentors, D E O s and T T & S personnel), had a strong overall impression of the P T M P , as a programme for facilitating the professional development of primary teachers in Balochistan. T h e
19 Study conducted by Dr. Edward P. Graybill, Coordinator Project Studies and Research, Balochistan Primary
Education Development Project; Directorate of Balochistan; Quetta; Novemebr I 999.
47
programme was considered more effective than the two-week formal in-service courses. The major constraints, negatively affecting the P T M P , were identified as: insufficient provision of textbooks, teacher guides, supplementary teaching materials, failure to deal with absent teachers, and transportation difficulties. In a short period of time, the programme produced desired results; however, by 1999, the programme had reached a plateau and gains seemed less tangible and maintaining them has become more challenging.
(d) T h e Sindh Primary Education Development Programme (SPEDP)
T h e Sindh Primary Education Development Programme (SPEDP) , sponsored by
the World Bank, D F I D and N O R A D , and implemented by the Government of
Sindh, aimed at :
• improving the quality of education in order to increase the learning
achievements and completion rates in elementary education.
• increasing access, equity and retention of students, particularly girls.
• strengthening institutional capacity, and
• encouraging greater community and N G O participation.
According to the project's Implementation Completion Report (ICR), dated
January 2000, a practice based programme of in-service training of teachers was
piloted for two districts, evaluated and expanded to six districts, but fell 4 7 % short
of the PC-I target because of shortfall of the provision of funds by the
Government of Sindh. A total of 40 B C E W , 2 " G C E T " 1 staff, teachers and
supervisors benefited from overseas training in U K . Only 38 School
Development Centres (SDCs) were established against a target of 60. The
establishment of S D C s has facilitated to organize cluster-based training for
teachers and supervisors. Professional competency of the teachers was enhanced,
especially in the two pilot districts. Provision of in-service training, development
of Teachers' Support Materials in three volumes, in all primary education subjects
and their distribution to around 37,000 schools, is a significant achievement of the
project. A large number of the teachers were using audio-visual aids, interactive
techniques, and materials other than textbooks. However, there was no proper
programme of monitoring and follow-up of trained teachers. Without technically
sound assessment studies, it is difficult to determine the impact of training and
materials on student achievements.
20 B C E W : Bureau of Curriculum und Extension Wing; 21 G C E T : Government College for Elementary Teachers
48
EXPLORATORY
FIELD-BASED ASSESSMENT
To supplement the findings and assessments derived from secondary sources, an
exploratory field-based assessment was also undertaken as part of this Study.
However, given the time and resource constraints, it was not possible to stretch the
field-based assessment to cover a large sample, instead, it was confined to the rural areas
of one district per province. These included districts Jhang (Punjab), Khairpur (Sindh),
Dera Ismail K h a n ( N W F P ) and Bolan (Balochistan). Questionnaires were developed
for female primary school teachers. In addition, the District Education Officers
collected some insights through focus group discussions.
A. Focus Group Discussions
Focus group discussions were organized by the District Education Officers in each of
the four districts surveyed. The participants of the group included a mix of rural
primary school teachers, education officers and parents. K e y features which emerged
from these discussions are as follows:
• Recruitment of Primary School Teachers
Most participants in Sindh, N W F P and Balochistan felt that recruitment of
primary school teachers are mostly based on political influence, bribery, and
nepotism. It was only in Punjab where the focus group agreed that of recent, all
recruitments have been m a d e on merit.
• Shortage of Female Teachers
Focus groups in Punjab, N W F P and Balochistan endorsed the view that there was a
shortage of female teachers in rural areas. Most c o m m o n reasons cited for this
shortage included:
Punjab: socio-cultural factors e.g., purdah.
N W F P : lack of proper transport system and security concerns.
Balochistan: due to lack of educatedi.e., qualified, females.
T h e focus group in Sindh reported that there was no shortage of female teachers in
rural areas.
• Transport Problems
Since female teachers prefer daily outback i.e. commuting from h o m e , focus group
discussions in Sindh, Balochistan and N W F P revealed acute transport problems
for females teachers in rural areas.
However , discussions in Punjab did not report any transport problem for female
teachers of rural areas.
49
B. Key Findings Of Survey
I. Characteristics of Sample
The survey sample comprised 70 female rural primary school teachers, with 15 from
Punjab, 20 from Sindh, 17 from N W F P and 18 fromBalochistan (Table I). All teachers
met the min imum academic qualification requirement of matriculate, with 12 teachers
in Sindh being graduates. All teachers, too, had some pre-service teacher training,
except 1 teacher in Balochistan w h o is not trained and teaches religious knowledge as a
"Muallam-e-Quran".
All teachers enjoy permanent employment, employed in the government' s basic pay
scale of 7 and above.
T A B L E I Number of Respondents by Academic Qualification, Training,
Nature of Appointment and Basic Pay Scale
Qualification
Matric
FA
BA M A Total
Teacher Training
PTC
Bed
Med
PTAC
Total
Nature of (Present)
Employment
Permanent
Total
Basic Pay Scale (BPS) 7
9
10
11
12
16
Total
PROVINCES
Punjab
12 3 0 0 15
15 0 0 0 15
15 15
10 4 1 0 0 0 15
Sindh
0
1
12
7
20
16
3
1
0
20
20 20
7
8
3
1
1
0
16'
N W F P
6 6 3 2
17
15 2 0 0 17
17 17
2 11 1 0 1 1
16
Baloch
7
7
3
1
18
10
2
0
5
17
18 18
10
1
3
0
0 2
16-
Total
25
17
18
10
70
56
7
1
5
69
70 70
29
24 8 1 2
3
67
' O n e teacher in N W F P and two teachers in Balochistan did not respond to this question
50
IL Importance of Female Teachers
According to the survey findings, the presence of a female teacher exerts a positive
impact o n the enrollment, regular attendance and academic performance of girl
students (Table II). This strengthens the findings of an earlier survey, presented in
Table 9.
T A B L E II
Distribution of Teachers (%) on Impact of the Presence of Female
Teachers in rural areas
Positive Impact of Female Teacher O n : (Multi Response)
Female students' enrollment
Female students' regular attendance
Female students' academic performance
Total
PROVINCES
Punjab
100
100
8 5 . 7
100
Sindh
90
70
85
100
NWFP
100
9 3 . 8
100
100
Baloch
9 4 . 4
8 8 . 9
88 .9
100
Total
9 5 . 6
86 .8
8 9 . 7
100
III. Government Rules and Merit-Based Appointments
M o s t teachers (61%) perceived that the government rules and regulations regarding
them were too strict (Table Ilia), while the remaining (34%) viewed these rules and
regulations as "all right". Only a negligible proportion said that the rules -were too
flexible.
T A B L E Ilia
Distribution of Teachers (%) by Perception about Government Rules
and Regulations
Govt. Rules & Reg. Regarding Primary School Teachers
Too strict
Too flexible
All right
Need change
Other
Total
PROVINCES
Punjab
7.1
0
9 2 . 9
0
0
100
Sindh
100
0
0
0
0
100
NWFP
7 3 . 3
ó."7
13 .3
0
6.7
100
Baloch
50
0
4 4 . 4
5.6
0
100
Total
6 1 . 2
1.5
34 .3
1.5
1.5
100
51
Regarding the proportion of merit-based appointments of primary school teachers, all
the teachers in Punjab said that of recent, appointments of teachers were being made
solely on die basis of merit (Table Illb). However, in Sindh, 12 out of 14 teachers said
that none of the appointments were being made on merit. There was more optimism
in N W F P , where 9 out of 11 teachers said that appointments were being made solely on
merit, but there was only 1 respondent in Balochistan w h o felt the same.
T A B L E Illb
Distribution of Teachers (Number) by Perception About Merit-based
Appointments
Total Respondents (Number)
% of merit-based appointments
100%
76%-100%
51%-75%
31%-50%
26%-50%
ll%-25%
1%-10%
0%
PROVINCES
Punjab
14
14
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Sindh
14
—
—
—
—
—
—
2
12
NWFP
11
9
—
—
1
—
—
1
—
Baloch
8
1
—
1
1
—
2
3
—
Total
22 Very few respondents understood this question correctly.
52
IV. Teachers and Monetary Incentives
In response to questions regarding their level of satisfaction with various monetary
incentives extended to them, most teachers in Sindh felt that each of the incentive was
"unsatisfactory" (Table IV). For other provinces, too, the monetary incentives seem to
be generally "unsatisfactory".
TABLE IV Distribution of Teachers (%) by Level of Satisfaction of Incentives
Salary
Satisfactory (%)
H o u s e / H o u s i n g Allowance
Excellent (%)
Satisfactory(%)
Transport Allowance
Satisfactory (%)
N o t Applicable (%)
Medical Allowance
Satisfactory (%)
Annual Increments
Satisfactory (%)
PROVINCES
Punjab
20
6.7
0
0
80
13.3
0
Sindh
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
N W F P
11.8
0
11.8
0
70.6
0
0
Baloch
61.1
0
11.8
11.1
0
11.1
47.1
Total
22.9
1.4
5.8
2.9
34.3
5.7
11.8
Note: T h e residual percentage implies % teachers w h o term the incentives as "unsatisfactory".
23 T o assess the level of satisfaction, the survey questionnaire provided 3 options: "Iexcellent"; "Satisfactory"; and
"Unsatisfactory".
53
V. Respect for Teachers
Although, m o s t respondents are highly satisfied by the respect they get from the school
administration, their colleagues and students (Table V ) , but fewer are satisfied with
respect they get from parents (65%), and the c o m m u n i t y in general (63%)
In Sindh, only 3 0 % respondents are satisfied with the respect they get from parents.
This matches well with the 3 8 % respondents in N W F P , but contrasts sharply with
1 0 0 % respondents in Punjab and Balochistan, w h o are fully satisfied with the respect
they get from parents.
TABLE V Distribution of Teachers (%) by Level of Respect
Respect F r o m Administration
Excellent
Satisfactory
Respect F r o m Colleagues
Excellent
Satisfactory
Respect F r o m Parents
Excellent
Satisfactory
Respect F r o m Students
Excellent
Satisfactory
Respect From Community
Excellent
Satisfactory
PROVINCES
Punjab
28.6
71.4
42.9
57.1
14.3
85.7
7.1
92.9
0
92.9
Sindh
0
95
55
45
5
25
15
85
0
40
N W F P
0
93.8
31.3
68.8
6.3
31.3
18.8
56.3
6.3
25
Baloch
33.3
66.7
66.7
33.3
0
100
5.6
94.4
0
94.1
Total
14.7
82.4
50
50
5.9
58.8
11.8
82.4
1.5
61.2
Note: T h e residual percentage implies % teachers w h o term the respect gained as " unsatisfactory"
54
VI. Teachers and Working Conditions
M o s t respondents seemed fairly satisfied with ventilation and teaching aids (Table V I ) .
H o w e v e r , it is appalling to note that 2 3 % of respondents in Punjab, 1 2 % in N W F P and
6 % in Balochistan, do not have electricity/fans in their classrooms, and as such have
marked "non-applicable" against this facility. Hygiene levels, too, are not satisfactory
for a large proportion of respondents, while 6 % of respondents in Balochistan d o not
have any drinking water or toilet facilities in their schools.
TABLE VI Distribution of Teachers (%) by their Level of Satisfaction with
Working Conditions
Ventilation
Excellent
Satisfactory
Fan
Excellent
Satisfactory
N o t Applicable
Teaching Aids
Excellent
Satisfactory
N o t Applicable
Hygiene
Excellent
Satisfactory
N o t Applicable
Drinking Water
Excellent
Satisfactory
N o t Applicable
Toilet Facilities
Excellent
Satisfactory
N o t Applicable
PROVINCES
Punjab
7.1
78.6
0
46.2
23.1
0
84.6
7.7
0
46.2
15.4
0
50
0
0
50
0
Sindh
40
20
40
60
0
20
80
0
0
75
0
25
0
0
25
0
0
NWFP
17.6
82.4
17.6
70.6
11.8
0
94.1
0
6.3
37.5
6.3
5.9
58.8
0
0
50
0
Baloch
22.2
72.2
5.6
44.4
5.6
22.2
77.8
0
16.7
72.2
0
5.6
22.2
5.6
11.1
61.1
5.6
Total
23.2
60.9
17.6
55.9
8.8
11.8
83.8
1.5
6
59.7
4.5
10.1
30.4
1.4
10.3
38.2
1.5
Note: T h e residual percentage implies % teachers w h o term the conditions as " unsatisfactory"
55
VII. Quality of Education
In the context of quality of education, most respondents seemed very satisfied
(Table VII). M o s t respondents were satisfied with the contents of the textbooks
(84%), availability of textbooks (80%), and with the system of examination (84%).
T A B L E VII
Distribution of Teachers (%) by their Level of Satisfaction with
Quality of Education
Contents in T h e Textbook
Excellent
Satisfactory
Availability of Textbooks
Excellent
Satisfactory
System of Examination
Excellent
Satisfactory
PROVINCES
Punjab
0
64.3
0
92.9
0
100
Sindh
0
85
0
45
0
55
NWFP
31.3
62.5
17.6
76.5
0
88.2
Baloch
0
88.9
0
94.4
5.6
94.4
Total
7.4
76.5
4.3
75.4
1.4
82.6
Note: T h e residual percentage implies % teachers w h o term the quality as "unsatisfactory"
56
VIII. Teachers and Work-load
T h e average student-teacher ratio for the sample survey was 25 students per teacher
(Table VIII). O n average, the teachers conduct 34 classes per w e e k i.e. approximately 6
classes per day. Respondents felt that a large proportion of students were attentive
(76%), respectful (91%) and expected to pass (81%). T h e average number of students
w h o dropped out of school was reported around 8, with a very high n u m b e r of
students (almost 19 students), w h o dropped out in Punjab.
According to the respondents, 3 3 % of parents are interested in their children's
education, 3 5 % cooperate with teachers, and 4 5 % are respectful towards them.
T A B L E VIII
Various Indicators Related to Work Load/Students
Average Student Teacher Ratio
Average # of Classes Per W e e k
Percent Students Attentive
Percent Students Respectful
Percent Students Expected to Pass
N u m b e r of Students Dropped Out (#)
Percent Parents Interested in Children's Education
Percent of Parents Cooperative with Teachers
Percent of Parents Respectful
PROVINCES
Punjab
26
34
68.8
100
87.5
18.9
20.7
48.6
65.7
Sindh
22
27
78
93.8
87
2
9.0
9.9
4.8
NWFP
39
40
84.2
81.1
82.3
11.2
51.2
27.9
45.7
Baloch
20
38
72.4
86.7
67.8
9.2
56.7
58.7
72.2
Total
25
34
75.8
90.5
80.9
8.4
33.4
35.2
44.8
24 Other sources, too, claim very high drop out rates for Punjab.
57
IX. Factors Responsible for Shortage of Female Primary Teachers
According to the respondents, three major factors emerge as being responsible for the
shortage of female teachers in their districts:
• Shortage of qualified local w o m e n .
• Socio-cultural obstacles such as purdah, etc.
• Lack of appropriate transportation.
In Punjab and Balochistan, respondents felt that socio-cultural factors were the major
factor responsible for the lack of female teachers, in Sindh, two important factors
identified were shortage of qualified local w o m e n and appropriate transportation,
while in N W F P , socio-cultural factors and transportation problems were identified as
the major obstacles to increasing the n u m b e r of female teachers (Table IX) .
TABLE IX Distribution of Teachers (%) by Factors Identified for lack of
Female Teachers in their District
FACTORS IDENTIFIED (Multi Response)
Shortage of Qualified W o m e n
Socio-cultural Factors, e.g., Marriage, Purdah, etc.
Lack of Appropriate Transportation
Strict Adherence to Recruitment rules, etc.
Very few Posts
Total
PROVINCES
Punjab
50
85.7
71.4
28.6
0
100
Sindh
95
75
95
10
0
100
NWFP
23.5
76.5
64.7
41.2
17.6
100
Baloch
72.2
94.4
66.7
22.2
0
100
Total
63.8
82.6
75.4
24.6
4.3
100
25 These findings are supported by Professor Kamaluddin's Study, "Attrition Rate ot Female Rural Teachers in Balochistan"; (1995), according to which 36% teachers quit job due to transfer; 24% quit job due to marriage; 2 1 % teachers quit job due to accommodation/conveyance problems; and fi" » due to child care responsibilities.
58
X . Other Relevant Issues
In addition to the above information presented in tabulated form, respondents were
requested to highlight other critical issues which they considered as matters of
importance, to them as teachers. They highlighted the following:
In-Service Training
Respondents seemed very concerned about the lack of in-service training
opportunities to primary school teachers, particularly in Balochistan, where all
respondents have highlighted the need for more in-service training of good quality.
Although, a number of courses are offered as part of the public sector's in-service
teachers training programme, yet very few teachers can avail of these opportunities
either due to dislocation costs or other domestic problems. However, in Balochistan,
some recent donor-sponsored initiatives which "bring training to the teacher," such as
the Primary Teacher Mentoring Programme ( P T M P ) , and the Mobile Female Teacher
Training Programme ( M F T T P ) have contributed effectively towards the training of
female teachers. In N W F P , too, since 1996/97, 50,122 teachers have undergone one-
week in-service training, with one day follow up meeting every month, under Primary
Education Programme on Improvement in Learning Environment (PEP-ILE). In
Punjab andSindh, however, such innovative schemes have been relatively few.
Transportation
Transportation is also a major concern for most female teachers, especially in Sindh,
N W F P and Balochistan. Given their conservative cultures, the rural w o m e n in these
provinces find it difficult to commute to work, without appropriate transport facilities.
Given long distances, adverse weather, absence of safe roads and social obstacles such
as purdah, walking to work can be time consuming and hazardous.
Promotion in Job
Respondents in Sindh have highlighted that there is a need for "faster" promotions of
primary teachers.
Role of NGOs
Respondents, especially in N W F P , have stated that there was no role of N G O s in
improving the lot of the primary teachers in rural areas.
59
CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUSION
Information from published secondary sources and field-based discussions and survey
finds indicate the following:
• There is a lower proportion of female primary school teachers in rural areas vis-à-
vis male teachers.
• T h e relative importance of female teachers in priman' schools: a female teacher,
compared to a male teacher, exerts a higher positive impact on students' academic performance,
especially in rural areas.
• There is a lower proportion of trained female primary teachers than their male
counterparts.
• T h e capabilities of female teachers are limited in Mathematics.
• Female teachers have a positive impact on female students' enrollment, regular
attendance and academic performance.
• M o s t teachers report that generally recruitment of primary teachers is not merit-
based, and that government rules and regulations are too strict.
• There is a shortage of female teachers in rural areas, largely due to shortage of
qualified teachers, socio-cultural constraints, and lack of appropriate transport
facilities.
• Transport problems, and the related concern for security, are a severe constraint in
attracting female teachers in rural areas.
• There is a lack of in-service training opportunities for rural teachers, except in
areas e.g. Balochistan, where training schemes such as the mobile teaching training,
primary teachers mentoring programmes, and other similar innovative schemes
have been active.
• Teachers do not seem "adequately satisfied" by the monetary incentives. M o s t of
them however, are reasonably well-satisfied with the respect they get from
administration, colleagues and students. They feel that most parents do not take
sufficient interest in their children's education, nor do they respect or cooperate
fully with the teachers.
• M o s t teachers are satisfied with the w o r k environment; in some areas, however, the
lack of electricity supply can create problems, especially in the s u m m e r heat.
61
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Recruitment of all teachers should be based on the criteria of "local recruitment"
and on merit only.
• T h e transport problem in rural areas need to be addressed urgently. This would not
only have a favourable impact on meeting the shortage of female teachers in these
areas, but would also enable w o m e n to participate in other economic activities e.g.,
health services, family planning services, and other public or private sector
employment.
• T o improve the monetary package for teachers, an additional "rural teachers"
allowance should be added to the regular salary of female teachers in rural areas.
• M o r e in-service training opportunities should be provided to rural teachers,
through programmes which "take the training to the teacher," instead of
dislocating the teacher for the training.
• Donors can focus on improvement in the in-service training programmes, besides
easing the transport problems (with pilot projects, as a beginning).
It is hoped that the n e w policy measures of parents-teacher committees, and the
incentive scheme for rewarding dedicated and honest teachers, would add to the
respect for the teacher, accorded to him by parents and the community.
62