* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
In Pakistan one in every 12 children is out-of-school - how do you overcome those odds and provide education for all?
This article was published in partnership with the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship
In a country where 1 in every 12 children is out-of-school, it would be expected that someone like Aamara would be illiterate – she is a girl, poor, and lives in a small village in rural Pakistan. These three strikes make her part of one of the least likely groups in the world to get educated.
With 25 million out-of-school children, Pakistan – the sixth largest population on the planet – is unlikely to achieve the 2015 Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education for another eight five years. National literacy is at 58% and female literacy is at 46%. There is a dearth of safe, accessible and affordable schools for the poor. Girls especially have trouble accessing schools – not just physically (enrollment drops by 20% for every 500 meters that a girl has to travel to school) but also culturally and financially. Aamara was in all likelihood expected to become a maid at fifteen and earn minimum wage.
Pakistan’s Parliament passed the 18th Amendment, which makes education a fundamental right: “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such manner as may be determined by Law”. However, the public sector has failed to deliver mass education due to mismanagement and corruption. 8% of government schools are ‘non-functional’, 16%6 have no building, 44%6 have no water, 60%6 no toilets, 55%6 no boundary walls, and 79%6 have no electricity. Teacher absenteeism is a major problem which results in high dropout rates, with only 2 out of 10 children reaching 5th grade. Private-for-profit schools are playing an increasing role in meeting the demand for education, however low financial returns and shortage of qualified teachers keeps them from reaching the bottom of the pyramid.
Yet Aamara is currently attending one of the most prestigious medical universities in Pakistan.
How did she overcome the odds?
In grade sixth, Aamara started attending a school operated by The Citizens Foundation (TCF). Near graduation, TCF also provided guidance and financial support that helped her shape her dream of entering the medical field.
The Citizens Foundation (TCF) is a non-profit organization started by a group of Pakistani entrepreneurs concerned by the dismal public education system. TCF’s management model has been designed to ensure that children (even girls) from low income communities can physically, culturally and financially access schools and attain quality education.
With the largest network of purpose built schools for less privileged children in Pakistan (910 school units), and a girl enrolment ratio of nearly 50%, the past 17 years have proven TCF’s model to be highly effective in providing the Pakistani poor with access to high quality education at a low cost.
Innovations include free transport facilities for teachers to prevent absenteeism, purpose built campuses in the heart of low income neighborhoods so children can walk to school and be secure within the boundary walls, a flexible pay-as-you-can-afford fee system supported by donations, an all female faculty to encourage enrolment of girls, as well as robust organization systems and structures designed to ensure high governance standards while meeting execution challenges of operating in some of the most highly volatile areas in Pakistan.
When TCF started its five schools in 1996, the vision to create agents of positive change through the provision of quality holistic education for the poor seemed idealistic at best.
But just like Aamara, TCF overcame the odds to become a game changing success. In April 2013, TCF will have over 126,000 students in slums and villages across 97 towns and cities of Pakistan. More than 9,500 people are provided employment across Pakistan, with 6,300 female teachers earning livelihoods from TCF schools. Nearly 50% of the TCF student body comprises of girls.
TCF also surpasses national averages on many counts - over 90% of TCF students successfully graduate compared to a national average of 60% and more than 70% continue education compared to the national average of 40%. TCF has been recognized globally by organizations such as the Skoll Foundation by winning the 2013 Award for social entrepreneurship, and is now starting to leverage its experience and influence reform in the national education policy and explore models for public-private partnerships.
Since its inception, TCF has striven to make education a right for every child, not just a privilege for the elite. But TCF’s success doesn’t depend on its numerous accolades or game changing innovations in the education model – it can truly be gauged through students like Aamara, who have embodied TCF’s vision by overcoming the odds.
Mushtaq Chhapra is the founding member of The Citizens Foundation (TCF) and is also currently serving as the Chairman of the Board of Directors at TCF
[2] Social Policy & Development Center (2003), Development in Pakistan 03Annual Review p 16, SPDC Karachi
This article was published in partnership with the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, to be live-streamed April 10-12 from Oxford, U.K.
