Unraveling the Gender Gap: A Comparative Analysis of School Enrollment and Secondary Education Completion in Pakistan's Provinces
Abstract
This study examines the gender gap in school enrollment and secondary school completion in Pakistan using secondary data from the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLM) and Pakistan Education Statistics reports. A comparative analysis of the four provinces and their districts is conducted to identify regional dynamics contributing to gender disparities in education. The research investigates the relationship between students who ever attended school, those who passed secondary school, and the gender gap in enrollment. Descriptive statistics analyze school enrollment rates and dropouts across different regions. Data from the official governmental reports, including the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and PSLM (2019-20), and education statistics reports from 2017 for Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, serve as the foundation for this analysis. The study offers valuable insights into the complex web of causality and influence shaping the persistence of gender disparities in education in Pakistan.
References
[2] Ahmad, I., Alam, A., Khan, N., and Ullah, R. 2023. Inequality Regimes, Patriarchal Connectivity, And Women’s Right To Property Inheritance In Rural Pakistan. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 1251-1267.
[3] Ahmed, K. A., et al. 2022. An analysis of the gender and social determinants of health in urban poor areas of the most populated cities of Pakistan. International Journal for Equity in Health, 21(1): 1-11.
[4] Ali, T. S., et al. 2022. Perpetuation of gender discrimination in Pakistani society: results from a scoping review and qualitative study conducted in three provinces of Pakistan. BMC Women's Health, 22(1): 1-21.
[5] Angrist, N., Djankov, S., Goldberg, P., and Patrinos, H. A. 2019. Measuring human capital. Available at SSRN 3339416.
[6] Awaworyi Churchill, S., Nuhu, A. S., and Lopez, K. 2019. Persistence of gender inequality: The role of ethnic divisions. Applied Economics, 51(8): 781-796.
[7] Batool, H., Anwar, M., and Asghar, N. 2021. Women Empowerment in the Perspective of Socioeconomics Dynamics: A Case Study of Northern Punjab, Pakistan. İlköğretim Online- Elementary Education Online, 20(5): 4852-4863.
[8] Batool, I., Saqib, M., and Ghaffari, A. S. 2019. Attitude Towards Third Gender: A Case Study Of Southern Punjab, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Applied Social Sciences, 9(1): 19-36.
[9] Bertocchi, G., and Bozzano, M. 2020. Gender gaps in education (pp. 1-31). Springer International Publishing.
[10] Beteille, T., Tognatta, N., Riboud, M., and Nomura, S. 2020. Ready to learn: Before school, in school, and beyond school in South Asia. World Bank Publications.
[11] Beyer, L. E., and Zeichner, K. 2018. Teacher education in cultural context: Beyond reproduction. In Critical studies in teacher education (pp. 298-334). Routledge.
[12] Bizenjo, S. (2020). Education in Pakistan: Are low-cost private schools closing the gender gap? International Journal of Educational Development, 77, 102209.
[13] Breda, T., Jouini, E., Napp, C., and Thebault, G. 2020. Gender stereotypes can explain the gender-equality paradox. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(49): 31063-31069.
[14] Brollo, F., Hanedar, E., and Walker, M. S. 2021. Pakistan: Spending Needs for Reaching Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). International Monetary Fund.
[15] Bukhari, M. A. H. S., Gaho, M. G. M., and Soomro, M. K. H. 2019. Gender inequality: problems and its solutions in Pakistan. The Government-Annual Research Journal of Political Science, 7(7).
[16] Choudhry, A. N., Abdul Mutalib, R., and Ismail, N. S. A. 2019. Socio-cultural factors affecting women economic empowerment in Pakistan: A situation analysis. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(5): 90-102.
[17] Dasgupta, A., and Karandikar, A. 2021. Gender-gap in learning outcomes under rainfall shocks: The role of gender norms (No. 70).
[18] Durrani, N., and Halai, A. 2018. Dynamics of gender justice, conflict and social cohesion: Analysing educational reforms in Pakistan. International Journal of Educational Development, 61: 27-39.
[19] Durrani, N., and Halai, A. 2020. Gender equality, education, and development: Tensions between global, national, and local policy discourses in postcolonial contexts. In Grading goal four (pp. 65-95). Brill.
[20] Fakhr, Z., and Messenger, H. 2020. Gender inequality and academic freedom in Pakistani higher education. In Faculty and Student Research in Practicing Academic Freedom (Vol. 31, pp. 67-84). Emerald Publishing Limited.
[21] Fausto-Sterling, A. 2019. The dynamic development of gender variability. In Homosexuality, transsexuality, psychoanalysis and traditional Judaism (pp. 155-182). Routledge.
[22] Holz, S., and Bano, A. 2022. Navigating Respectability in Patriarchal Contexts: Ethical Dilemmas of Women Researchers in Pakistan. International Quarterly for Asian Studies, 53(4): 553-585.
[23] Jæger, M. M., and Karlson, K. 2018. Cultural capital and educational inequality: A counterfactual analysis. Sociological Science, 5: 775-795.
[24] Khan, S. N., and Ali, E. I. 2018. The Moderating Effect of Intellectual Capital on the Relationship between Corporate Governance and Companies Performance in Pakistan. Journal of Governance and Integrity, 2(1): 12-22.
[25] Khurshid, A. 2016. Domesticated gender (in) equality: Women’s education and gender relations among rural communities in Pakistan. International Journal of Educational Development, 51: 43-50.
[26] Kim, S. Y. 2021. Determining critical factors of gender inequality: Evidence from 34 OECD and non-OECD countries. World Development Perspectives, 21, 100284.
[27] Kitterød, R. H., and Nadim, M. 2020. Embracing gender equality. Demographic Research, 42: 411-440.
[28] Pasha, H. K. (2023). Gender Differences in Education: Are Girls Neglected in Pakistani Society? Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 1-46.
[29] Pervez, S., and Iraqi, K. M. (2018). Gender Discrimination–Prevailing State In Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Gender Studies, 16(1): 153-170.
[30] Raza, A., and Sohaib Murad, H. 2010. Gender gap in Pakistan: A socio‐demographic analysis. International Journal of social economics, 37(7): 541-557.
[31] Saleemi, S., and Kofol, C. 2022. Women’s participation in household decisions and gender equality in children’s education: Evidence from rural households in Pakistan. World Development Perspectives, 25, 100395.
[32] Sattar, T., Ahmad, S., and Asim, M. 2022. Intimate partner violence against women in Southern Punjab, Pakistan: A phenomenological study. BMC women's health, 22(1): 505.
[33] Seron, C., Silbey, S., Cech, E., and Rubineau, B. 2018. ‘I am Not a Feminist, but...’: Hegemony of a meritocratic ideology and the limits of critique among women in engineering. Work and occupations, 45(2): 131-167.
[34] Shah, S. A., and Armstrong, G. 2019. Exploring the Gender Gap in Reading in Pakistan. Teaching and Teacher Education: South Asian Perspectives, 113-149.
[35] Siddiqui, S., Zainal, H., Harun, S. N., Ghadzi, S. M. S., and Ghafoor, S. 2020. Gender differences in the modifiable risk factors associated with the presence of prediabetes: A systematic review. Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research and Reviews, 14(5): 1243-1252.
[36] Syed, J., and Ali, F. 2019. A relational perspective on gender equality and mainstreaming. Human Resource Development International, 22(1): 4-24.
[37] Tayyaba, S. 2012. Rural‐urban gaps in academic achievement, schooling conditions, student, and teachers' characteristics in Pakistan. International Journal of Educational Management, 26 (1): 6-26.
[38] Xu, S., Asiedu, M., and Effah, N. A. A. 2022. Inclusive Finance, Gender Inequality, and Sustainable Economic Growth in Africa. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 1-37.
[39] Zafar, Z., and Ali, S. 2018. Education System of Pakistan: Social Functions and Challenges. Journal of Indian Studies, 4(1): 31-51.
[40] Zulfiqar, G., and Prasad, A. 2021. Challenging social inequality in the Global South: Class, privilege, and consciousness-raising through critical management education. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 20(2): 156-181.
The Copyright Transfer Form to ASERS Publishing (The Publisher)
This form refers to the manuscript, which an author(s) was accepted for publication and was signed by all the authors.
The undersigned Author(s) of the above-mentioned Paper here transfer any and all copyright-rights in and to The Paper to The Publisher. The Author(s) warrants that The Paper is based on their original work and that the undersigned has the power and authority to make and execute this assignment. It is the author's responsibility to obtain written permission to quote material that has been previously published in any form. The Publisher recognizes the retained rights noted below and grants to the above authors and employers for whom the work performed royalty-free permission to reuse their materials below. Authors may reuse all or portions of the above Paper in other works, excepting the publication of the paper in the same form. Authors may reproduce or authorize others to reproduce the above Paper for the Author's personal use or for internal company use, provided that the source and The Publisher copyright notice are mentioned, that the copies are not used in any way that implies The Publisher endorsement of a product or service of an employer, and that the copies are not offered for sale as such. Authors are permitted to grant third party requests for reprinting, republishing or other types of reuse. The Authors may make limited distribution of all or portions of the above Paper prior to publication if they inform The Publisher of the nature and extent of such limited distribution prior there to. Authors retain all proprietary rights in any process, procedure, or article of manufacture described in The Paper. This agreement becomes null and void if and only if the above paper is not accepted and published by The Publisher, or is with drawn by the author(s) before acceptance by the Publisher.