A World Bank report issued yesterday says around a quarter to one-third primary school graduates in South Asia lack the basic numeracy and literacy skills that would enable them to pursue further education.
The report is the first comprehensive study to analyse the performance of South Asian education systems in terms of student learning.
It also noted that much of what South Asian students are taught is “procedural,” or rote-based, and students are inadequately prepared in practical competencies such as measurement, problem-solving and writing meaningful and grammatically-correct sentences.
“Just spending time in school is not enough. There has to be a significant gain in skills that requires an improvement in the quality of education,” Philippe Le Houérou, World Bank vice-president in the South Asian region, was quoted in a press release issued by the organisation yesterday.
There is an increase in the net enrolment rate in South Asia’s primary schools – from 75% in 2000 to 89% in 2010 – bringing the region closer to the enrolment rates in Latin America and the Caribbean (94%) and East Asia and the Pacific (95%), according to the report.
Afghanistan and Pakistan still lag significantly behind other South Asian countries in almost all education indicators.
“The poor quality of education in South Asia is a major obstacle to the region’s future economic prospects,” said Halil Dundar, a lead education specialist at the World Bank and one of the report’s authors. “Raising the education quality is an urgent priority that could transform the region’s economic landscape.”
The report recommends a multi-pronged strategy that includes initiatives outside the education sector to address South Asia’s education challenges. The recommendations include ensuring nutrition for young children, improve quality of teaching, using financial incentives to boost said quality, bring in private investments, and improving the measurement of students’ progress.
