PESHAWAR, Aug 10: The performance of the NWFP government in the education sector quite poor when compared with progress achieved in the rest of the country in both enrolment rates and gender disparities and is unlikely to meet the millennium development goals (MDG) by 2015, says a World Bank survey report.

A survey conducted in Sept 2004 said that literacy rate in the NWFP was significantly less than in other provinces.

The recently released report attributed the lower literacy rates in the NWFP to female literacy in both urban and rural areas.

“At 20 per cent women literacy in the NWFP, the province is well behind the country’s average for female literacy at 32 per cent,” the WB study said.

The net enrolment rate in the NWFP for the 5-9 years age group compared to other provinces has shown a consistent improvement since 1995-96, increasing from 35 per cent to 41 per cent in 2001-02. But the dropout rate for females, especially in rural areas, is higher than the country’s average in 2001-02.

The dropout rate in the NWFP for the 10-18 years age group who left school before completing primary level was 24 per cent, much more than the country’s average for female dropout of 15 per cent, the study says.

The survey also pointed out the factors which were the main causes of low school attendance in the NWFP and the reasons of high dropouts. The study said that the proximity to the primary schools was an important determinant in school attendance.

“For a child in the NWFP having a school nearby is substantially more important than for the average child in Pakistan to increase the probability of attendance,” the study said.

The survey also indicated that about half of the girls who never attended schools were not allowed by parents and another third factor had been cited was the high expenses.

The annual report of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of Child “on the state of Pakistan children” also termed the factors ‘responsible’ for low literacy and high dropout rate among girl students.

The WB survey report said that compared with the average Urban female, being female in the urban NWFP substantially lowers the probability of going to school as the average household expenditures on female education exceeds that on males.

Having an educated father in the NWFP is another factor which improved the probability of the children going to school.

The WB report considered the gender gap another key issue in the education sector in the NWFP. The difference was evident from the female literacy rate at 20 per cent was far behind male literacy at 57 per cent. Female dropout rate (24 per cent) was also twice as high as that of males.

“The gender gap in education is especially pronounced in the low income groups in the rural areas where female enrolment is less than a third of total enrolment in primary education.” the report stated.

During 2003-04, the major step for increasing female enrolment was distribution of free text-books to all primary school children in government schools.

The step emphasised the importance of incentives in female schooling as the financial burden on the household lessened and it encouraged female enrolment.

The study also pointed out the clear gender bias against girls in terms of their access to the private education.

The provincial education foundations were set up to encourage and facilitate private provision of education but there were concerns about the sustainability of their projects, the women colleges and new schools in the province.

The report said that the government schools were still the largest providers of elementary education in the NWFP but there were many problems in governance of the vital sector.

Another WB report indicated that in 23 per cent of all schools surveyed for the Pakistan Rural Household Survey in 2001 in the NWFP, no classes were being held. Female teachers in remote areas were another problem. Monitoring of teachers absenteeism was difficult at both provincial and district levels.

The WB report recommended that the NWFP government should seriously consider schemes for giving incentives to female for increasing higher enrolments and reducing the gender gap in education.