Islamabad: As many as 50,000 families have got themselves registered within a short span of time on the “self-enumeration portal” of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), said the bureau in a statement.
The portal was launched a couple of weeks back with the aim to digitalise the census process in order to enhance transparency, accountability, and efficacy during this process. Chief Census Commissioner Naeem uz Zafar explained that in an environment wrought with economic challenges and deteriorating living standards, the PBS tried to give people hope as through this modern technology.
The portal is one of many technological innovations stitched together to digitize the census process in Pakistan, bringing it to par with those developed nations that conduct their census using technology to various degrees. These include the United States, United Kingdom, India, Iran, Egypt, and Bangladesh among others.
In the aftermath of the controversies arising during the 2017 census, Sarwar Gondal, Member SSRM, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics took an exemplary initiative to use an integrated multi-technology approach to digitize the census process. Hence, eliminating any shadow of doubt about the census results. Working day and night, Gondal, the PBS team supported by stakeholders and developed a comprehensive and extensive digitized methodology and approach for the census.
According to the bureau, the self-enumeration web portal has been developed to provide citizens with an option to fill out the census form themselves using the internet. This option not only offers citizens ease and convenience but also makes the census more transparent and accountable. The https://self.pbs.gov.pk can be accessed through any device at any time. The citizens have greatly appreciated this initiative and even in the short time since its launch over million people have visited the site and 50,000 families have already filled out the census form. While talking about the digital journey, Naeem uz Zafar shared the challenges and accomplishments, especially in building the trust of all stakeholders, in particular at the provincial level. He recalled that it was essential to build the ownership of all stakeholders at all levels, and the PBS leadership travelled to every part of the country to ensure that there was a keen understanding of the census process and the benefits of the implemented digital process was realised by everyone.
Gondal and Zafar have personally led the digitization of the census from the front, from concept to execution. They have attended all training across the country and provided oversight to technology development, procurement, and distribution. Focus has also been put on standardizing concepts and maintaining quality while ensuring the reliability of data collection. The training involved conventional training, conceptual videos, real-life examples case studies, mock exercises, and addressing FAQs. The Bureau further stated that the use of digital technology and (GIS) modernizes the entire census process, making it more transparent, efficient, and accurate. “Opting for the digitalized way of the entire census process reduces the execution time as well. A national census coordination centre is set up along with an integrated media strategy for public awareness campaigns and comprehensive security arrangements have also been made. The questionnaire for the census is simplified,” it said adding that the field operation procedure is comprehensive and census workers are thoroughly trained. To confirm authenticity a post-census survey will be conducted to validate the census results.
It claimed that this year, enumerators going door-to-door will have tablets or smartphones that will let them enter information digitally. Additionally, a dedicated call centre has also been established. The census enumeration process is being logged in real-time and the process can be monitored live. Using an innovative approach, as per statement, PBS was using its social media platform to log its digital journey and as a customer, service point to answer queries and provide guidance to citizens.
The digitization of the census is an important step towards modernizing Pakistan. Extensive and comprehensive steps have been taken to plan and execute this massive national effort. International best practices were adapted to the realities of Pakistan to develop an indigenous technological solution to conduct the 7th population and housing census of Pakistan. The whole census process has been digitized to improve efficiency and transparency. In times of constant challenges and trying times, the census is giving us hope for a better future.