LEARNING BEYOND SCHOOL: ANOTHER CHANCE FOR OUT OF SCHOOL ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN PAKISTAN

Despite substantial increase in primary school enrollment in Pakistan, 59% of girls do not complete primary school. Scant research exists on improving learning and later life outcomes for out of school female adolescents.

CERP is conducting a Randomised Controlled Trial to test the effect of a remedial learning and functional literacy programme aimed at females aged 9 to 19, in Pakistan’s Southern Punjab region, who have never attended school or have dropped out. This ongoing research spans 300 villages and tests the program’s effects on female learning, future enrollment, and educational aspirations, empowerment, and the broader values and perceptions of female roles of both participants and their household and village members. The research will answer questions crucial to the welfare of some of the most marginalised and disadvantaged members of low income countries. Moreover, improving the position of young females can have strong spillovers through their roles as siblings and mothers.