Measuring the education gap in primary and secondary schooling in Pakistan.

The aim of this study was to examine the changes and differences by gender and urban/rural status in primary and secondary school enrollment, school utilization, and continuation ratios in Pakistan between 1975 and 1985. The government in its 5-year plans had targeted increases in school enrollment which were not met. Progress has been slow and nearly 50% of school-age children do not attend primary schools, e.g., the target for achieved level of enrollment in primary school in 1989-90 was 80.6% and the actual enrollment was 49.3%. In the interregional comparisons, it was assumed that the imprecise measures of school-age population in the denominator of school ratio were at least uniform, since adjustment was not possible. The trend was for lower girl's participation in schools in all regions, particularly rural areas and with the exception of urban Punjab girls. The highest male participation was in urban Sindh (76% in 1984-85); the highest female participation was 68% in 1984-85 in urban Punjab. In secondary schools, there was an increasing trend in enrollment for boys and girls only in urban schools. The largest gaps between girls and boys enrollment in secondary schools was in NWFP and Balochistan. Rural secondary school enrollment was very low at about 16% for boys and 2.5% for girls aged 10-14 years in 1984-85. Continuation rates in primary grades were mixed and changed by gender and province. The trend was for more boys than girls continuing in school. Almost 33% of rural boys completed the primary grades between 1980 and 1985. Greater variation between provinces was apparent in urban areas. The highest continuation for boys was in the Punjab and the highest for girls was in the Frontier Province in 1984-85. About 76% of boys and 58% of girls continued their secondary education in urban areas in 1984-85. Utilization rates of educational institutions indicated that primary schools in rural area were underused, and in urban areas overcrowded (50 or more students/class). The secondary school level utilization rates varied by gender and urban/rural residence. Urban areas were overcrowded with more than 70 students/class for boys and 50 or more for girls.