Conducted to improve the state of learning outcomes of children.
Works with citizens to foster nationwide conversation and actions on learning.
WHY IS ASER REQUIRED?
We want our children to learn the basic set of skills and competencies.
Getting them enrolled in the school is only the first step on the ladder.
Education crisis in Pakistan is multi dimensional with access, enrollment, learning, facilities in a dismal state.
ASER is trying to fill the vacuum by asking “Are our children learning?”
It’s an attempt to hold the education sector accountable for its poor performance.
OBJECTIVES OF ASER
To get reliable estimates of the status of children’s schooling and basic learning (reading and arithmetic level) at the district level.
To measure the change in these basic learning and school statistics from last year.
To interpret these results and use them to affect policy decisions at various levels.
SCALE & SCOPE OF ASER
ASER Pakistan inspired by ASER India is part of a South-South initiative across India, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mali, Senegal and Mexico, representing citizens coming together across borders to address quality, accountability and governance in education. In Pakistan, led by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) or Centre for Education and Consciousness, ASER engages with many civil society and semi-autonomous partners, mobilizing annually 10,000 citizen volunteers.
Since 2009 (after a pilot phase in 2008), ASER Pakistan has grown from being active in 11 to 138 out of 145 districts in Pakistan, consistently providing ranked and gender disaggregated data across households, villages, districts and provinces. Each year, 600 households are surveyed per district selected in the following manner:
From each district:
30 villages are selected randomly using the Probability Proportional to Size (PPS) technique form the village directory of the 1998 Census.
In each selected village, 20 randomly selected households are surveyed.
Every year, 20 villages from the previous year are retained and 10 new villages are added (using the same PPS technique) giving us a “rotating panel” of villages.
WHAT DOES ASER DO?
Highlight Access and learning Challenges:
Who? Information on all children aged 3-16 years.
Children 5-16 years are tested.
Survey of one Public and one Private school.
Data reflects information on indicators such as student learning levels, enrollment, student-teacher attendance, facilities, multi-grade classrooms, and grants to government schools etc.
Where? At household level (children). At village level (School)
What? Simple standard 2 tests in Language (Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto), English, Arithmetic
By who? Volunteers who live in the villages.
Where? At household level (children). At village level (School)
Then? Provide instant feedback to community, government, civil society organizations, media, and other stakeholders on the learning outcomes of children in Pakistan.
HOW WILL ASER BRING A CHANGE?
Rests on the theory of change that ordinary educated citizens can be mobilized for extraordinary actions.
Establish actual learning levels of children country wide, each year.
A rigorous bottom up-and top down concurrent dissemination strategy, segmenting audience (parents, parliamentarians, teachers, media, judiciary, civil society).
Foster broader public debate putting into perspective the urgency of placing learning alongside access.
Where? At household level (children). At village level (School)
Symbolic of the power of citizens for measuring children’s learning capabilities.
