An Analysis of Educational Provision In Pakistan With Particular Emphasis On Efficiency, School Size And School Choice

Hashmi, Maaida and Bradley, Steve (2022) An Analysis of Educational Provision In Pakistan With Particular Emphasis On Efficiency, School Size And School Choice. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

This thesis consists of an introductory chapter, which revolves around the vital theme of the state of education in Pakistan. Three separate but interlinked papers address the determinants of primary school efficiency and educational outcomes in Pakistan. The first paper aims at analysing the drivers of relative efficiency in the provision of primary education by both the public and private sectors. By doing so, the study further examines the causes of inefficiency in these schools. This study uses the Learning and Educational Achievement in Punjab Schools (LEAPS 2003-2005) data from the three districts of province Punjab, including 118 villages and 816 schools. Efficiency analysis is carried out in two stages. In the first stage, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is performed to compare the performance of all the schools to generate efficiency scores. Further, in the second stage, the Tobit regression analysis is used to analyse the effects of various determinants of efficiency, separately for public and private schools. The results of the DEA analysis reveal that private schools are far more efficient than government schools in terms of the provision of quality education i.e., improvement in exam grades and overall learning of the student. Competition among public and private schools in the education market proves to be a positive element. It motivates the schools of both sectors to perform better than each other. Overall, this study is vital for policymakers in planning and designing policies to increase the performance and efficiency of primary schooling. The goal of the second paper is to analyse the relationship between school size and student achievement in the primary schools of Punjab, Pakistan. This study utilized the LEAPS data to examine the effect of school size on the performance of primary school pupils in both public and private schools at both the school level and student level. The results show a positive but non-linear relationship between test scores in Urdu, English, Math school size. This result means that exam performance rises with school size but at a decreasing rate. Also, the performance of private schools is better as compared to public schools. This study is helpful in formulating the policy to merge small schools for the better allocation of resources and it can ultimately benefit the students in boosting their academic performance. The third and last paper explains the economics of parental school choice and the impact of private tuition on the performance of students in Pakistan. The analysis is based on cross-sectional data collected by the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) from 2013 to 2016 for Pakistan. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the determinants of school choice and the role of ‘shadow’ education. This study adds to the existing literature regarding parental decisions with respect to school choices and the impact of private tuition on the students' achievement at Kinder Garden (KG) and primary education in Pakistan. It is evident from the results of the study that parents are more inclined towards private schooling for their children as compared to the free education provided by the public schools. It is also found that private tuition is very helpful in improving the performance of students, particularly for primary students. The most interesting finding revealed in this study is the role of household wealth, which plays a crucial role in school choices and private tutoring, respectively. This study has certain limitations. For researchers, future research should be directed towards studies with a more substantial and more representative sample of students. This study could also be broader by the inclusion of other socioeconomic factors, such as parental income and occupation, the cost of the school and neighbourhood factors.