1. LEARNING METRICS TASK FORCE FORUM FEBRUARY 4-5, KIGALI DR. SYED KAMALUDDIN SABA SAEED Citizens reshaping Education through household based Learning Accountability Initiatives: Evidence from Pakistan and beyond

2. Introduction Challenges of Learning & Access greatest in Sub Saharan Africa & some E9 countries. E9 countries account for over half of the world's population and 70% of the world's illiterate adults ~ India, Pakistan, Mexico, Nigeria, China, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia & Bangladesh. Globally, 250 million or quarter of a billion lack basic reading and writing skills. The education Millennium Development Goal (in spite of progress) will not be met.

3. The NEED for Household Based Assessments- A Forum for Inclusion Household based learning assessment is inclusive - it ensures ALL children are included. In-school assessment is great when all children are in schools; in many countries this is not the case. Children may be not enrolled in school because they have dropped out. Drop out is often strongly correlated with falling behind/”failing” in school and eventually missing the schools. If measurement is done in school, these children will not be part of it.

4. Citizens Response to Learning Challenges India 2005 Pakistan 2008 Uwezo 2009 Mali 2012 Senegal 2012 Mexico 2014 A South-South Initiative Conceptualized as a Citizens’ Social Movement Leading from the Front with Bold & Distributed Leadership Model

5. Guiding Principles of the Model These population based assessment use rigorous sampling methodologies. Led by citizens group and engage them in advocacy. Generate representative samples of children at national and sub-national levels. Tools designed to be simple so as to be administered by local citizens. Put children’s learning at the centre of the debates and discussions on education in their own countries. Promote government, parent, community and citizen action to influence education policy and practice from the ground- up.

6. WHO? Information on all children: 3-16 years Assessment of Children : 5-16 years Survey of: 1 public & 1 private school. Indicators: S tudent learning levels, Enrollment, Facilities etc WHERE? At household level: Children At village/block level: School WHAT? Simple standard 2 tests: Language (Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto), English, Arithmetic BY WHO? Volunteers from the District/Villages FOR WHAT? Provide feedback for action to community, parents, teachers, government, civil society organizations, media, parliamentarians and other stakeholders. What Does ASER Do?

7. Themes of ASER

8. ASER PAKISTAN Findings 2014: Access 21% Children (6-16 years) are still out of school as per ASER 2014 National (rural) Findings. Enrollment (6-16 Years): RURAL

9. ASER PAKISTAN Findings 2014 : Gender Comparison Out of School Children (6-16 Years): RURAL Amongst 21% out of school children across rural Pakistan, 11% girls and 10% boys.

10. Enrollment (3-5 Years): RURAL 61% Children (3-5 years) are still out of school as per ASER 2014 National (rural) Findings. ASER PAKISTAN Findings 2014 : Early Childhood Education 39% 61%

11. % OF CHILDREN Learning Levels (5-16 Years): RURAL Almost Half of the children enrolled in class 5 will graduate without even learning the basic competencies of grade 2-3 level. ASER PAKISTAN Findings 2014 : Testing Foundation Skills 46% 42% 40%

12. ASER Findings: Inequality Poor rural girls lag far behind richest rural boys. Inequality measured using WIDE (GMR) methodology - Household wealth index

13. ASER informing a social movement for learning: Right to Education (RTE), Children’s Literature Festival (CLF), Chalo Barho Parho (CPB) ASER used as baseline data for multi-million dollar projects (DFID, USAID etc). Nationwide scalable campaigns triggered by evidence on quality and access Alliances & Partnerships are at heart of ITA's work Cited in key government documents e.g. Economic Survey 2012, 2011 Education sector plan Balochistan, Roadmap to Reform Education Program Punjab. Cited in Political Parties’ Manifestos (PTI). Shared with the legal community, Judges, Chief Justices etc.

14. ASER Global Impact Involvement with LMTF. ASER part of Save the Children. ASER part of Global Monitoring Report (2013-2014). Featured on NORRAG NEWSBite. Influencing the post 2015 development agenda and goal setting in regional and international meetings and consultations (CIES, UKFIET etc.)

15. Contribution to the FIELD! Large scale annual citizen led nationwide citizens’ audit of learning generate an enormous energy and synergy. As an evaluation of citizens, parents & government performance. Bring educational issues to the forefront by involving all stakeholders from local to global. Provide large scale data sets for research and policy communities. Influence actions – village - district – state national and global agendas.

16. THANK YOU…!