Abstract:
In this paper we present descriptive statistics on the Government School Education
System in Sindh. The data are obtained from latest administrative annual school census
in Sindh (2011-12). Schooling System in Sindh comprises 48,932 schools of which
47,000 are primary, middle and elementary schools making Sindh one of the densest
public schooling systems in the world with almost 1.8 schools catering to 1000 people
in rural Sindh. Functional schooling capacity is low however with less than 15% of these
schools having at least two teachers and access to basic facilities including toilet,
drinking water supply, electricity and boundary wall. Against the backdrop of this
massive schooling system in Sindh we examine key trends of education outcomes using
Pakistan Living Standards and Measurement Surveys (2004-05-2010-11). Net enrollment
rates (NERs) at primary, middle and secondary levels in Sindh have at best stagnated
from 2007-2011 after a sharp increase registered in 2006; this trend is similar to the rest
of Pakistan. Gains in NERs vary significantly across districts with some districts
performing exceptionally better than the others. Finally, we cross-validate the statistics
presented in the paper using independent household and school level census data of
300 communities for an ongoing impact evaluation study in three districts of rural Sindh.
