IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/b/wbk/wbpubs/18407.html
   My bibliography  Save this book

Student Learning in South Asia : Challenges, Opportunities, and Policy Priorities

Author

Listed:
  • Halil Dundar
  • Tara Beteille
  • Michelle Riboud
  • Anil Deolalikar

Abstract

For the past decade, South Asian governments have been investing heavily to achieve the education millennium development goals (MDGs). The region has also made great progress in enrolling girls in both primary and secondary school. The rapid gains in enrollment have not been accompanied by commensurate improvements in learning levels, with the average level of skill acquisition in South Asia being low by both national and international standards. A major reason for this is that throughout the 2000s, most South Asian countries focused on: (a) achieving universal access to primary education, and (b) sustained investment in better-quality school inputs to improve the quality of primary and secondary education. This report covers education from primary through upper secondary school. Given its importance for school readiness, this report also reviews early childhood development even though that is outside formal education systems in the region. To examine what types of policies hold promise for improving student learning, it reviews data from large-scale national learning assessments and the findings of a small but increasing number of impact evaluations being conducted in the region. Finally, based on evidence from South Asia and other regions, it identifies strategic options and priorities to improve learning outcomes in South Asia. The findings make it clear that to be successful, policies to ensure lasting improvements in student learning outcomes need to be integrated into a larger agenda of inclusive economic growth and governance reform. This report makes an important contribution to ones understanding of the performance of education systems in South Asia and the causes and correlates of student learning outcomes. Further, drawing on successful initiatives both in the region and elsewhere in the world, it offers an insightful approach to setting priorities for enhancing the quality of school education despite growing competition for public resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Halil Dundar & Tara Beteille & Michelle Riboud & Anil Deolalikar, 2014. "Student Learning in South Asia : Challenges, Opportunities, and Policy Priorities," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 18407.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbpubs:18407
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/18407/882670PUB0978100Box385205B00PUBLIC0.pdf?sequence=1
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Victoria Gunnarsson & Peter F. Orazem & Mario A. Sánchez & Aimee Verdisco, 2009. "Does Local School Control Raise Student Outcomes? Evidence on the Roles of School Autonomy and Parental Participation," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(1), pages 25-52, October.
    2. Hanushek, Eric A. & Link, Susanne & Woessmann, Ludger, 2013. "Does school autonomy make sense everywhere? Panel estimates from PISA," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 212-232.
    3. Galiani, Sebastian & Gertler, Paul & Schargrodsky, Ernesto, 2008. "School decentralization: Helping the good get better, but leaving the poor behind," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(10-11), pages 2106-2120, October.
    4. Emanuela Di Gropello, 2006. "A Comparative Analysis of School-based Management in Central America," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6978.
    5. Abhijit V. Banerjee & Rukmini Banerji & Esther Duflo & Rachel Glennerster & Stuti Khemani, 2010. "Pitfalls of Participatory Programs: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Education in India," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 1-30, February.
    6. Pranab Bardhan & Dilip Mookherjee (ed.), 2006. "Decentralization and Local Governance in Developing Countries: A Comparative Perspective," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262524546, April.
    7. Jimenez, Emmanuel & Sawada, Yasuyuki, 1999. "Do Community-Managed Schools Work? An Evaluation of El Salvador's EDUCO Program," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 13(3), pages 415-441, September.
    8. Khattri, Nidhi & Ling, Cristina & Jha, Shreyasi, 2010. "The effects of school-based management in the Philippines : an initial assessment using administrative data," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5248, The World Bank.
    9. Daniel Cotlear, 2008. "PERU - Making Accountability Work : Lessons from RECURSO," World Bank Publications - Reports 10270, The World Bank Group.
    10. Gunnar Eskeland & Deon Filmer, 2007. "Autonomy, Participation and Learning: Findings from Argentine Schools, and Implications for Decentralization," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(1), pages 103-127.
    11. Shenila Rawal & Geeta Kingdon, 2010. "Akin to my teacher: Does caste, religious or gender distance between student and teacher matter? Some evidence from India," DoQSS Working Papers 10-18, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    12. Michael Kremer & Nazmul Chaudhury & F. Halsey Rogers & Karthik Muralidharan & Jeffrey Hammer, 2005. "Teacher Absence in India: A Snapshot," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 3(2-3), pages 658-667, 04/05.
    13. Barbara Bruns & Deon Filmer & Harry Anthony Patrinos, 2011. "Making Schools Work : New Evidence on Accountability Reforms," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2270.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marine de Talance, 2017. "Quality Perceptions and School Choice in Rural Pakistan," Working Papers hal-01663029, HAL.
    2. Marine de Talancé, 2016. "Quality perceptions and school choice in rural Pakistan," Working Papers DT/2016/15, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    3. Asim,Salman & Chase,Robert S. & Dar,Amit & Schmillen,Achim Daniel, 2015. "Improving education outcomes in South Asia : findings from a decade of impact evaluations," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7362, The World Bank.
    4. Muhammad Qahraman Kakar, 2021. "Ethnic Disparities, Women Education and Empowerment in South Asia," Erudite Ph.D Dissertations, Erudite, number ph21-01 edited by Manon Domingues Dos Santos.
    5. Shabnam Sinha & Rukmini Banerji & Wilima Wadhwa, 2016. "Teacher Performance in Bihar, India," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 23637.
    6. Angrej Singh Gill, 2017. "State, Market and Social Inequalities: A Study of Primary Education in the Indian Punjab," Millennial Asia, , vol. 8(2), pages 194-216, October.
    7. Lenkei, Balint & Mustafa, Ghulam & Vecchi, Michela, 2018. "Growth in emerging economies: Is there a role for education?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 240-253.
    8. Faruk, Avinno, 2017. "What matters for the quality of education in South Asia: An empirical examination with a QEI," MPRA Paper 91982, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Salma Malik & Shabana Fayyaz, 2019. "Energy Security- A Threat Assessment for Pakistan," Global Economics Review, Humanity Only, vol. 4(4), pages 45-59, December.
    10. Dhushyanth Raju, 2017. "Public School Teacher Management in Sri Lanka," South Asia Economic Journal, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, vol. 18(1), pages 39-63, March.
    11. Hafiz Mohammad Ather Khan & Muhammad Tahir Khan Farooqi & Shahid Mehmood, 2018. "Curriculum of Mathematics in Pakistan and International Standards: A Comparative Study," Global Social Sciences Review, Humanity Only, vol. 3(2), pages 275-302, June.
    12. Duică Anişoara & Florea Nicoleta Valentina & Duică Mircea Constantin & Iancu Dorin, 2016. "Using Simulation and Six Sigma to Analyze and Improve Motivation Process of Teachers from Undergraduate Institutions," Valahian Journal of Economic Studies, Sciendo, vol. 7(2), pages 7-16, December.
    13. Chen, Shuang, 2018. "Education and transition to work: Evidence from Vietnam, Cambodia and Nepal," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 92-105.
    14. Lin Tai & Fu Xiaopeng & Gong Ting & Xu Xinpeng & Stavros Sindakis & Gazal Showkat, 2024. "Assessing the Relationship Between Digital Inclusive Finance and the Well-Being of Elderly Individuals: A Study of Life Satisfaction," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 9597-9628, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anila Channa & Jean-Paul Faguet, 2016. "Decentralization of Health and Education in Developing Countries: A Quality-Adjusted Review of the Empirical Literature," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 31(2), pages 199-241.
    2. Elizabeth Beasley & Elise Huillery, 2017. "Willing but Unable? Short-term Experimental Evidence on Parent Empowerment and School Quality," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 31(2), pages 531-552.
    3. Gershberg, Alec Ian & González, Pablo Alberto & Meade, Ben, 2012. "Understanding and Improving Accountability in Education: A Conceptual Framework and Guideposts from Three Decentralization Reform Experiences in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 1024-1041.
    4. Frederico Gil Sander & Intan Nadia Jalil & Rabia Ali, 2013. "Malaysia Economic Monitor, December 2013 : High-Performing Education," World Bank Publications - Reports 16705, The World Bank Group.
    5. Hakizimfura, Emmanuel & Randall, Douglas & Zia, Bilal, 2020. "Decentralized delivery of financial education: Experimental evidence from Rwanda," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    6. Hanushek, Eric A. & Link, Susanne & Woessmann, Ludger, 2013. "Does school autonomy make sense everywhere? Panel estimates from PISA," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 212-232.
    7. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09na40maa99 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Alcaíno, Manuel & Jaimovich, Analia & Méndez, Carolina & Vásquez, Diana, 2022. "Government fragmentation and educational outcomes: evidence on the creation of municipalities in Chile," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 11987, Inter-American Development Bank.
    9. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09na40maa99 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Pedro Carneiro & Oswald Koussihouèdé & Nathalie Lahire & Costas Meghir & Corina Mommaerts, 2015. "Decentralizing education resources: school grants in Senegal," CeMMAP working papers CWP15/15, Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    11. Nicolas Contreras, 2015. "School Autonomy, Education Quality and Development: an Instrumental Variable Approach," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-01161888, HAL.
    12. Buerger, Christian & Lincove, Jane Arnold & Mata, Catherine, 2023. "How context shapes the relationship between school autonomy and test-scores. An explanatory analysis using PISA 2015," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    13. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/mmkrke5an8luq9ps90ougrtui is not listed on IDEAS
    14. World Bank, 2013. "Basic Education Public Expenditure Review Phase II : School Based Management in the Philippines, An Empirical Investigation," World Bank Publications - Reports 16076, The World Bank Group.
    15. Diether W. Beuermann & Maria Amelina, 2018. "Does participatory budgeting improve decentralized public service delivery? Experimental evidence from rural Russia," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 339-379, November.
    16. Josep-Oriol Escardíbul & Nehal Helmy, 2015. "Decentralisation and school autonomy impact on the quality of education: the case of two MENA countries," Working Papers 2015/33, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    17. Ayako Wakano, 2016. "The effect of locally hired teachers on school outcomes (the Dose response function estimation evidence from Kenya)," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 16-15, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.
    18. Santibañez, Lucrecia & Abreu-Lastra, Raúl & O’Donoghue, Jennifer L., 2014. "School based management effects: Resources or governance change? Evidence from Mexico," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 97-109.
    19. Felipe Barrera-Osorio & Darío Maldonado & Catherine Rodríguez, 2012. "Calidad de la Educación Básica y Media en Colombia: Diagnóstico y Propuestas," Documentos CEDE 10321, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    20. Sonja Fagernäs & Panu Pelkonen, 2011. "Whether to Hire Local Contract Teachers? Trade-off Between Skills and Preferences in India," Working Paper Series 1811, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    21. Nicolas Contreras, 2015. "School Autonomy, Education Quality and Development: an Instrumental Variable Approach," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 15020, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    22. Jorge Cimentada, 2020. "A new perspective on the international achievement gap: is academic autonomy good for everyone?," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2020-005, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    23. Ayako Wakano, 2016. "The effect of ratio between PTA teachers and Government employed teachers on Education outcomes in Kenya Primary Schools," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 16-14, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wbk:wbpubs:18407. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tal Ayalon (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dvewbus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.