Purpose: Recent educational research has demonstrated rural-urban gaps in achievement and schooling conditions. Evidence from developing countries is still sparse. This study seeks to report rural-urban disparities in achievement, student, teacher, and school characteristics based on a nationally representative sample of grade four students from…

The first part of a four-part analysis and assessment of Pakistan's system of primary education, this document presents summary conclusions and recommendations. Despite gains in primary school attendance and recent good economic performance, Pakistan's educational base remains so weak as to constitute a serious threat to continued economic growth.…

Analyzes data from Karachi's four largest teacher training schools in order to answer questions about teacher shortages for rural areas in Pakistan, costs of teacher training, and employment status of newly trained teachers. Finds heavy state subsidy of teacher training and a large pool of unemployed urban teachers. (JHZ)

This study uses a production function approach to identify the impact of student, parent, teacher, and school policy variables on student performance as measured by test scores. Our statistical analysis is conducted in a comparative institutional context that includes government, private, and non-governmental organization schools. We find that, at…

This chapter focuses on the substantial gaps in school enrollments and cognitive achievement between boys and girls in rural Pakistan and between a relatively prosperous district (Faisalabad, Punjab) and a poor district (Badin, Sind). An important policy question is whether the allocation of educational expenditures to target disadvantaged groups…

This report synthesizes case studies of women teachers in rural areas of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. In each country, interviews and focus groups were conducted in selected states and districts with administrators and women teachers in rural elementary schools, as well as policymakers and community members. Following an introduction to…

From 1960 to 1980, school enrollment and educational expenditures in developing countries experienced significant expansion. By the late 1980s, however, this trend had slowed. This report examines the impact of education upon welfare and productivity. A unified global data set is used to address the question from a macroeconomic, gender-specific,…