The sixth most populous country in the world, Pakistan has a per person income of about US$870, which is right on average for South Asia. Its geostrategic position is key since it shares borders with China, India, Iran, and Afghanistan. Along the Afghan border, Pakistan’s Balochistan Province occupies about 45 percent of the total area of the country but has only 5 percent of its people. It is the poorest of Pakistan’s four provinces with limited economic opportunities, lagging social indicators, and large gender gaps. In 2005, educational data reflected this entrenched poverty — overall enrollment in primary school was 37 percent, of which only 35 percent were girls.
The IDA-financed Balochistan Education Support Project was launched in 2006 to test alternative forms of education service delivery in remote Balochistan. The goal was to support Government efforts to mprove primary enrollment and completion rates, and reduce gender disparities. The project was implemented by the Balochistan Education Foundation, whose mandate was to support community and private sector educational initiatives. It selected NGOs and other organizations as implementing partners to carry out the work with communities. The communities were given control of all school resources, including teacher hiring and firing, salaries, and school construction. In all cases, there was a focus on establishing schools in communities that had none, with a special emphasis on enrolling out-of-school children, particularly girls.
A total of 46,438 students (43 percent girls) were enrolled in 845 schools established by the project. This amounts to an increase of 5 percent in primary enrollment (6 percent for girls) in Balochistan during a period of two years.
Highlights:
- Gender gap improved. Out of 845 new schools, 645 community schools had a total enrollment of 27,807 students (46 percent girls) and 200 private schools had a total enrollment of 18,631 students (37 percent girls).
- Student attendance increased. Average attendance rate of students reached 89 percent in community schools and 90 percent in private schools.
- Teacher attendance increased. Average annual teacher attendance rate reached 98 percent in community schools and 90 percent in private schools.
- Training instituted. Training in school supervision was given to 643 members of the Parent Education Committee. Professional training was given to 700 community school teachers, 300 private school teachers and operators, CIP staff, and all administrative staff.
The Balochistan Education Support Project was launched in 2006. Its total project cost of US$22 million came entirely from IDA funds.
The Government of Balochistan has assumed funding of the community schools in its provincial budget, ensuring sustainability. In addition, there is an intensified focus on improving quality of education through more teacher training.
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