Slum dwellers facing challenging living conditions: Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi

Islamabad : The living conditions in the Kachi Abadis (KA) are extremely challenging as around 38 per cent of the KAs do not have daily access to water and about 18 per cent get water once in 15 days or more.

In 46 per cent KAs there is no routine system for cleaning of drains and garbage collection while the majority of the households (79 per cent) had their own toilets, 21 per cent either had shared (13 per cent) or public (5 per cent) toilets and for 3 per cent, there was no option but open defecation. On the other hand, 63 per cent of households of KAs have smartphones, almost 80 per cent of households have cell phones and 21 per cent have computers/laptops and overall, 33 per cent of the households use the internet.

This was revealed by the report of the first pilot study for a learning and accountability survey in urban slums (4 districts: Karachi West, Korangi, Malir, and Lahore) conducted by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) and supported by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The survey includes a total of 114 KAs, reaching out to 2, 275 households, 2,285 Mothers and 6,411 children (Age 3-16).The learning tools are mapped mainly to lower primary or grade 2 level national and provincial competencies.

The findings from this pilot study were shared virtually in the presence of Waseem Ajmal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MoFE&PT), Dr. Suhail Shahzad, Special Secretary, School Education Department, Govt. of Punjab; Knut Ostby, Resident Representative UNDP Pakistan; Muhammad Saleem Jalbani, Senior Chief Education, Planning &Development(P&D) Department, Govt. of Sindh; Khalid Sultan, Member Education, P&D Department, Govt. of Punjab; Kim Bradford Smith, Education Team Lead, FCDO Pakistan; Omar Masud, CEO, Punjab Urban Unit; and Muhammad Toheed, Urban Planner, GIS Analyst, Karachi Urban Lab, IBA. The survey showed that, Of the sampled children (6,411) 54 per cent were boys and 46 per cent girls (age 6-16 years), 82 per cent are enrolled in schools (2021) in KAs compared to 97 per cent in urban districts. Early years enrolment in KAs is 38.1 per cent (girls 42 per cent and boys 58 per cent), significantly lagging behind 53 per cent enrolled in urban districts, with gender gaps setting in early. More children are enrolled in private schools (59 per cent) including madrassahs (8 per cent) and Non-Formal Education (NFE) (1 per cent), whilst 41 per cent are enrolled in government schools. Enrolment increases significantly from the age of 5, reaching its peak at the age of 10. About 30 per cent or 1 in 3 children of 16-year-olds are out of school. Government school enrolment is higher in Lahore at 59 per cent while private school enrolment is highest in Korangi at 59 per cent. Enrolment in madrassahs is 8 per cent, significantly higher in KAs than trends observed in the regular ASER national surveys (1.5-2.5 percent).

While Korangi, Lahore and Malir’s Madrassah enrolment is 2.6 per cent, 2.1 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively, Karachi-West has 24 per cent of Katchi Abadi's students or 1 in 4 children enrolled in madras, reports showed. The report further showed that children from KAs attending private schools do better than those attending government schools. For Urdu reading, 42% of children can read a story from private schools while only 38% of government school children can do the same. In Arithmetic, 31% of private school-going children can solve two-digit division compared to 28% in government schools. In English, 43% of private school children can read sentences in English compared to 41% of government school children. When disaggregating learning in madrassahs, trends are of extreme concern. In finding, reports show that almost 50% of the mothers and 44% of the fathers living in the KAs were found to be illiterate. Of those literate, 10% mothers and 8% fathers had completed primary education (Grade 5); 41% mothers and 42% fathers had education up to matriculation (grade 10) and 9% mothers and 14% fathers had education above matriculation.

The representative of the Ministry, Joint Secretary, Waseem Ajmal, appreciated the report, adding that it will help in policy actions to improve learning outcomes in KAs. “One of the key challenges of the modern education system is how to make it more inclusive and equity-oriented. Some segments can afford better education but others remain disadvantaged who have to study in non-functional schools’’, Ajmal added.

He added that we need to come up with localized models of governance for schools in urban slums and create linkages between formal schools and KA schools while involving the private sector to come up with a solution for quality learning in KAs. Special Secretary Education, Shahzad agreed with the findings of the report, stating that the existing urban schools are functioning on rural frameworks. He said that the mapping of KAs in the development framework is not representative, especially considering the population density. “We need to devise a structure for KAs so we can establish schools according to the proportion of the population there,” the special secretary said.

Ostby from UNDP Pakistan said that Pakistan is a water-stressed country with rapid urbanization and governance challenges. “COVID-19 has further highlighted the challenges facing the informal urban settlements, particularly impacting the learning of children. It’s a timely effort to gauge the learning quality of children living in urban slums. UNDP Pakistan recognizes the complex systems and actively works with the government to achieve SDGs. This report will be of great help to the government of Pakistan and development partners to work on urban resilience and development,” he said. Smith from FCDO said the report shows that children in KAs are being left behind in their learning – all school systems have painfully low learning levels. What school you go to impacts your potential learning, with Madrassah students having extremely low learning levels. The quality of learning in all school systems needs urgent attention, public resources need to be prioritized for the underserved, and teaching in the mother tongue needs to be addressed. Sultan said what this report shows is just a tip of an iceberg, but we shall reinforce the recommendations mentioned in the report and include them in policymaking. Jalbani also extended his support to the report, promising to use the data collected in the report for actions.

Masud said that cities are called the engines of economic growth only if the population is well educated and has access to all types of amenities but the issue of urban slums is a low-hanging fruit that remains unmapped. The human resource at urban slums remains untapped due to unplanned city growth across Pakistan. Using this data, we can evolve a more targeted approach of integrating KAs in policy frameworks to direct resources for better learning outcomes of children residing there.