Impact assessment of school infrastructure quality index on school enrollment: a study quantifying gender differentials in Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Introduction

Pakistan is struggling to alleviate poverty and terrorism from the territorial boundaries. In order to obtain fruitful results the government should invest in human capital. Given the recognized role of education as a medium for economic and social development, improving our understanding of the determinants of schooling is vital. This would enable policymakers to adopt policies to improve the allocation of resources, with the aim of increasing school enrollment and lowering the inequality in attainment. Therefore, this study identifies school infrastructure quality index (SIQI) to be an imperative explanatory variable in determining the probability of primary-middle school enrollment.

A good school environment directly improves children’s health, school attendance and efficient learning. In that way individuals progress and become capable and productive members of society. Branham (2004) found a positive and significant relation between school enrollment and quality of school facilities.

In a country like Pakistan, where females receive less education compared to males, analyzing the sample separately by gender becomes important (Burney and Irfan, 1991). Factors such as labor market discrimination, cultural norms, restrictions on female mobility cause low enrollment of girls in schools (Alderman, Orazem and Paterno, 2001). Secondly, the enrollment differentials across gender are evident as the Gross Parity Index of Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) primary schools in Pakistan is 0.85 suggesting that more boys are enrolled at schools relative to girls.1 These statistics increase the urge for policy proposition in educational sector in Pakistan.

Moreover, government school system guarantees equitable geographical access to schools for people of all income levels. Those children who are neglected by their parents and are deprived of learning investments at home are expected to join government schools. Learning and Education Achievements in Punjab Schools (LEAPS) study of 2008 narrates that although the government is the main provider of education, the infrastructure quality of public schools remains poor compared to private schools.2 Moreover, unsafe school buildings and lack of all-girls schools are factors that hamper that female enrollment especially in the rural areas. Although, numerous studies have identified the demand and supply side determinants of schooling in Pakistan, very few have addressed the gender disparity in enrollment due to differences in school infrastructure quality in public schools. Therefore, this study aims to bridge the gap by constructing a school infrastructure quality index using all public schools in the districts of Punjab.

The purpose of this study is to find the impact of SIQI on probability of primary and middle school enrollment of children aged between 5-14 years in 36 districts of Punjab over the period of 2007/08 and 2010/11. Further, this study examines is there any significant gender differentials in school enrollment with SIQI.