Factors Influencing Girls’ Primary Enrolment in Pakistan

Abstract

The target set in the National Policy on Education (1998-2010) for primary level enrolment is 90% of the children of age group of 5-9. This again was an achievable target, provided the available resources were efficiently used and programme interventions were made in a timely fashion. But during the last five years, it has not been implemented effectively and efficiently due to rapid population growth, insufficient political will, a period of undemocratic governance, and poor management of scarce resources. Women and girls have been most affected by these negative factors. The national literacy rate for females is only 35%, compared to 59% for males, and in certain status the female literacy, enrolment and achievement rates are much lower. There are many issues related to low enrolment of females such as poverty and economic issues, inadequate school infrastructure, gender bias in content and teaching and learning processes and poorly qualified teachers. The analysis of the study indicates that the age of the child, parents’ schooling particularly the mother, income per capita of the household head and distance to school are relevant variables in explaining the probability of female enrolment at the primary school level.