Annual Status of Education Report (ASER)
ASER Pakistan 2013
A citizen’ led initiatives
Final Report
May 1, 2013 – September 30, 2014
(Submission Date: November 10, 2014)
Prepared by:
Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA)
ASER Team (SAFED)
Contents
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... 5
1.
ASER Pakistan ..................................................................................................................... 7
2.
Mobilizing Partners in Pakistan .......................................................................................... 8
3.
Tool Development ............................................................................................................ 10
3.1 Rationale for ASER Tools: .............................................................................................. 10
3.2 ASER Tools ..................................................................................................................... 11
3.3 Piloting of ASER Tools ................................................................................................... 13
3.4 Finalization of Tools and Instruction Booklets .............................................................. 14
4.
ASER Pakistan Training Workshops.................................................................................. 14
4.1 National Workshop ....................................................................................................... 14
4.2 Provincial Workshop ..................................................................................................... 14
4.3 ASER District Training .................................................................................................... 15
5.
ASER 2013 -Analysis and Report ...................................................................................... 16
6.
ASER Associate Training ................................................................................................... 16
6.1 ASER Associate Training Activities: A Brief Overview ................................................... 17
7.
Dissemination – ASER Advocacy ...................................................................................... 18
7.1 ASER Pakistan National launch ..................................................................................... 18
7.2 Provincial Launches ....................................................................................................... 19
7.3 District Launches ........................................................................................................... 19
7.4 ASER Baithaks/Kacheries/Jirgas .................................................................................... 21
7.5 District Report Cards (DRCs): ........................................................................................ 23
7.6 Advocacy Posters .......................................................................................................... 23
7.7 Case Studies and Citizen Stories ................................................................................... 23
7.8 Coalition meeting with District Government Officials .................................................. 24
7.9 Journalists Training and Workshops ............................................................................. 24
7.10 Media Coverage ........................................................................................................ 24
7.11 Theme-based Policy Dialogues ................................................................................. 25
7.12 Policy Briefs ............................................................................................................... 25
7.13 Theme-based Summary Report Cards ...................................................................... 26
7.14 ASER Findings Shared at International Forums (CIES & UKFIET) .............................. 26
7.15 ASER Roundtables in Pakistan .................................................................................. 26
7.16 ASER Roundtables in the UK ..................................................................................... 27
7.17 ASER Blog Launched & Website Revamped ............................................................. 27
7.18 ASER 2013 Impact & Endorsements ......................................................................... 27
8.
Highlights of ASER 2014 ................................................................................................... 29
9.
Right to Education ............................................................................................................ 29
9.1
South Asian Women in Peacemaking......................................................................... 31
9.2
Dialogues with Universities ...................................................................................... 32
9.3 Right to Education South Asian Seminar Series .......................................................... 37
“Seminar & Policy Discussion on Right to Education: Perspective from South Asia” .......... 37
9.4
Capacity Building Seminar Series .............................................................................. 39
9.4.2 Education Expo (UNICEF & UNESCO): ...................................................................... 41
9.4.3
Teachers’ Katechri (Teachers Literature Festival) .................................................. 43
9.5 RIGHT TO EDUCATION (SEMINAR SERIES) ......................................................................... 44
9.5.1
Fourth Anniversary of Article 25-A, Right to Education: April 19th 2014: ............... 44
9.5.2 Four Seminar discussions in collaboration with Pakistan Cooalition for Education (PCE):
45
9.5.3
9.6
Teacher’s Baithak on 1st May 2014 at Federal College of Education, Islamabad . 46
INITIATIVES WITH A WORLD AT SCHOOL (AWAS) ........................................................ 47
9.6.1 Youth Voices against School Closure (May 9th & June 16th, 2014): ......................... 47
9.6.2
International Day of Niegerian Girls:....................................................................... 49
9.6.3 HerRightToEducation: Ensuring Quality Education for ALL girls (July 24 th, 2014): .. 49
9.6.4
International Youth Day (August 12th 2014): ......................................................... 50
9.6.5
International Literacy Day (September 8th, 2014): ................................................. 51
9.7 Regional Conference on Right to Education & Early Childhood Education & Development
(ECED)- Foundation for Quality Learning; Evidence from South Asia (September 16 th -17th) 52
Acknowledgements
A survey of this nature and scale could only be made possible with the support of several
partners. Aligned to the participatory approach adopted by the Annual Status of Education
Report (ASER) Pakistan, citizens’ led initiatives like these will determine the shaping and
sustainability of education profile in this country and indeed the region.
Our first and foremost acknowledgement and gratitude is to the 10,000+ citizen volunteers
who made ASER 2013 possible; without their support we would have been unable to
achieve the largest data set on learning outcomes and access profiles of children in Pakistan.
We salute them and will continue to count on them and many more in 2014 as our core
partners, described aptly as citizens on the march for education and learning.
We are thankful to all the supporters of ASER Pakistan 2013 particularly Foundation
Open Society Institute – FOSI and UKAid’s Department for International Development –
DFID.
We would also like to thank our partners National Commission for Human Development
(NCHD), Democratic Commission for Human Development (DCHD), National Rural Support
Program - NRSP, Research and Community Development organization – RCDO, Al-Watan
Social welfare organization, EHED Foundation, Change through Empowerment, MEHER
Foundation, SAAD, CRDO, HANDS, Sindh Education Foundation (SEF), and Idare-e-Taleemo-Aagahi (ITA) for their wholehearted collaboration.
Executive Summary
Annual Status of Education Report - ASER Pakistan is a survey of quality education and it has
been facilitated by SAFED/Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) every year since 2008-09, ASER
seeks to identify gaps in educational data by seeking to provide a reliable set of data at the
national level that is comprehensive and, at the same time, easy to understand. The
objectives of ASER are threefold: to get reliable estimates of the status of children’s
schooling and basic learning (reading and arithmetic) at district level; measure the change in
these basic learning and schooling status from the previous year; and interpret these results
and use them to affect policy decisions at various levels. Cumulatively, ASER is a movement
for citizen-led, household based, accountability initiative influencing demand and supply
side drivers of education change.
ASER Pakistan 2013 collected information of 263,990 children aged 3-16 years, 87,044
households, 4,382 villages/blocks across 138 rural districts/territories of Pakistan. Along
with these 138 rural districts, 13 urban districts were also included in the survey.
ASER Pakistan builds partnerships at national provincial and district level for data collection
and results dissemination. ASER Pakistan 2013 survey was conducted with help of 25
partner organizations across Pakistan. A consultative approach was adopted in every aspect
of this unique initiative, i.e. tool designing was done with help of assessment
experts/organizations like NEAS, PEAS, IER- Punjab University, University of EducationLahore, Punjab Examination Commission, Sindh Education Foundation etc.
ASER Advocacy and Dissemination campaign started off with the release of National Report
at the Planning Commission of Pakistan, Islamabad followed by provincial launches at
provincial capitals i.e. Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Muzaffarabad for Azad &
Jammu Kashmir. In 2013, ASER Pakistan managed to hold district launches in 51 districts; 22
districts in Punjab, 6 in Sindh, 9 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 6 in Balochistan, 2 in Gilgit-Baltistan
and 8 in Azad & Jammu Kashmir.
ASER findings were shared with national policy makers and regional experts through a
regional conference titled: Regional Seminar - “Right to Education Perspective from South
Asia”. Further theme-based dialogues were conducted in various cities of the country;
“Highlights of Gender Disparity in Education” in Lahore with provincial stakeholders in
Punjab, “Dialogue on Right to Education (RTE) Article 25- A: Learning Challenges and
Inclusion of All” was held in Quetta (Balochistan), Islamabad, Karachi (Sindh) and Lahore
(Punjab).
ASER Pakistan 2013 campaign created a huge impact in highlighting the education as the
most important issue for everyone as this was the second year in a row when ASER took
place throughout the country. Simultaneously, ASER Pakistan advocacy campaign was
widely covered by print and electronic media. ASER 2013 was endorsed by highest level of
decision makers both political as well and technocrats i.e. Planning Commission of Pakistan
(available at www.pc.gov.pk), endorsed by Pakistan Economic Survey 2013-14, Govt. Of
Punjab, Govt. of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Govt. of Gilgit Baltistan, Govt. of Balochistan, and
Govt. of Azad Jammu & Kashmir. ASER Pakistan data is being used as bases for policy making
by Punjab Education Sector Reform Program (PERSP) - Road to Reforms team in Punjab led
by Sir Michael Baber / Mackenzie & Mackenzie.
ASER results and impact was also shared internationally in conferences (UKFIET, CIES, and
various international advisory council boards, namely GMR and UNESCO Institute of
Statistics). Networking with ASER India, UWEZO East Africa was undertaken at the JUBA
family Uganda meet-up for exploring proactive engagement across large scale testing
partners as a South – South initiative by the Hewlett and Open Society Foundations (OSF).
The Research for Development (R4D) team is in conversation with ASER Pakistan, India, and
Uwezo to engage a third party external evaluation of process evaluation, desk review of
testing tools and evaluation of impact.
ASER Pakistan, with limited resources, has made its mark and now it is being used as a basis
for policy making at various forums for benchmarking and making substantial change in
landscape of education development in the country. A medium to long term commitment to
this movement for education governance and accountability as well as institutional support
will further enhance its impact further where education managers and policy makers can
track their performance through ASER findings on a regular basis.
1.
ASER Pakistan
ASER - The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is a survey measuring quality of
education. ASER seeks to provide a reliable set of data at the national level, that is
comprehensive and, at the same time, easy to understand. The survey’s stated objectives
are threefold:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
To get reliable estimates of the status of children’s schooling and basic learning
(reading and arithmetic level) at the district level;
To measure the change in these basic learning and school statistics from last
year;
To interpret these results and use them to affect policy decisions at various
levels.
ASER is generating a great deal of enthusiasm across the country with many institutions (big
and small) seeking engagement for a 5 year program led by concerned citizens.
Organizations and individuals are asking to be enlisted in the voluntary activity that
essentially requires 5 days annually dedicated to the workshop and the survey. This is
indeed very reassuring for all of us.
ASER will increasingly be holding a mirror to the aspirations and milestones declared in
Article 25 A -Right to Education finally declared as a fundamental right. It states that “The
State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen
years in such manner as may be determined by law.”
ASER will provide robust evidence to the countries, 180 million citizens, change makers and
decisions makers about: what our children learn how they learn and where they learn.
ASER Pakistan 2013
In 2013, ASER survey was conducted in 138 rural districts and 13 urban districts/centers
across the country. It was carried out with the help of various civil society organizations,
academia, students, media, bilateral and multilateral agencies and other stakeholders
working in the education sector.
To achieve the above stated objective for ASER Pakistan 2013, financial support was
provided by UKAid’s Department for International Development –DFID, Foundation Open
Society Institute- FOSI, Oxfam-GB, and ITA. This report is narration of activities performed to
achieve the stated objectives as agreed in the project proposal submitted with the supports
of ASER Pakistan.
2.
Mobilizing Partners in Pakistan
A number of meetings were held with the potential partners in all the provinces by
ASER team for mobilization and partnerships for ASER Pakistan 2013 survey. ASER
partners were selected through an open call for an Expression of Interest (EOI). It was
advertised in the leading national newspapers. In response of the EOI, more than 50
applications for partnership were submitted out of this 18 partners were selected
for the 2013 survey. Following are the ASER Pakistan 2013 partners by district;
Sr.
No
Province
Name of Organization
Districts
National Commission for
Bhawalnagar, Sargodha, Kasur,
Human Development –NCHD Vehari, Lodhran, Khanewal,
Jhang, Pakpattan, Narowal,
Bakkar and Chiniot
Democratic Commission for
Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib
Human Development –DCHD and T. T. Singh
1
Punjab
Research & Community
Mianwali, Khushab, Chakwal,
Development organization –
RCDO
Mandi Bahauddin, Jehlum,
Attock and Hafizabad
Al-Watan
Gujranwala and Gujrat
M.k. Foundation
Sialkot
ITA
Multan, Muzafargargh, Rahim
Yar khan, Lahore, Faisalabad,
Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi
Sindh Education Foundation
– SEF
Sindh
Badin, Khairpur, Larkana,
Matiari, Mirpurkhas,
Nawabshah, Sukkur,
Tharparkar, Umerkot and
Hyderabad
SEDF
Thatta
Hands
Dadu, Jacobabad, Jamshoro,
Kashmore, Kambar
Shahdadkot, Tando Allahyar,
Tando Muhammad Khan,
Ghotki
Noshero feroz, Sanghar,
2
NCHD
Shikarpur,
Sr.
No
Province
Name of Organization
Districts
NCHD
Bolan, Chaghi and Washuk
Society for Awareness,
Harnai, Kharan, Kila Saifullah
Advocacy and Development
and Pishin
Education, Health and
Kalat, Ketch, Turbat, Loralai,
Development - EHED
Khuzdar, Lasbela, Panjgur,
Zhob and Ziarat
MEHER
Jaffarabad, Jhal Magsi and
Nasir Abad
3
Balochistan
CTE
Killa Abdullah and Sibi
G & GS
Gwader, Noshki, Mastung and
Sherani
ITA
Barkhan, Dera Bugti, kohlu,
Musa Khel and Quetta
BKTEF
CRDO
Buner, D.I.Khan, Lakki Marwat,
Kohat, Nowshera and Swabi
NCHD
4
Abbotabad, Bannu, Batagram,
Chitral, Hangu, Haripur, Karak,
kohistan. Lower Dir, upper Dir,
Malakand, Mansehra, Shangla,
Tank, Torgar
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
ITA
Charsada, Peshawar, Mardan
and Swat
5
6
Hamza Development
Muzafargargh, Mirpur, Bagh,
Foundation
Haveli, Kotli, Hattian and
Poonch
AJK
NCHD
Neelam, Bhimber and Sudhnoti
NCHD
Gilgit, Diamer, Astore, Ghizer
and Hunza
Geo -Tech
Sakardu & Ghanche
Gilgit - Baltistan
Sr.
No
7
8
3.
Province
Islamabad -ICT
Name of Organization
Districts
ITA
Islamabad
NCHD
Bajaur Agency, Khyber Agency,
Mohmand Agency, Orakzai
Agency, FR Bannu, FR Dera
Ismail Khan, FR Peshawar, FR
Lakki Marwat, FR Tank
FATA
Tool Development
3.1
Rationale for ASER Tools:
Apart from documenting the status of education at national level, ASER documents
information about children’s basic learning levels. However, the learning assessment of
ASER is quite different from other conventional learning assessments taking place in the
country. The ASER assessment is competency based instead of being content based i.e. its
main objective is to check for analytical skills of the children. Another feature that
distinguishes the ASER assessment is that it is HOUSEHOLD based survey and not SCHOOL
based. It assesses every child of age 5-16 years old living in the surveyed household;
including all the in school i.e. enrolled and out of school children, whether dropped out or
never enrolled in schools.
How ASER Compared with Existing Assessment Systems in Pakistan
Recognizing the significance of measuring learning levels, the Pakistan Government has in
recent years undertaken large scale assessment initiatives. Some of these assessment
systems include the National Education Assessment System (NEAS), assessments under the
Provincial Education and Assessment Center (PEACE) and assessment by the Punjab
Examination Commission (PEC).
ASER is different from the above mentioned initiatives in several ways. Firstly, ASER is based
on a household survey and thus assesses everyone in the age group of 5-16 years within a
household. This allows a comparison of learning differences among those enrolled and not
enrolled in school. Secondly, ASER measures more generic and basic numeracy and literacy
skills rather than the subject and often curriculum-based specific skills measured by NEAS
and PEC for specific grades (Grades 4, 5 and 8). This is important because it allows us to
paint a more vivid picture of basic learning than has historically been available.
COMPARISON OF ASER WITH NEAS & PEC:
National Education
Assessment System (NEAS)
 NEAS was established in
Punjab Examination
Commission (PEC)
 PEC was established by the
Annual Status of Education
Report (ASER)
 ASER was launched in
the late 90s to build
assessment capacity at
school, provincial and
federal levels to measure
learning outcomes and
improve the quality of
education.
government of the Punjab
in 2004 to address the
quality challenge.
2008 by ITA (an NGO)
aimed to look at generic
skills of numeracy and
literacy compared to
subject specific learning
levels.
 It is a country wide project.
 It is a provincial project,
covering districts in Punjab.
 It is a country wide project
with a focus on rural
areas.
 NEAS is for grade 4th and
8th in four subjects:
Language, Mathematics,
Science, and Social Studies.
 PEC assessment is for grade
5th and 8th in ALL subjects
and both in public and
private schools.
 ASER assessment is a
household survey aimed
for all children aged
between 3-16 years, in
three subjects: Language,
Mathematics and English
 To date NEAS has
conducted three rounds of
subject-based assessments
 To date four rounds of
assessments have been
held in 2006, 2008, 2009
and 2011
 To date 3 complete rounds
of assessments have been
conducted; 2008, 2010 &
2011, while the 2012
assessment is underway
currently.
 Web Address
www.neas.gov.pk
 Web Address
www.pec.edu.pk
 Web Address
www.aserpakistan.org
3.2
ASER Tools
ASER Tools/Instruments fall in two broad categories of documentation. The details of each
are as following:
Educational Status Documentation:
ASER educational status documentation tools are designed so as to document basic
information of schooling status i.e. child’s educational status, children enrollment, facilities
in school, teachers qualification, school funds information etc. whereas the household
survey documents child’s educational status, child’s parents’ educational status, basic
household information etc. Educational status is documented in the form of:


Household Survey Sheet
School Observation Sheet
I. Government School Observation
II.
Private School Observation
Learning Assessment Tools
ASER learning assessment tools are designed to assess basic competencies of children as
defined in national curriculum. The difficulty level for assessment tools is that of class 2 for
reading (language of pedagogy) and English competencies, while arithmetic abilities are
assessed according to the class 3 curriculum. Learning assessment tools are as following:

Reading Assessment Tools
I.
II.
III.


Urdu
Sindhi
Pashto
English Assessment Tools
Arithmetic Assessment Tools
Each of the ASER assessment tools has 2 samples, i.e. sample 1 and sample 2 for Language,
Arithmetic and English. In case more than one child is present in the vicinity, at the time of
assessment then it is wise to keep multiple samples to assess their competencies. This is to
avoid the situation where the child answers from memory and not skill.
Tool Development:
1. ASER School Status Tools document the state of school enrolments, attendance –
both for children and teachers, provision of basic facilities for example useable
drinking water and toilet facilities, text books, library books and school grants etc.
2. ASER Learning Assessment Tools are developed to assess learning levels of the
children aged 5-16 years old. They are based on the assessment of basic
competencies up to classes 2 for Urdu, English, Pashto and Sindhi and up till
standard 3 for basic Arithmetic as defined by the National Curriculum 2006.
ASER core team got together for two days to discuss the Tools for 2013 i.e. new variables
which needed to be added or subtracts and how the external committee for tool review will
be formed. The meeting took place in Islamabad on the 16th & 17th August, 2013 (See Annex
A for full report). The 3 kinds of survey tools (Language (Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto), English and
Arithmetic) were developed and prepared with the consultation of all ASER partners that
include but not limited to NCHD, SEF, DCHD etc and are finalized after going through a two
tier rigorous evaluation process of test validity. For each learning subject (Language
(Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto), English, Mathematics) two subject specialists from different
universities, colleges and schools provided their feedback. A detailed checklist was
developed to determine the structure and emphases, correspondence with accepted
curricula, and the selection, appropriateness and representation of the items. The tools
were then finally shared (for a review) with Provincial Education Assessment System (PEAS),
Punjab Examination Commission (PEC), Institute of Education and Research and University
of Education Punjab and other international experts including Dr. Monazza Aslam from
Oxford University and ASER Center India. After incorporating all the comments, the tools
were then analyzed for their reliability by using Index such as Flesch Kincaid Grade Level and
Flesch Reading Ease.
What’s new in the tools? (Conflict Data)
Every year, ASER tries to capture data on one of the heating educational variables globally.
For ASER 2013, education data on conflict was chosen. In collaboration with Open Society
Foundation and experts on Conflict in Pakistan, one question was included in the household
survey sheet and three questions were included in the school observation questionnaire.
Following are the questions included in each of the forms:
a) School Questionnaire:
1. Has the school temporarily closed during the last year? Yes or No
2. If yes, for how many days?
3. Reasons for temporary school closures: Floods, Law and Order, Building
Shifted by the Government, and Others
b) Household Questionnaire:
1. Drop out reason: School building shifted by government, poverty, law and
order, floods, and others
3.3
Piloting of ASER Tools
ASER Pakistan 2013 tools were piloted in 8 districts across all the provinces (2 districts per
province). Every district team piloted ASER tools in 4 villages. The district teams shared the
feedback with the ASER core team members and tools were revised in the light of shared
feedback. The district where tools where piloted are:
Punjab
o Multan
o Rahim Yar Khan
Balochistan
o Quetta
o Pishin
Sindh
o Karachi
o Hyderabad
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
o Peshawar
o Charsada
The basic findings of the pilot report for ASER 2013 are annexed (Annex B).
3.4
Finalization of Tools and Instruction Booklets
ASER Tools were finalized with the consultation of all the stakeholders and ASER partners.
After having detailed discussions on the reasons for including each indicator in the tools, the
tools were finalized by the ASER core team. The Sindh assessment tools were developed
with the help of the ASER partners such as SEF, RSU while the Pashto tool was made by the
regional office of ITA in Peshawar. Final tools used for the survey can be found in the annex
of the report (Annex C). The instructions booklet was initially developed in English and later
translated into Urdu language (http://aserpakistan.org/index.php?func=page&page_id=18).
The booklet is useful since it acts as a manual for the volunteers who actually conduct the
survey. It includes details on map formation, household selection and a number of different
cases that may be found in the field. For example, cases such as no child, no response
household or closed household are clearly explained in the instruction kit.
4. ASER Pakistan Training Workshops
ASER Pakistan 2013 training workshops were held at following three levels:
1. National Workshop
2. Provincial Workshops
3. District Training Workshops and Survey
4.1
National Workshop
ASER Pakistan 2013 National workshop was held at Hill View Hotel, Islamabad from
September 3-7, 2013. Focal person from the ASER partner organization participated in the
workshop. The objective of the workshop was to orient ASER partners about ASER as a
movement, brief them about the ASER’s methodology, and devise ASER 2013 roll out plan
with the help of ASER Partners.
4.2
Provincial Workshop
ASER Pakistan 2013 national workshop was followed by Provincial Workshops where master
trainers/district coordinators were trained on ASER methodology. The provincial training
schedule for ASER 2013 is follows:
Sr.
Event
Date
Venue
Facilitator
No.
1
ASER Provincial
Training, Balochistan
2
ASER Provincial Training September 16-18,
KPK
2013
September 16-18,
2013
BBSA Auditorium, Hali
Road, Quetta
Hotel Blue Palace,
Peshawar
•
•
•
•
•
•
Safyan Jabbar
Tanzim Akhtar
Naghmana Ambreen
Imtiaz A. Nizami
Waqas Bajwa
Zara Khan

Zaheer Abbas
3
ASER Provincial Training September 16-18,
FATA
2013
4
ASER Provincial
Training, Sindh
5
ASER Provincial Training September 25-27,
Punjab (for Southern
2013
districts)
September 19-21,
2013
Hotel Blue Palace,
Peshawar
• Afzal Khan
• Ali Nabi Noor

Sania Sajid
Faran Hotel, Hyderabad
•
•
•
•
Safyan Jabbar
Maryam Saba
Saba Ishrat
Mumtaz Pirzada
Auditorium, IER,
• Safyan Jabbar
• Akhtar Mirza
• Fiaz Bajwa
Punjab University, New
Campus, Lahore
6
ASER Training
Workshop AJK
September 25-27, 2013 Sangham Hotel,
Muzaffarabad
7
ASER Provincial Training September 26-28,
Punjab (for Northern
2013
districts)
Hotel First, Multan
8
ASER Provincial Training October 1– 3, 2013
Gilgit Baltistan
Main Hall, Riviera Hotel,
Gilgit ,GB
• Waqas bajwa
• Ali Nabi Noor
• Huma Zia
• Imtiaz A. Nizami
• Sahar Saeed
• Md. Usman




Waqas Bajwa
Imtiaz Nizami
Habibullah Khan
Zaheer Abbas
Full event reports are attached in Annex D in the sequence mentioned above.
4.3
ASER District Training
ASER provincial workshops were followed by district level trainings; the district level training
schedule was as under:
Sr.
Event
Training Dates
Survey Dates
1
ASER District Trainings - Sindh
September 25-27, 2013
September 28-29, 2013, &
October 5-6, 2013
2
ASER District Trainings Balochistan
September 25-27, 2013
September 28-29, 2013 &
October 5-6, 2013
3
ASER District Trainings - KPK
September 25-27, 2013,
September 28-29, 2013 &
October 5-6, 2013
4
ASER District Trainings - FATA
September 25-27, 2013
September 28-29, 2013 &
October 5-6, 2013
5
ASER District Trainings - AJK
October 2-4, 2013
October 5-6, 2013
6
District Trainings Southern
Punjab
October 2-4, 2013
October 5-6, 2013 & Oct.
26-27, 2013
7
District Trainings Central Punjab
October 2-4, 2013
October 5-6, 2013 & Oct.
26-27, 2013
No
5.
ASER 2013 -Analysis and Report
ASER Pakistan 2013 results were repackaged keeping in mind the target population/user of
this data. ASER Pakistan 2013 results were presented in two books; national and district
directory. The ASER National book comprised of two parts. First one focused on ASER
Notes/brief comments based on ASER 2013 results. The contributing educationists were as
follows:
Sr. No
Title of ASER Notes 2013
Author
1
ASER & Right to Education – Tracking Provisions Baela Raza Jamil
for Ensuring Fundamental Rights and Social Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi
Justice
2
The Big Divide? Rural-Urban Story
Dr. Monazza Aslam, Huma Zia &
Sahar Saeed
3
Analyzing
Inter-Provincial
Differences
in Dr. Faisal Bari, Bisma Khan &
Schooling Quality
Neelum Maqsud
4
ASER 2013: Calling Our Teachers to Account!
Dr. Monazza Aslam
5
Measuring Gender & Educational Inequality – Huma Zia & Sahar Saeed
Addressing the Marginalized
6
Educating Our Mothers: Exploring the Link Maryam Saba & Zara Khan
Between Maternal Education and Child
Outcomes
7
What Do We Know About the Use of ASER and Irfan Muzaffar
How Can We Improve It?
The second part of the national book represented Survey Findings and Results - the detailed
analysis of data collected ASER results. The ASER District Directory focused on the report
cards for all 138 rural districts covered in the survey.
6.
ASER Associate Training
Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) Associate Training was conducted at Hotel Pak
Heritage Lahore from 22nd – 25th January, 2014. The training aimed at incorporating the new
exciting phase of Post-ASER dissemination, and orienting the ASER associates to the nuts
and bolts of the best practices for disseminating data to the large audience at the National,
Provincial as well as District level. The 5-day training was the ideal opportunity for the evergrowing ASER fraternity to get together under one roof and orient themselves to the rigor of
data dissemination.
6.1
ASER Associate Training Activities: A Brief Overview
Day 1
S. #.
1
2
3
4
5
6
S.#.
Description
Facilitator/presenter
Introduction of participants and
Waqas Bajwa
Welcome Address
Objectives of the Workshop and
Waqas Bajwa
expected outcomes
ASER Data – Findings of 2013 and its
Huma Zia
comparison to 2011-12
Understanding ASER data,
Imtiaz Nizami & Sahar Saeed
Provincial/District
(Its credibility and significance through
its methodologies)
Presentation Skills – an overview
Waqas Bajwa
Presenting ASER data at different tiers
Syed Tanzeem
Day 2
Description
Facilitator/presenter
1
Objectives of the sessions and expected
outcomes
Waqas Bajwa
2
A brief of communication
Waqas - Plenary Discussion
3
Significance of Social Media for
communication and advocacy
Google/social media firm (Presentation
of forms)
4
Use of Facebook for ASER objectives
Social media firm
Hands on testing of different formats in
groups
5
Use of Twitter under defined parameters
Social Media team (Plenary Discussion)
6
Establishing / sharing accounts and initiating
Facebook and twitter officially
Md. Usman Naz
Plenary Discussion
Day 3
S.#.
Description
Facilitator/presenter
1
Objectives of the sessions and expected
outcomes
Waqas
2
Community Mobilization – Dos and DONTs
Name: Waqas
Presentation
Plenary Discussion
3
ASER Baithaks – Sharing experiences
Plenary Discussion (Safyan)
4
Teacher Baithaks – The idea and its
implementation
Name: Safyan
Presentation
Plenary Discussion
5
Content designing – Teachers Baithak
Plenary Discussion (Jameel Najam)
6
Media Strategy (Print & Electronic) for ASER
Dissemination
Name: Waqas
Presentation
Plenary Discussion
Day 4
7.
S.#.
Description
Facilitator/presenter
1
Recap of Previous Sessions
Waqas
2
Training Practicum – Format designing
Plenary Discussion
3
Group Presentations
Group Work
4
Group Presentations
Group Work
5
Planning - ASER provincial & district launches
and baithaks
Group Work
6
Resource/Material compilation
Group Work
Closing session
Imtiaz
Dissemination – ASER Advocacy
ASER Pakistan with limited resources has made its mark and now it is being used as a basis
for policy making at various forums for benchmarking and making substantial change in
landscape of education development in the country. A medium to long term commitment to
this movement for education governance and accountability as well as institutional support
will further enhance its impact further where education managers and policy makers can
track their performance through ASER findings on a regular basis.
ASER results were shared internationally in various conferences such as UKFIET, CIES, and
Open Forum, SAFED/ETS). Networking with ASER India, UWEZO East Africa was undertaken
at JUBA Meet this year (funded by DFID India) which was further discussed at CIES for
exploring proactive engagement across large scale testing partners as a South –South
initiative by the Hewlett and Open Society Foundations (OSF). The Research for
Development (R4D) is in conversation with ASER Pakistan to engage in the shaping of the
global compact influenced by ASER processes, tools and outcomes.
ASER 2013 advocacy campaign was kicked off with the National level report release of ASER
Pakistan 2013.
7.1
ASER Pakistan National launch
The ASER National Launch 2013 was formally launched on the 16th January, 2014 in the
Planning Commission, Islamabad by Prof. Ahsan Iqbal – Federal Minister for Planning &
Development and Deputy Chairman Planning Commission of Pakistan. ASER Pakistan 2013
findings were shared with the participants through video presentation followed by panel
discussion. Our panelists for the launch were:
1. Mr. Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning and Development (Chief Guest)
2. Mr. Fahd Hussain, ASER Ambassador
3. Mr. Saeed Ghani, PPPP Senator
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Mr. Siraj-ul-haq, Senior Minister and Minister for Finance (KPK)
Ms. Ayesha Gulalai Wazir, MNA (PTI)
Mr. Musharaf Zaidi, Campaign Director Alif Ailaan
Ms. Asyia Kamzi, Senior Advisor Education DFID
Ms. Nargis Sultana, Senior Officer Education FOSI
The panel guests shared their thoughts on the plight of education particularly with
reference to ASER findings. They welcome ASER Pakistan’s initiatives as first step in the right
direction and stressed upon the need of using such findings for future planning in the
education sector regularly. The national launch was attended by the civil society activists,
educationists, Govt. representatives, parents and media. Mr. Ahsan Iqbal specifically
highlighted the need for education constituency mapping so that government officials can
be held responsible for the state of education in their constituency.
7.2
Provincial Launches
ASER Pakistan Provincial launches were held at following provincial levels:
Sr. No.
Provincial
Launch Date & venue
1
Punjab Launch
10th February 2014
Officer’s Mess GOR 1, Lahore
2
Sindh Launch
11th February 2014
Karachi School of Business & Leadership,
Karachi
3
Balochistan Launch
15th February 2014
Boys’ Scout, Quetta
4
Khyber Pakhtoonkha Launch
24th February 2014
Peshawar
5
Azad Jammu & Kashmir Launch
26th February 2014
Pilot High School, Muzaffargarh
6
Gilgit-Baltistan Launch
15th May 2014
Serena Hotel, Gilgit
7.3 District Launches
ASER report was released through District Launch/seminar at following districts
Sr.No
District Name
Launch Date & venue
1
Lodahran
March 24th, 2014
2
Khanewal
March 24th, 2014
3
Toba Tek Singh
March 22th, 2014
4
Sahiwal
March 20th, 2014
5
Jhang
March 21st , 2014
6
Sargodha
March 21st, 2014
7
Sialkot
March 24th , 2014
8
Hafizabad
March 20th, 2014
9
Gujranwala
March 21st , 2014
10
Lahore
March 21st, 2014
11
Sheikhupura
March 25th ,2014
12
Okara
March 25th, 2014
13
Rawalpindi
March 26th, 2014
14
Mianwali
March 27th, 2014
15
Khushab
March 18th, 2014
16
Chiniot
March 29th, 2014
17
Faisalabad
March 25th, 2014
18
Multan
March 25th, 2014
19
Muzaffargarh
March 23rd , 2014
20
Dera Ghazi Khan
March 20th, 2014
21
Bahawalpur
March 17th, 2014
22
Rahim Yar Khan
March 19th, 2014
23
Thatta
3rd March,2014
24
Hyderabad
20th March,2014
23
Dadu
24th March, 2014
24
Sukkur
25th March,2014
25
Khairpur
27th March,2014
26
Shikarpur
15th April,2014
27
Mastung
18th March,2014
28
Zhop
21st March,2014
29
Nushki
24th March, 2014
30
Pishin
27th March,2014
31
Ziarat
20th March,2014
32
Kalat
28th March, 2014
33
Mardan
20th March,2014
34
Swat
27th March,2014
35
Swabi
27th March, 2014
36
Charsada
29th March,2014
37
Peshawar
2th April ,2014
38
Kohat
4th April,2014
39
Nowshera
18th March,2014
40
Mansehra
21st March,2014
41
Bannu
24th March, 2014
42
Skardu
June 9th , 2014
43
Hunza Nagar
June 16th , 2014
44
Neelum
March 17th, 2014
45
Hattian
March 18th, 2014
46
Bagh
March 19th, 2014
47
Poonch
March 20th, 2014
48
Sudhnati
March 21st , 2014
49
Kotli
March 24th, 2014
50
Muzaffarabad
June 5th, 2014
51
Bhimber
June 6th, 2014
For each of the district launches, ASER presentation and narrative was prepared in English as
well as in one local language (Urdu, Sindhi or Pashto) so that the local community
understood what is being communicated to them.
7.4
ASER Baithaks/Kacheries/Jirgas
ASER District Coordinators organized ASER Baithaks (informal discussion) with community
and teachers to encourage them to take actions for improve learning levels of children. 250
ASER Village Baithaks in 25 selected districts were conducted all over Pakistan. Find below
the districts selected for village Baithaks:
Sr. no
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Province
Punjab
District
Rahim yar khan
Bahawalpur
Chiniot
Multan
Muzaffargarh
Faisalabad
D.G. khan
8
Mianwali
9
khushab
10
Lahore
11
Hyderabad
12
Sukkur
Sindh
13
Shikarpur
14
Larkana
15
Khairpur
16
Thatta / Sajwal
17
Peshawar
18
Mardan
Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa Charsada
19
20
Swat
21
Swabi
22
Kohat
23
Quetta
Balochistan
24
Lasbela
25
Ziarat
(Name of villages for each district are mentioned in Annex E)
Action points were generated from all village Baithaks and District Coordinators were asked
to follow up on the commitments made by the government officials present at the time of
the Baithak. For display and effective communication/discussion, ASER results of each of the
villages were put on a banner in the form of Village Report Cards (Can also be seen on the
website: http://aserpakistan.org/index.php?func=page&page_id=45 – Sample attached in
Annex F). Action points from some of the Baithaks are following:
•
Parental/Youth active engagement in schools-visits on a weekly basis.
•
Girls enrolment drives in villages; teachers to mobilize parents to send their girls to
school.
•
Community rebuilt a path to girls school for safety for increasing enrolment; tractor
and time donated the path was paved for girls to reach school.
•
EDO (Executive District Officer) committed to providing additional furniture to
school.
•
Teachers to be punctual and accountable.
•
Teachers to give special attention to children lagging in learning.
•
EDO commit to appoint qualified Mathematic teachers as learning levels of children
are poorest in Arithmetic (ASER 2013).
7.5
District Report Cards (DRCs):
District Report Cards (DRC) were used to present a summary of the status of schooling and
learning outcomes in each of the selected districts. ASER core team prepared the DRC in
close collaboration with the District Education Department. DRCs for ASER 2013 showed a
comparison of all indicators with the previous year. It covered the following main aspects of
education in each district:
Access







Quality

Number government and non-formal institutes segregated by type
Enrollment in government schools by type
Number of teachers in government schools by type
Student and Teacher Attendance
School Facilities
Mother’s Education and Paid Tuition
Allocation and expenditure on education in the district
Learning outcomes of children, disaggregated by public-private, and subject (based
on ASER findings)
Once all the data was collected from various sources (PSLM Survey, ASER 2013, District
Education Departments, District Finance and Planning Departments and Literacy & NFBE
Departments), the DRCs were sent to all EDOs to provide data on access. DRCs were also
used during the district coalition meetings. They can be seen on the website under the link:
http://aserpakistan.org/index.php?func=page&page_id=47 or in Annex G of the report.
7.6
Advocacy Posters
In order to create awareness and trigger real pressure and actions from the duty bearers, 6
types of posters were prepared – one for each of the following groups: EDO-Education and
their team, teacher educators, head teacher and teachers, school councils/schoolmanagement committees, parents and students. The purpose of these posters is to highlight
the areas which need the utmost attention of the stakeholders for improving learning
outcomes.
The posters are produced in Urdu for sharing and effective communication at the grass root
level. They were distributed to schools in the selected districts for ready use and display in
respective offices, or community places. ASER district coordinators ensured that copies of
these posters reached their target groups including local media and other civil society
organizations working on education in the same region (Annex H).
7.7
Case Studies and Citizen Stories
In order to create a powerful campaign, it is important to highlight stories of success and
case studies on student learning, teachers, and civil society actions through social media.
For this purpose, the ASER District Coordinator produced one-page stories and case studies
from their districts. At least 2 case studies/stories were produced for each of the selected
district. The stories can be seen on the ASER website and were shared with local media
(Annex I).
7.8
Coalition meeting with District Government Officials
Coalition meetings were conducted in five districts of Punjab with at least five
representatives from District Education Departments, 2-3 representatives from other civil
society organizations and the ASER team where the current status of education was
discussed with the government official departments, current ASER findings were shared and
was discussed how to take efficient measures to ensure full enrollment and improve the
learning outcomes of children as that remains a challenge. Following are the districts where
coalition meetings were conducted:
1. Mianwali
2. Bahawalpur
3. D.G.Khan
4. Chiniot
5. Khushab
7.9
Journalists Training and Workshops
In order to build the capacity of the local media in terms of understanding education
data/findings and how to report them efficiently to the masses, ITA in collaboration with
Ilm-o-Aagahi conducted one day training and workshop in 8 major cities. The event was
opened with remarks from renowned journalist Mubashir Zaidi, followed by sessions on
education communication through social media, reading and interpreting education data;
sharing of ASER findings with local journalists and conducting sessions with experienced
media celebrities on how to effectively and efficiently communicate Education News to the
policymakers & the citizens. Following is the schedule of the media trainings:
LOCATION
Lahore
Multan
Bahawalpur
Karachi
Hyderabad
Sukkur
Quetta
Peshawar
DATE
st
1 April ,2014
15th April,2014
16th April,2014
9th April,2014
10th April 2014
22nd April,2014
3rd April,2014
30th April,2014
7.10 Media Coverage
ASER Pakistan works in close collaboration with the media (print as well as the electronic
media). It is mandatory that the findings of ASER are shared at the mass level so that the
citizens are informed of the current status of learning. Media is involved in various process
of ASER starting from ASER National Training Workshop till District level Village Baithaks.
They are invited to even conduct the survey with ASER teams in order to be able to witness
the learning levels of children on their own and report about it. Time to time ASER is
reported in almost all leading newspapers of Pakistan. These include English and Urdu
publications both: Dawn, The News, The Nation, The Express Tribune, Daily Times, The
Frontier Post, Pakistan Observer, Nawa-e-Waqt, Kabrain, Jang, Rozanama Dunya, and
several other provincial and district level newspapers. ASER is also covered in News Channel
such as Geo, ARY Digital, and Dunya News. For more information on media coverage, see
the link http://aserpakistan.org/index.php?func=news.
7.11 Theme-based Policy Dialogues
Policy dialogues on the themes such as Gender, Education for All, Early Childhood Education
and Development, and Right to Education were conducted across country to initiate debate
amongst policymakers on the persistent issues highlighted by ASER 2013 results. Following
is the list of policy dialogues held:
1. A Regional Policy Seminar: Right to Education Perspective from South Asia - 17th
January, 2014 (Islamabad)
2. Highlights of Gender Disparity in Education – 12th March, 2014 (Lahore)
3. Dialogue on Right to Education (RTE) Article 25- A: Learning Challenges and Inclusion
of All – 5th May, 2014 (Balochistan, Islamabad, Karachi & Lahore)
4. Regional Seminar on Right to Education & Early Childhood Education and
Development (ECED), the foundation for Quality Learning- Evidence from South Asia
– (postponed due to security conditions of Karachi – expected to take place in
August).
7.12 Policy Briefs
Every year, ASER results are repackaged in the form of policy briefs/recommendations for
policymakers. As per the trends shown in ASER 2013, following diversified themes for policy
briefs were selected:
Sr. no
1
2
3
4
5
Policy Briefs
Right to Education: the Impact of Patents’
Literacy on Children’s Education Access and
Learning
Comparative Analysis of Urban Polarization –
Education for Sustainable Development
Expanding Equitable Early Childhood Care – An
Urgent Need!
The Link of Pupil Teacher Ratio to Student
Learning Achievements in Pakistan
Education and Learning in Pakistan – Telling a
Author
Ayesha Bilal
Huma Zia
Sahar Saeed
Ravish Amjad
Dr. Monazza Aslam & Dr.
Tale of Disparities
Shenila Rawal
6
Standardizing Early Childhood Education: Zara Khan
Student Achievement & Teacher Qualification
7
Violent Conflict: Education in Pakistan – Cause Dr. Bernadette Dean
and Casualty
They can be found on the website (link:
http://aserpakistan.org/index.php?func=page&page_id=48)
7.13 Theme-based Summary Report Cards
For easy interpretation of results, ASER also prints various theme-based summary report
cards such as enrollment, out of school children ranking, gender report card, and learning
levels of children for each province (all districts) and an overall comparison of learning
levels, enrollment and school facilities across provinces. These report cards for ASER 2013
are attached in Annex J.
7.14 ASER Findings Shared at International Forums (CIES & UKFIET)
As part of its advocacy plan, ASER follows a rigorous process of sharing the data and its
findings on various national and international forums. In the year 2013 & 2014, ASER
representatives had the chance to go to two international conferences and present their
papers. Ms. Sahar Saeed & Dr. Baela Raza Jamil attended the 12th UKFIET International
Conference on Education and Development, 10th – 12th September, 2013 and presented the
paper titled “Education Quality, Global Imperatives, and Contested Vision” co-authored by
Baela Raza Jamil, Huma Zia and Sahar Saeed.
ASER Pakistan was also represented well at the 58th Comparative and International
Educational Society (CIES) Conference in Canada from 10 th-15th March, 2014. Ms. Huma Zia
and Dr. Baela Raza Jamil presented a total of six papers including one panel presentation:
1. Panel Presentation: “Large-scale, Household-based, Citizen-led Assessments – a
Forum for Inclusion, Social Capital & Social Accountability”
2. Measuring gender and educational quality – the need for social outcomes
3. Incomparability between English language competency and policy insights: case from
Pakistan
4. Access and learning in early childhood education: emerging trends and challenges
from ASER Pakistan
5. Children’s Literature Festival – beyond texts and tests for promoting a culture of
multiple narratives and critical thinking
6. Effects of Parental Education and Involvement on Student Achievement: Evidence
from Pakistan
7.15 ASER Roundtables in Pakistan
This year, ASER conducted rounds of advocacy sessions in universities across Pakistan to
engage and inform students about ASER Survey and its findings. Since academia is an
important stakeholder, graduate and post graduate students were given a presentation on
the origin of ASER, its scale and scope, the findings of ASER 2013, and also were urged to
use the data sets for their research projects. Following is a list of universities/research
centers where ASER roundtables were conducted:
Institute Name
1. Beaconhouse National University
Date
2nd April, 2014
5th May, 2014
2. University of Management & Technology
3. Lahore College for Women University
7th May, 2014
4. Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad
5. Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi
6. Women University Brewery Road, Quetta
7. Balochistan University of Information Technology,
Engineering & Management Sciences, Quetta
28th April, 2014
12th June, 2014
27th June, 2014
26th June, 2014
7.16 ASER Roundtables in the UK
Two ASER roundtables were conducted in the United Kingdom at the University of Warwick
and the Cambridge University.
Title of the Session
Speakers
Venue
Date
1. Citizens of tomorrow:
Sharing experiences in
Education from the grass
roots
Baela Raza Jamil,
Monazza Aslam &
Shaheen Sardar Ali
Warwick University
11 June, 2014
2. Citizens Reshaping
Education through
Evidence Based Annual
Learning Accountability
Initiatives in Pakistan and
Beyond
Baela Raza Jamil,
Monazza Aslam & Dr.
Pauline Rose
Cambridge University
12 June, 2014
7.17 ASER Blog Launched & Website Revamped
ASER website was completely revamped in terms of its format and contents. The new and
updated version of the website is now available for public view (www.aserpakistan.org).
With the launch of this new website, another unique element launched is the official ASER
Blog where writers from all over the globe can contribute and also comment on other
people’s work which has been uploaded as articles. This kind of platform provides ASER with
various learning and growing opportunities as various international educationists are taking
part in it. The blog can be viewed on this link (http://aserpakistan.org/index.php?func=blog)
7.18 ASER 2013 Impact & Endorsements
ASER Pakistan has provided a basis for decision making at all levels. Today, ASER Pakistan
has become a benchmark for not just quality but also access challenges faced by Pakistan
with almost 25 million children 5-16 years old who are estimated to be out of school. It is
the most quoted document, embraced by policy makers, bureaucrats, think tanks,
researchers, media, CSOs and politicians alike. The data set collected by 10,000 volunteers is
seen to be less than 1% apart from Neilsen/PMIU estimates of the government (Punjab).
The document gets a special space in the Economic Survey of Pakistan undertaken by the
Ministry of Finance each year in the Education Chapter. Now ASER is also being
used for PhD research, university course work in Pakistan and also at the Teachers College
Columbia University.
The power of ASER is the simplicity of its tools accessible to anyone for testing; it is a
public service with open access to raw data. It is now being positioned to be used for
advocacy and tracking of Right to Education under Article 25 A as its age group is aligned to
the same group that the state has a fundamental responsibility towards under the
constitution; all children 5-16 years of age.
ASER tools are being adapted and used in many programs across Pakistan. The training given
to 10,000+ youth volunteers in a partnership mode is multiplying capacity at the grass roots
and middle class level - challenging the inertia of the state and governments through
indigenous contexts driven by local data rendered by ASER Pakistan. Some of the key
achievements are mentioned below:













ASER dataset has been linked to the GMR-WIDE website on inequalities
(http://www.education-inequalities.org/)
ASER data used by Alif Ailaan District Ranking Report (2014)
http://www.aserpakistan.org/document/learning_resources/2014/Alif%20Ailaan%20District
%20Ranking%20Report/AlifAilaan%20District%20Education%20Ranking%202014%20%20Draft%20Report.pdf
ASER roundtables taking place across Pakistan and in UK
(http://aserpakistan.org/index.php?func=page&page_id=46,
http://aserpakistan.org/index.php?func=page&page_id=53)
Article published in NORRAG “The Growing Gender and Educational Inequalities – addressing
the marginalized” (http://norrag.wordpress.com/2014/02/18/the-growing-gender-andeducational-inequalities-addressing-the-marginalized/)
Endorsed by Planning Commission of Pakistan (http://www.pc.gov.pk/)
Contribution made in Save the Children (Savethechildren.org/righttolearn)
Quoted by Global Monitoring Report 2013/4 (Global Monitoring Report 2013)
Uganda Meet (Large scale citizens’ led assessments-JUBA Annual Meeting)
Cited in key government documents e.g. Pakistan Economic Survey 2013- 2014 & 2012-2013,
Education sector plan Balochistan, Roadmap to Reform Punjab.
5 papers being presented at the Comparative and International Education Society 2014
Toronto, Canada (http://www.cies.us/2014/) and one presented at UKFIET 2013 Conference
(http://www.ukfiet.org/cop/2013-conference-papers/evidence-and-knowledge/)
Alif Ailaan partnership – produced District Education Rankings based on ASER 2013 data.
Influencing the post 2015 development agenda and goal setting in regional and international
meetings and consultations (GEFI: LMTF, GMR, CIES, UKFIET, etc.)
ASER data shared with the legal community, Judges, Chief Justices etc. in public interest
litigation as well as the mounting campaign on Right to Education for implementing 25-A.
ASER Raw data 2012 and 2013 is also available on the website
(http://aserpakistan.org/index.php?func=data_statistics) so that everybody including
researchers, students, organizations, stakeholders etc. can benefit from ASER findings.
8.
Highlights of ASER 2014
ASER Cycle for 2014 is all set to go in the field from September onwards and this 5 th
consecutive year will serve as a milestone for providing profound insights on key issues in
order to improve educational governance. ASER 2014 will include questions on disabilities /
health & functioning added in the survey sheets (both households and school) to get an
insight about the status of disability prevalence in Pakistan. Disability/Health and
Province
Status of Legislation
Nature of Legislation
Functioning sheet is attached in Annex I. Also the results of ASER 2014 will be presented on
the basis of constituencies for some districts.
9.
Right to Education
ICT/Islamabad
Passed in the Parliament on
December 19th, 2012
Right to Free and Compulsory
Education Act, 2012
ICT/Islamabad
Discussion with CADD in
November 2013
Draft of Right to Free and
Compulsory Education Rules,
2013
Sindh
Passed in Province on March
6th, 2013
Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Act,
2013
Balochistan
Passed in Provincial Assembly
as an ACT on February 6th,
2014
Balochistan Compulsory
Education Act, 2014
Punjab
An education emergency has
been declared whereby
passing an ordinance on May
13th, 2014
Punjab Free and Compulsory
Education Ordinance 2013
Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK)
Draft Bill proposed in the
provincial assembly
Draft Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa
Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Act
2014
Azad Jammu and Kashmir
(AJK)
Not available
Not available
Gilgit Baltistan (GB)
Not available
Not available
Education has been globally accepted and acknowledged as one of the basic rights of human
beings as contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR1) and reinforced in
several international instruments2 (http://www.pdhre.org/conventionsum/index4.html).
The government of Pakistan has similarly recognized education as a fundamental right
through Article 25-A of the 18th constitutional amendment on April 19, 2010. This
legislation, more commonly known as the Right to Education (RTE) has led to formulation of
Bills, Acts and Ordinances in other provinces. The summary of these legislations may be
elaborated in the table below:
The delay in the process of implementation of these above mentioned legislation led to the
need for an advocacy campaign to further the voice of education to the community. The RTE
campaign was aimed to revolve around ensuring provisions of access, quality and equity as
reflected in Article 25-A of the 18th constitutional amendment. This campaign also arose
1
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 26 (http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml)
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC): Article 28
International Covenants on Human Rights
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR): Articles 13 & 14
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
2
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW): Article 10
from the need to monitor the implementation process of the provincial governments, in
processes such as budget allocation, teacher training and all the aspects being covered in
Article 25-A. The campaign was aimed to envisage the following objectives:
 Instigate public debates on RTE to apprise the policy-makers, parents and strategic
stakeholders of their role in ensuring effective and timely implementation of Article
25-A & stress on the urgency for drafting Legislation.
 Effective dissemination of the issues pertaining to education as reflected in the
Annual Status of Education Report (ASER).
 Constructive research within Pakistan on excluded groups and legal implications of
implementing Article 25-A & across South Asia on RTE issues to enable informed
action and advocacy.
 Capacity building and mobilization of networks such as teacher and student unions
through active collaborations and trainings for a better understanding of the issues
relating to Right to Education and Article 25 A in context of Pakistan.
 Mobilization and awareness of media and education journalists for advocacy of the
Right to Education
 Capacity building and mobilization of youth and youth communities especially
through social media for RTE
This campaign was initiated through the following seminars, activities, events and
interactive sessions throughout the course of the time period, aligning itself with the ASER
2013 cycle so as to give rise to an advocacy campaign based on empirical evidence from the
most recent academic calendar.
9.1
South Asian Women in Peacemaking
Dr. Radha Kumar, Director of Delhi Policy Group and Ms. Mehbouba Seraj, Chairperson of
Afghan Women’s Network visited Pakistan in hope of outlining the peace making progress
by women for the South Asian region. This visit was facilitated by the Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan and the ITA, RTE campaign team. The aim was to assess the role of
women in South Asian peacemaking and address the growing awareness amongst
policymakers of the gap between the wide public participation of women’s groups and their
low representation as peacemakers. The Delhi Policy Group series attempts to use this
window of opportunity to promote the role of women in South Asian peace processes.
The visit of the participants extended from June 9th – 15th 2013, holding a series of dialogues
throughout Pakistan (Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad) with women leaders and groups. The
discussions took place with various groups such as Human Rights Commission Pakistan,
South Asian Forum for Education Development (SAFED), National Commission on the Status
of Women, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Jinnah Institute, Shirkat Gah, Women
Resource Centre, various women parliamentarians such as Nafeesa Shah, Bushra Gohar and
so on. Some of the major outputs of this visit included:


Pakistani women’s contribution towards achieving peace in the South Asia region
Women’s leaders have become active in the Track II India-Pakistan peace process
and are under-represented in Pakistan – Afghanistan process


9.2
The final report to be designed was to include perspectives of women on India-Pak
relations, Pak- Afghan relations and national relations
The process of peace- making was discussed in various sectors such as media,
politics, defence, cultural and religious similarities and so on
Dialogues with Universities
According to Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights, the right to
education has different facets both quantitative and qualitative in nature. The questions of
implementation are limited in terms of the methods of interpretation such as “everyone has
the right to education” but what does this include? “Who will provide the education?”
“What is the right kind of education?” etc. Factors that eventually are to be considered
include the changing times, the responsibility of the state vs. the community, the current
explosion of the knowledge revolution, questions of access and quality and so on.
Such a right deserves the representative ambassador which allows the agenda to be put
forth in a fresh perspective and to inculcate a holistic and homogenous representation of
the right to education. While creating a driver for this right, it would assist in the
understanding of ownership and advocacy issues of this right, which is an extremely
neglected facet within the current spheres of rights.
With a quick and diversely changing milieu of education, the government and community
require fervent and qualified ambassadors to end the education emergency. The national
level discussion such as the MDG Acceleration Framework (MAF) and RTE bills and
ordinances need to be frequently visited, revised and implemented.
Objectives:

To select one ambassador from each province in order to represent the platform of
youth in that province and lead a team of students such as a university club in order
to push forth issues on education. This team will be responsible for advocacy of
article 25-A, a pressure group for the government to implement the various laws on
education and innovative and creative ideas on the various techniques to enhance
quality, access and budgets for education. This will not only allow advocacy of the
cause but bring about a platform for creative voices to be heard and organized into.

To carry forth a discussion in all four provinces and the capital within the university
platform to streamline the voices of the youth and understand what the youth
assume about education standards in the country and how do they expect to take
forward the agenda of prioritizing education.
Execution:
As planned, a youth seminar was held in each province and the Federal Capital from
November 2013 to December 2013. Detail of each event is listed as follows:
Islamabad:
Hosted by: Federal College of Education (FCE) & Idara-e-Taleem O Aagahi (ITA)
Date: November 13th, 2013
Chief Guests: Rashda Fatima, Director FCE
Jamil Bajwa, Associate Professor FCE
Venue: FCE auditorium
Agenda of Event: Annex A
List of Participants: Annex B
Introduction:
This discussion was inaugurated by Mr. Jamil Bajwa, introducing the close and long standing
association of ITA and FCE. He stressed on the role of FCE and ITA in achieving the goals of
the education sector and the dire need to address the gaps that persist within this sector.
He introduced the agenda for the day in terms of the importance of youth to implement the
Right to Education (RTE), Article 25-A, within the ambit of the constitution.
This was followed by an introduction by Mr. Waqas Hameed Bajwa, Deputy Director
Marketing & Branding, ITA to provide a brief introduction of the organization and its scope.
He explained the significance of the discussion in the broader agenda of achieving the
Millennium Development Goals and representing Pakistan on the education platform. He
spoke of the importance of the lawful right of every citizen in the country and
understanding this right in order to enforce its implementation within their capacity.
Session One:
The RTE team at ITA gave a presentation on “What is Right to Education (RTE), Article 25-A”
and “Role of Youth for 25-A implementation” within a historical preview of the law, along
with the process involved in formulating a bill and the eventual insertion of Article 25-A
after the 18th amendment in 2010. This article elaborates as follows:
“The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 5 to 16
years in such manner as may be determined by law”
This session also included understanding the RTE bill and its procedure from drafting till it
was accepted as a bill in a few provinces. The multi-level mobilization process provided an
explanation for each segment of society from youth to civil society to media and political
parties’ associations. An in depth analysis of this section highlighted the importance youth
played in the implementation process of Article 25-A. The following table may also provide a
summary of the provinces in the RTE bill has been passed as an Act or Ordinance in the
provincial legislation:
Province
Status of Legislation
Nature of Legislation
ICT/Islamabad
Passed in the Parliament on
December 19th, 2012
Right to Free and Compulsory
Education Act, 2012
Sindh
Passed in Province on March 6th,
2013
Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Act, 2013
Baluchistan
Passed in Province on March 15th,
2013
Baluchistan Compulsory and Free
Ordinance, 2013
KPK
Working on Draft legislation
Draft Bill
Punjab
First draft legislation prepared by
PML-Q in 2012
Not available
Azad Jammu and
Kashmir (AJK)
Not available
Not available
Gilgit Baltistan
(GB)
Not available
Not available
The presentation provided continued to elaborate on the importance of youth stating the
significance in terms of percentage of the population, where youth makes up approximately
45% of the current population of the country and therefore can prove to be a driving force
towards implementation of such laws. The section within the ICT bill was highlighted which
provided an opportunity to identify the sub-article where the youth could provide its
significance within the sphere of the law as policy advocates.
This session was concluded with a discussion on the functions of youth within the RTE
spectrum to alter, modify and opinionate the policy makers on this law and its enforcement.
This discussion entailed the necessary tools the youth would need to equip it with, in order
to carry the RTE implementation process effectively. ITA would at any stage provide
assistance and guidance for this process from accountability to ownership to creating
forums/platforms that represent youth in the formation of draft, inclusion in law and
representation in the policy of RTE.
Session Two:
This part of the discussion was circled around a moderated session on the role of youth for
implementation of Article 25-A. Understanding what the current status of education is and
how it can be improved; were brought forward as key themes of RTE implementation. The
following outputs were highlighted by the students, faculty and Director FCE in order to
achieve the goals:
Output:




Establishment of a youth ambassador and formulating a strict selection criteria
which will not be subject to political parties’ agendas
Link the education received with employment opportunities, with a more direct link
of career counseling with curriculum
Enforcing a compulsory two month semester or course at college and university level
to teach in villages with deteriorating education levels according to ASER
Conducting appropriate teacher training for any change in curriculum enforced by
the federal or provincial education departments
Peshawar:
Youth discussion seminar was organized by ITA in collaboration with University of Peshawar
to bring awareness in youth about Right to Education, Article 25-A in the constitution of
Pakistan which is being neglected in the policies of the decision makers. ITA’s objective was
to bring out the perspective of the youth and professors to represent this discussion and
understand the significance of Article 25-A. The seminar linked the education status and
challenges with education policies and processes and invite youth to come with up solutions
of such problems.
The seminar was attended by Students and professors. The seminar was also a learning
experience as the seminar has given a platform to discuss the current status, issues of
education and to give policies for improvement of education status in Pakistan. The seminar
report captures the detailed discussion of the youth and recommendation given by youth.
Seminar objectives:

Introduction of Right to Education, Article 25-A

Issues of Implementation in the perspective of the youth

Incorporating Distance Teaching by the youth and students as part of college degree
requirement

Understanding RTE and its implications for the youth and professors/teachers

Developing a youth ambassador and the selection criteria in collaboration with the
youth
Topics covered during training:






Background & Introduction of Article 25A.
Significance and Importance of Right to Education.
Challenges in implementation of Article 25A.
Responsibilities of Youth in implementation of Article 25A.
Functions of youth for implementation of Article 25A.
Voices of the youth regarding education status, issues and recommended policies.
At the end discussion was carried out among youth to recommend policies for improvement
of education status in Pakistan and ensure to join their struggles for quick implementation of
Article 25A.
Speakers:
Afzal Shah, Provincial coordinator ITA
Sania Sajid, Research associate ASER.
Proceedings:
Seminar was started with the recitation of Holy Quran, Agenda was followed in which
 The session of welcome was given to participants.
 A brief introduction to participants was given about ITA, ITA role and objectives.
 Power point presentation was given to participants about Article 25A, Right to
Education.
 Group discussion was started among students, professors and ITA staff.
 Some student’s names were noted down for selection of Education ambassador.
Participants
Over 100 participants registered for the seminar. Seminar participants were higher
education students and Staff from the University of Peshawar.
Seminar Outcomes:
Participants found the seminar very helpful. It was described by them as participatory,
relevant to the topic and step by step. Participants were enthusiastic in cross learning with
each other and shared various experiences and learning for better understanding of Right to
Education. This event gave them a platform to express their views about education status
and give policies for implementation of Right to education. The seminars gave youth a sense
of responsibility about their role and importance in implementation of Article 25A.
Participants appreciated the group discussions.
Recommendations:
The participants of the seminar explored ways of how their understanding of right to
education could be implemented in various ways. They developed the following list of
recommendations;
 Curriculum; schools should provide training and support in development of
curriculum.
 Uniform curriculum in the province.
 Teachers; train teachers and provide them with necessary skills and modern
methodology of teaching.
 Youth participation; Promote youth participation by providing spaces for students to
participate and get organized. Students are to be included in decision making
structures and exercise their right to vote in all bodies of school and universities.
 Schools should be open for cooperation with NGOs and should provide space for
NGOs and their activities.
 Government; government should take its responsibility and honour its commitment
for implementation of article 25A.
 Education Policies; policy measures should be aimed at promoting formal and nonformal education and provide resources to implement article 25A.
 Government should provide adequate funding for provision of free and compulsory
education.
9.3 Right to Education South Asian Seminar Series
“Seminar & Policy Discussion on Right to Education: Perspective from South Asia”
Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA)3, in collaboration with Oxfam-GB and Foundation Open
Society Institute (FOSI) organized a regional discussion “Seminar & Policy Discussion on
Right to Education: Perspectives from South Asia” at the Serena Hotel Islamabad on 17 th
January, 2014.The discussion was held the day after the national launch of the Annual Status
of Education Report (ASER) 2013 that informs the public about the state of our children’s
learning (5-16 years); it was a powerful evidence based entry point to the daylong seminar.
The discussion mainly focused on the status of Right to Education (RTE) in South Asia, and
Post 2015 Development Agenda.
The main objectives of the regional discussion were: a) to share experiences from South Asia
in the conceptualization and implementation of RTE; b) to explore current engagement and
challenges in the region on quality and partnerships to meet the requirements of RTE; c) to
highlight the challenges and progress of South Asia particularly the participant countries on
quality/learning and teacher challenges with reference to Post 2015 Development
conversations and d) to share information on practices and possibilities towards
quality/learning, partnerships and private sector in implementation of RTE in each context;
and to provide recommendations on the way forward for RTE and the Post 2015
Development Agenda
The policy discussion was divided into four sessions:
Session 1 - Theme: Perspectives on RTE from Pakistan – status and challenges
 The current status of RTE in each province with reference to policies designed and ground
realities
 The process of law formation, rules and implementation in each province (with reference
to sector plans)
3Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi
(ITA) is a public trust with a wide presence across Pakistan. It strives for transforming learning and educational
standards in the country. ITA coordinates and hosts the South Asia Forum for Education Development Secretariat (SAFED)
 What has worked and how to address the challenges
 Recommendations and proposed solutions to meet the challenges
Outcomes Session I – RTE Perspectives from Pakistan
Mr. Mosharraf Zaidi, Campaign Director TEP/AlifAilaan, moderated the session, highlighting
the thematic focus with respect to implementation of the Right to Education, - Article 25-A
in Pakistan.
“The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to
sixteen years”.
He underscored the role of the government of Pakistan, both at provincial and federal
levels, commenting that the government is heading in the right direction but with
considerable delays in implementation of RTE. He further elaborated that “the interest of
the government has been crystallized in Article 25-A, particularly in the past few year and
emphasized that the term “free and compulsory” must be focused upon by the panelists”.
Each panelist was then requested to share their initiatives on the legislation and rules for
right to education in their respective provinces and areas. Some key questions to consider
would be: what does the term free means? How the provision of education is going to be
free and to what extent and what will be the detailed provisions within it? Secondly, what
does compulsory means? What will be the roles and responsibilities/duties of parents,
teachers, SMCs and Education departments? And what about the enforceability of the
compulsory part? How are the provincial governments planning to enforce this act? Punish
parents? What about the private sector? Does it serve as an obstacle to 100% enrollment?
Session 2 - Theme: Status and Implementation of RTE in South Asian countries – progress
and challenges
 RTE in South Asia and challenges faced by the region with reference to quality and
learning outcomes
 Initiatives that can be replicated in the region
 Possibilities for regional collaboration in information sharing, capacity building and
policy engagement
Outcomes:
Mr. Qazi Azmat Isa concluded the session with his remarks that community mobilization and
partnerships is one of the key features of promoting education. The culture of SMCs does
exist in Pakistan however it should be made much more comprehensive and be given more
powers. Access in Pakistan remains an issue whereas our neighboring countries have passed
that hurdle at least with gender advances. He also raised his concern that unfortunately
inequity is creating regional disparity within Pakistan across provinces.
Session 3 - Theme: Partnerships and Private Sector in RTE Implementation – addressing
quality and equity



What is the scope and terms of engagement with private partners to meet RTE quality
and equity
Challenges of partnerships and “free ” places in the private sector
Recommendations for partnerships in RTE with reference to ‘free and compulsory
education”
Outcomes
Baela Raza Jamil, director Programs ITA, emphasized that the role of private sector in RTE is
a burning issue. The four presenters highlighted the diversity and common ground across
the region in this important area that is coming out of a traditional ‘culture of silence’. There
is a need to examine and understand the possibilities across all service providers in terms of
quality of learning outcome sand sustained access. The government has the basic
responsibility for RTE and it must weigh all innovative financing options on ensuring each
child’s entitlement to learning and access. However, the public sector machinery is often not
well matched to engaging with partners and the trust deficit across public and private
sectors remains an ongoing challenge. Regulation is very important and the capacity has to
be enhanced for both public and private sectors- in South Asia self- regulating regimes and
civil society accountability initiatives are the key to ensuring pressure for outcomes and
implementation of RTE. PPP driven initiatives across South Asia need to be better
understood, the traditional grants –in-aid programs need to be revisited across the region
for a more optimized program and best practices shared through an annually forum on
partnerships and financing for RTE in South Asia, that is committed to children not simply
attending schools but also learning. Finally she said that there is a growing consensus
globally that the Post 2015 Development Agenda must have ‘learning’ as a centrepiece for
the Education Goal and partnerships lie at the heart of it; what must be figured out is on
whose terms and at what costs?
Session 4 - Theme: RTE and Implications for Post 2015 Development Agenda – Voices from
South Asia & Development Partners
Ms. Zehra Arshad from PCE moderated the last session of the Seminar and Policy Discussion
on RTE. She opened the panel discussion highlighting the importance of the theme saying
that the inputs will help to shape something significant at the country level. Each panelist
was requested to share their experiences and position on post 2015 development agenda.
9.4
Capacity Building Seminar Series
9.4.1 Malala Day:
On July 12, 2013, eight months after she was shot in the head and miraculously survived,
Malala Yousufzai celebrated her 16th birthday by addressing the UN General Assembly and
calling on all governments to ensure free and compulsory education for every child around
the globe.
On October 9, 2012, Pakistan watched in horror as TV channels showed the news of a young
girl being shot by the Taliban in Swat as she was on her way back from school because she
was fighting for her right of education. On her 16 th birthday, Malala was joined by students
from more than 80 countries to launch Global Youth Movement for Education at the UN
headquarters.
To support Malala’s global campaign for education and to celebrate her 16 th birthday as she
addresses world leaders to urge
them to provide quality education to
every
child,
Idara-e-Taleem-OAagahi organized different activities
in all its summer schools and child
labour drop in centers to show
support for brave Malala.
One of these activities took place in
Islamabad drop in center at a drop in
center in G-7 in collaboration with
founder of Funkor Art, Fauzia
MinAllah. Children at these drop-in
centers wrote inspirational messages
for Malala and key messages to stand
by her for her cause.
Similarly celebrations took place in Karachi, at
an Aagahi Center. The students signed a
petition to support their commitment towards
the fight for education with Malala and
supporting her speech at the UN General
Assembly. The girls in this drop in center
committed to spreading education throughout
the country. Many of them prepared birthday cards for Malala Yousuf Zai on her 16 th
birthday. Students shared their warm wishes for their brave young education soldiers.
The girls in the drop pledged their commitment
look at Malala as an inspiration for their own
personal struggles in the field of education.
They also pledged to encourage others to
follow their education and stand for their own
rights.
9.4.2 Education Expo (UNICEF & UNESCO):
UNESCO and UNICEF jointly organized an education expo at the Marriot Hotel in Islamabad
on October 10th, 2013. This day was marked in remembrance of Malala YousufZai’s act a
year ago on October 9th 2012. Civil society organizations from Islamabad, Rawalpindi,
Peshawar, Nowshera and many other areas came together to put up stalls and display
material as their commitment towards achieving quality education.
ITA and the RTE campaign put up one such similar display to outline the progress since the
horrific attack on a teenage girl while fighting for her cause for education. This day was
understood as a landmark in history for remembering how important education was no
matter how young or in what part of the world. Senior government officials such as Mr.
Baligh-ur-Rehman, Minister of State for the Ministry of Education, Training, Standards and
Higher Education, the country representatives of UNICEF and UNESCO, Danyal Aziz, former
MNA and many others participated.
ITA also displayed a message board to highlight the commitment for education and took
quotes from various influential policy makers such as displayed below:
9.4.3
Teachers’ Katechri (Teachers Literature Festival)
The first Katechri took place in Karachi at the Teachers Literature Festival at the Karachi Arts
Council on February 20th, 2014. The theme of this Katechri was: Teacher’s Katcheri:
Discussion on Teachers Duties and Right to Education (25-A)
Discussion Points:




Short Presentation by Ms. Baela Raza Jamil on Teachers Findings through ASER.
This was followed by a discussion on roles and Responsibilities of Teachers in the
context of the implementation of RTE.
Discussion was more focused on Teachers attendance-Student Teacher Ratio and
Teaching Quality (Education Quality at Schools)
The contributions of both Public and Private School Teachers in view of ASER findings
were also discussed



Space and Importance of Public Private Partnership (PPP) in view of RTE
Challenges faced by Teachers and role of government in addressing these Challenges
How to improve the poor reading abilities of the students?? Can Children Literature
Festival serve as a tool?
Outcomes:




Dissemination of ASER Finding among Teachers
Informed Discussion on the linkage between the Teachers/Teaching Quality and
Quality Education.
Sensitization of Teachers about the importance of their role for building an Educated
Community.
Sensitization of Sindh Government for the effective Implementation of Right to
Education, so that it will address the highlighted Challenges (to Teachers and
Teaching Quality) while formulating the Rules for the implementation of RTE in the
province.
The next Teachers’ Katechri took place in Islamabad on May 1 st 2014 at the Federal College
of Education. The objectives of this Katechri were as follows:






To instigate a public debate on the status of teachers in ICT
To link the RTE rules and regulations for teachers in line with the duties of the
teachers
Bringing in an international perspective on how teachers performance can be
enhanced
Sharing of views from both public and private sector to conduct teacher training
Role of SMCs in the education system
Parent and teacher relationship management
Outputs:





ASER survey and statistics on teacher’s attendance and performance in classrooms
Discussion by civil society organizations on how to recognize teachers and
improvement in training
The Issues of underperformance and multi-grade teaching
Role of public and private partnership to enhance teacher performance
Recommendations on teacher training to the government departments
9.5 RIGHT TO EDUCATION (SEMINAR SERIES)
9.5.1
Fourth Anniversary of Article 25-A, Right to Education: April 19th 2014:
After the 18th amendment in the constitution, which inserted Article 25-A, Right to Education
(RTE) on April 19th 2010, to date, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Sindh and Balochistan
had enacted the legislation in 2012/2013 for recognizing education as a national
responsibility of state. The Global agenda on education as per MDGs/EFA has stated primary
education as a universal birth right of every child; the right to education entitlements in our
country, however, far outstrips the Universal Primary Education (UPE) provision to 10-11
years of compulsory education (5-16 years). Sadly this was not matched with budgets (still 2
% of GDP), learning, infrastructure, teacher’s adequacy, training and all such mechanisms to
contribute to opportunities for quality education for children and youth of Pakistan.
Idara-e-Taleem o Aagahi (ITA) and Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE) held a press
briefing at the Islamabad Press Club on April 19th, 2014, highlighting the fourth anniversary
of RTE and releasing a petition to honor this promise of committing to the Right of
Education and quality learning in Pakistan. Making sure that the state fulfills its
constitutional obligations by providing Education for All so as to add dignity to our national
standing among the international community. This press briefing was followed by the launch
of a seminar series to highlight the status of RTE in each province and re-open the debate at
the grass roots level.
9.5.2 Four Seminar discussions in collaboration with Pakistan Cooalition for Education
(PCE):
ITA carried out four seminar series after the fourth anniversary of Right to Education, Article
25-A, to discuss the progress in each respective province on the implementation of the law.
Four consultations took place in Quetta, Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar respectively, in the
form of a “Dialogue on Right to Education: Learning Challenges and Inclusion for All”. The
theme of this discussion was centered on Education and Disability and the urgent need to
address challenges of inclusion with policy documents and laws passed at a Provincial level.
These consultations took place on April 25th to May 22nd, attended by government
representatives, civil society organizations and those working in the field of education for an
extended period of time. All consultations spoke of the respective Provincial Acts, whether
they were in draft form or approved by the assembly, and their inclusion of quality of
education for disabled children. The recommendations included a more sensitive approach
towards selecting the title for special schools and the urgent need to revise examination
mechanisms in both provinces. Inclusive education courses for teachers were also highlight
as a mechanism to improve curriculum for disabled children. These consultations signified
the urgent need of the hour to formulate all policies in line with inclusive education
mechanisms rather than amendments taking place after.
Recommendations:




The education system needs to be void of political influence and adopt merit based
systems in all provinces
There is a strong need for resources to be allocated to each province appropriately
for effective outcomes and betterment in the quality of education
The government representatives in the province of Sindh and Punjab, agreed that
inclusive education needs to be a more consistent and permanent part of both the
education system and teacher trainings
In all provinces, both the government representatives and the civil society agreed
that there is a definite gap in the quality of education and an urgent need to address
this issue


9.5.3
Punjab government representatives promised an appropriate implementation, at
least in infrastructure and providing computers in labs for disabled children
There was also a commitment in Punjab and Sindh on changing the names of the
schools which were disrespectful to the disabled children
Teacher’s Baithak on 1st May 2014 at Federal College of Education, Islamabad
The Right to Education (RTE) Campaign under Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) organized a
Teachers’ Baithak (Teacher gathering) to discuss the “Role of teachers in improving
education (school) governance” particularly in the context of the implementation of Article
25-A, RTE in Pakistan.
Objectives:
The major objectives of this session were:
 To disseminate ASER Findings about the current conditions of teachers despite
various policy initiatives among Teachers
 Informed Discussion on the role of school management committee in improving
School Governance (to improve teachers attendance, enrollment and dropout, and
to ensure quality education through proper facilitation of school facilities)
 Constructive debate amongst Education District Officers and teachers, moderated by
education experts
 Inform Teachers about the role of SMC and their Obligations for building an
Educated Community.
 Inform the government and other stakeholders about the challenges at the grass
root level for the effective Implementation of Right to Education so that they could
keep them in mind while formulating the Rules for the implementation of RTE in the
province.
Discussion Points:







Role of School Management Committee in improving School Governance (to improve
teachers attendance, enrollment and dropout, and to ensure quality education
through proper facilitation of school facilities)
Selection criteria of SMC members of SMC in the context of the implementation of
25-A.
Roles and Responsibilities of SMC members.
Mechanism of the Interaction between teachers and the district education
departments
Innovative methods to improve teaching methods
Issues and Challenges
Opportunities
Outcomes:
 Four to five concrete questions to be pushed forth in front of the district education
department
 Recommendations and solutions
9.6
INITIATIVES WITH A WORLD AT SCHOOL (AWAS)
After the completion of 2 million signatures to Sir Gordon Brown UN Secretary General’s
Global Envoy for Education, in November 2012 (Islamabad) and April 2013 (Washington D.C)
in support of right of every last child to quality education, ITA extended its partnership to A
World At School (AWAS) a global flagship program of Sarah and Gordon Brown. This
partnership saw collaboration in the form of the following five initiatives:
-Education Youth Ambassadors
-Up4School Campaign
-500 Day Education Countdown
-Child marriage free zone
-Global Business for Coalition
All these branches stand together for the 58 million children (girls and boys) who are still
out of school and for over 250 million children not learning. This partnership aims to make
education its priority and the RTE campaign at ITA has aimed to promote and conduct grass
roots advocacy on this basis. Throughout the following initiatives RTE has promoted the
campaign of getting every child in school and providing quality education.
9.6.1 Youth Voices against School Closure (May 9th & June 16th, 2014):
The Education Youth Ambassador (EYA) program has been established to build on and
strengthen the emerging youth movement for global education. It shall form a network of
500 young leaders with the interest, passion and dedication to campaign in their schools
and communities in Pakistan for action to get all children into school and learning.
The EYA program has been formed through a partnership between A World at School
(AWAS) and Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA). The program shall run in collaboration with the
AWAS Global Youth Ambassador (GYAs) campaign. As one of the first initiatives of this
campaign the GYAs came together to protest along with the local community against the
illegal closure of a primary school in a housing colony, Soan Garden Society, in the outskirts
of the capital of Pakistan. According to the residents of this area, Islamabad Primary
Model School, C-Block Soan Garden was constructed three years ago through a combined
effort of the community, who donated the land for the construction of school, to the
Federal Directorate of Education. After its construction teachers were appointed and had
been receiving salaries from the government, but the school has not been operational for
over THREE YEARS. Fareeha Idrees, a renowned anchor person from Waqt News also
conducted a program on this school:
http://www.awaztoday.tv/News-Talk-Shows/55543/8-PM-With-Fareeha-Idrees-18th-April2014.aspx
A peaceful demonstration took place on FRIDAY, May 9th 2014, for the re-opening of
this school so that the children of the area do not have to suffer for long. Right to Education
Campaign at ITA along with AlifAilaan supported the community in their cause against the
closure of the school. This day was also marked as an important step in the GLOBAL ACTION
WEEK, EDUCATION FOR ALL (May 4th – 10th) to recognize community efforts to restore the
right of education of THEIR CHILDREN. This demonstration marked a day within many efforts
to come until the school is reopened in full administration.
This demonstration was followed up by another peaceful protest for reopening the model
primary school in Soan Gardens by initiating a letter writing campaign where at least 100
people signed a petition to reopen this school. This letter was circulated to the Federal
Ministry of Education and the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD on
June 16th, 2014. This letter was openly read out and disseminated widely with the help of
the media.
Placards for Access, Gender, Missing Facilities, Quality and Budget in Education were made
and demonstrated in front of the Media. A list of districts which were in the pink and red
zones with less than 50% enrollment and less than 35% learning levels of grade 5 (of grade 2
competencies were widely displayed to enable politicians/parliamentarians and civil
servants to take action in their constituencies and areas of jurisdiction on an emergency
basis. The absolute cruelty of the abduction of more than 200 Nigerian school girls was also
brought to light and it was solemnly declared that the civil society of Pakistan is seriously
concerned about these missing girls and seriously condemns this tragedy. Since this day
marked the Day of the African Child, solidarity with the international community was shown
to honor the sacrifices of the courageous Africans who marched against education injustice
on the same day in 1976. It was emphasized that the people of Pakistan should take heed
from their example and raise their voice for equal education for ALL.
Impact/Outcome:
The closure of this school has been featured several times on the electronic and print media.
Popular news show host Ms. Fareeha Idrees conducted the first show on this school on her
television show “8PM with Fareeha Idrees” on Waqt TV on 18th April, 2014. She invited Mr.
Asad Umar (PTI), Muhammad Ijaz Chaudhry (PML-N), Mehreen Anwar Raja (PPP) and Baela
Raza Jamil (ITA)4. The second show was hosted on 13th June 2014 which included Asad Umer
(PTI), Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan (PML-N), Tahira Abdullah Human Right Activist, Baela
Raza Jamil (ITA) and Tariq Mahmood (Waqt News).5 The unfortunate state of education in
Pakistan was highlighted in the show and the need to put pressure on the government for
enforcing Right to Education for ALL was stressed upon.
Additionally the school was re-opened on June 29th 2014 as per the directive of the local
Member National Assembly present and the letter writing campaign/petition to the Federal
Ministry of Education & CADD. The effort of the ambassadors was thoroughly highlighted
and the success of the re-opening of this primary school is to date evidence of the targeted
advocacy and the ability to reach the government by the community and to be able to get
the voices heard.
http://www.pakistantv.tv/2014/04/18/8-pm-fareeha-idrees-18th-april-2014-taleem-ke-maidan-mainpakistan-sabse-peeche-kyon/#sthash.ywo26B4C.dpuf
4
5
http://www.awaztoday.tv/News-Talk-Shows/59288/8-PM-With-Fareeha-Idrees-13th-June-2014.aspx
9.6.2
International Day of Niegerian Girls:
On the night of 14-15 April 2014, over 200 female students were kidnapped from the
Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. The
kidnappings were claimed by Boko Haram, a proclaimed religious extremist against the
westernization of Nigerian Muslims. July 22 marked 100 days of this dreadful tragedy,
hence, as activists for education for ALL, especially girls, the RTE youth ambassadors and
various civil society members gathered for vigils all across Pakistan on the same day also
highlighting the struggle for education that both Nigeria and Pakistan are facing at the hand
of extremists. The session was followed by a Girls Education Seminar on July 24 th as a
continuation of the protest and also to assert the need to address the inequality and
injustice in girls’ education in Pakistan. The celebration of this day was also appreciated by
the High Commission of Nigeria in Pakistan, who highlighted a critical roadmap which the
government of Nigeria were taking in order to free the girls and truly appreciated the
support by ITA for the support on the matter. The day was marked in terms of vigils in the
following cities, either through walks or signatures campaigns in order to highlight the
continuous struggle and support for education in any part of the world:
 Islamabad
 Lahore
 Shikarpur
 D.G Khan
 Rahim Yar Khan
 Dureji
 Multan
All these cities chanted the slogans of “#BringOurGirlsBack. The need to address immediate
implementation of Article 25-A, Right to Education was also brought forward. Members of
the youth, civil society, media and government representatives stood very firmly for the
rights of girls education and made a plea to the Nigerian commission in Pakistan to please
deliver their messages for solidarity to the Nigerian government in this difficult time of
need.
9.6.3 HerRightToEducation: Ensuring Quality Education for ALL girls (July 24 th, 2014):
Inequality in education has remained an unfortunate reality across the globe – especially in
terms of gender. While the situation in developed countries has significantly improved, the
under developed and developing countries still face considerable gender gaps in education
access and learning.
To throw light on this, Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi in collaboration with Oxfam GB, Foundation
Open Society Institute, Beydaar Society, Child Rights Movement and other Civil Society
Organizations striving for education organized a seminar titled: ‘HerRightToEducation:
Ensuring Quality Education for All Girls’. Given the many conflicts and emergency situations
within Pakistan and across the globe, the seminar also highlighted the issues pertaining to
education in conflict and their effects on girl’s education. This seminar aimed to highlight
the following:
a) Budget analysis: A gender responsive lens;
b) Policy and Law: Inclusion, Conflict and Access for Girls?
c) International progress: Challenges on Girls Education
The seminar also included a panel discussion by Dr. Afshan Huma, Lecturer at Allama Iqbal
University, Saeed Ul Hasan, Head of Girls Education at Oxfam GB, and Nargis Sultana, Senior
Programme Officer Open Society Foundation who summed up the critical issues for girls
education.
The seminar concluded with an interactive youth session and the civil society members
regarding girls’ education of which the most important was; why are girls the easiest target?
Different members from the audience voiced different opinions which consisted of religious
restrictions, cultural barriers, poverty, etc. Audience members from Sindh and KPK stated
that as most universities in their province hosted co-education, the girls were forbidden
from studying in such universities. The seminar concluded with a list of activities highlighted
by the Youth and the civil society members to actively pursue and inculcate within the
communities that lack the quality of education to be sustained.
9.6.4
International Youth Day (August 12th 2014):
Thousands of young people gathered at the United Nations and around the world on Malala
Day. In this light ITA and Beydaar (a youth led organization) collaborated to promote youth
activism as a responsibility of the future leaders of society. The International Youth Day
celebrated the resolve of young people around 6 major themes, as highlighted in the youth
resolution, to improve the quality of education and increase the number of children who
can access the right to learn. The training session held on August 12, 2014, in Punjab
University-Lahore, international education research department including inspirational
youth, who were already at a position to influence community and acts of other peers.
The objectives of this session were to: discuss Youth Resolution and its objectives for
Pakistan; describe Youth Activism in Pakistan; discuss the possible ways in which youth can
create awareness on educational issues within their limited resources; highlight the role of
youth to influence policy makers; disseminate tools of activism, economical and efficient, as
an agent of change; discuss youth activism and its impact on the larger community. More
than 60 youth from Lahore participated in the conference and were trained by a very able
trainer Tanzila Khan as a youth member with a disability to cater to promoting education in
the community. The aim of this youth conference was to mobilize young people in order to
promote youth activism as a responsibility of the future leaders of society and celebrate the
potential of youth as partners.
The session was concluded with a pledge to by the participants to resolve pursuit towards at
least one theme as highlighted in the youth resolution and engage the policy makers
throughout the year on this theme. The acts of implementation would be followed and
recorded as a pledge by the youth of Pakistan towards a global resolution.A critical outcome
of the UN Youth Assembly was the adoption of the historic Youth Resolution: The Education
We Want, which was presented to the leaders of the United Nations and is being
distributed to the governments of the world. The document articulates the key concerns of
young people on the global education crisis and calls for concrete actions by different actors
to address these issues.
9.6.5
International Literacy Day (September 8th, 2014):
Following the official launch of the #EducationCountdown on August 18, 2014, i.e. 500 days
campaign till the end of MDGs, Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi planned to hold activities for every
100 day theme. Since the theme for the first 100 days is Provide education & safe schools in
emergencies, ITA held a seminar/event on the World Literacy Day on September 8, 2014 to
highlight the issue of education in conflict areas in Pakistan. As per Mr. Gordon Brown’s (UN
Special Envoy for Global Education) Global Youth Initiative, this activity will be lead by the
youth in collaboration with ITA and other prospective civil society organizations such as the
Child Rights Movement (CRM). The themes of the 500 Day countdown include:




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Provide education & safe schools in emergencies
Stop Child Marriage
End discrimination against girls
Abolish child labour
Deliver teachers and learning opportunities for every child
This session also highlighted #EducationCountdown where exactly 500 days were left for the
2015 MDGs deadline to be met. As part of the post 2015 development agenda, these 500
days are extremely critical and the would require the constant mobilization of resources
throughout Pakistan. The event also included a theatre presentation of by some of the
youth ambassador members and a youth group. This was followed by a panel discussion
including the renowned physicist and social activist Dr. A. H. Nayyar, Senior Educationists
and Civil Society advocates Mr. Arshad Mehmood (Save the Children), Ms. Manizeh Bano
(Sahil), Mr. Salman Zaidi (Jinnah Institute) and Mr. Saeed-ul-Hassan (Oxfam GB).
Simultaneously an interactive session with children between the ages of 3-16 years also
took place in the form of a read aloud session. This session spoke on texts that speak of
peace – promoting education, learning and reading with critical questions – The idea was to
encourage children fall in love with reading and books. The storytelling sessions was
conducted with mostly underprivileged children under the banner of Children’s Literature
Festival.
Outcomes:
 Officially announcing the 500 day campaign, its themes and roadmap of activities in
Pakistan and across the Globe
 Disseminating information on how to be a part of this 500 day campaign
 Spread awareness on issues of education in conflict in the context of Pakistan – its
negative effect on a country’s development
 Show solidarity with the international community on the World Literacy Day

Mobilization and capacity building of the youth
9.7 Regional Conference on Right to Education & Early Childhood
Education & Development (ECED)- Foundation for Quality Learning; Evidence
from South Asia (September 16th -17th)
The Post 2015 Development Agenda Global Debates in Oman (May 12-14, 2014) have
earmarked Early Childhood Education (ECE) as Target No. 1 for the stand alone overarching
international education goal. ECE has significant implications on the implementation of
Article 25-A in Pakistan. Therefore, with the ongoing efforts to effectively execute the Right
to Education (RTE) Act in Pakistan, investment and focus on development and education in
the early years of children (0-5 years) has become of critical importance for the
achievement of the desired outcomes in the educational sector. The ECED conference held
in Pearl Continental Hotel Karachi on September 16-17, 2014 attracted participants from
India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan to work towards a globally integrated policy and to
learn from other countries in the region about their best practices in policies and RTE status
on ECE; Curriculum and standards of Education; Teachers’ Preparation (Pre and in-service);
Research and Assessment; Innovation: Access, Parenting and Materials. The main purpose
of this conference was to upgrade the ECE/ECED profile in the education initiatives - policy,
standards, teacher education and training and, implementation as part of the RTE
movement.
The conference ended on a few valuable policy recommendations which were mutually
agreed upon, keeping in view the challenges and policy shortfalls faced by the education
sector in all the participant countries. The working group proposed that ECED be envisaged
as an integrated approach to facilitate the holistic development of children aged 0-8
through health, nutrition, education, care and community support. There should be a
universal coverage of ECED founded on a rights based approach, one that is embedded in
equity and inclusion. ECED should be customized to national and sub-national contexts and,
responsive to diversity and gender. Test models of ECED in South Asia should be encouraged
for effectiveness and scalability, backed by innovative approaches and innovative financing.
ECED should be monitored by robust data for accountability and evidence, supported by
partnerships with public, private sector, academia and civil society. Lastly, linkages of ECED
with all SDGs be pursued for bundled approaches and optimum gains.