LAHORE, Jun 11 (APP):Punjab is making headway narrowing the gender gap in educational achievements where the girls consistently outperformed boys in all subjects and grades, including maths.
This was revealed in the results of the National Achievement Test (NAT) 2023 conducted by the Pakistan Institute of Education (PIE) and released here in a ceremony at a local hotel on Tuesday.
Punjab Minister for School Education Rana Sikandar Hayat , Pakistan Institute of Education (PIE) Director General Dr. Shahid Soroya, Member Punjab Assembly Amina Hassan Sheikh, Dr Nasir Mehmood from Punjab Examination Commission (PEC), educationist Dr Azma Yousaf, Dr Jessica from Lahore University for Management Sciences (LUMS), Dr Abbas Rasheed and Dr Afaf from University of Education also were present on the occasion.
According to the result report , over 7,000 students from nearly 380 public schools in Punjab participated in the NAT 2023, providing a revealing snapshot of student learning across the province.
The findings also offer a springboard for further improvement and highlight areas where targeted interventions can yield significant impact. The data also pinpoints areas demanding focused attention. Maths scores across both grades fell below than those achieved in Urdu and English. Grade 4 students encountered the most difficulty in statistics and probability, a trend mirrored by grade 8 students in the same content domain. Science proficiency also showed room for improvement,with the highest average score being 66 percent for grade 8 students in rural schools, the report added.
A trend emerged when examining performance by gender in Punjab, the girls consistently outperformed boys in all subjects where nationally the average scores for both genders were similar.
Another noteworthy observation is the disparity in maths scores between rural and urban schools in grade 8. Here, students in rural areas displayed a slight advantage over their urban counterparts. The report also suggested further analysis to understand the reasons behind this trend.
In his address, Punjab Minister for School Education Rana Sikandar Hayat said that under the leadership of the Punjab Chief Minister, the government is making efforts to bring back out-of-school children as it is committed to prioritising education. He added, “The National Achievement Test results are encouraging, we recognize the need to do more. Pakistan has declared an education emergency to address challenges, including the significant issue of out-of-school children. The collaborative efforts between the Punjab Examination Commission and Pakistan Institute of Education, with technical assistance from Cambridge Partnership for Education, underscore the importance of data-driven decision making in education reform,” he observed.
He said that he had called upon the Pakistan Institute of Education for their expertise in tackling the issue of out-of-school children, which impacts a significant number of Punjab’s youth. A first-ever census of public and private schools, as well as madrassahs, utilizing NADRA data, will assist in identifying their barriers and implementing targeted solutions, including accelerated learning programs. He added the data analysis will guide further improvements, pushing us closer to our goal of at least 80 percent student proficiency in future assessments.
The minister stated that education is an investment in the future and expressed a commitment to working collaboratively with the Pakistan Institute of Education and all education departments to empower Punjab’s children, particularly with the strong support from the public, especially women. He said Punjab’s overall performance compared favorably to other provinces, the results paint a nuanced picture of student strengths and weaknesses. Urdu emerged as the strongest subject, particularly for grade 4 students who achieved an impressive average score of 81 percent. English language skills also showed encouraging progress compared to 2019, with grade 4 students averaging 71 percent.
PIE Director General Dr. Shahid Soroya said that launching of the National Achievement Test (NAT) results in Punjab is a big step forward in working together to improve education across Pakistan. He mentioned that partnering with the School Education Department would allow them to combine their expertise to create a better assessment system. This includes using PIE’s new item banking software and expanding testing beyond grades 4 and 8 to include foundational skills. Sharing ownership of the data at the provincial level allows us to tailor solutions and decision-making to Punjab’s specific needs. Today’s report is a great starting point for ongoing collaboration, he mentioned. “I look forward to a productive discussion that will pave the way for even stronger results in future assessments, he added.
Dr Saroya was of the view that that the ultimate goal of PIE was to make sure the data is reliable and has a real impact, not just present results.This will drive meaningful improvements in Punjab’s educational landscape, he vowed.
MPA Amina Hassan Sheikh expressed that the event was a source of information and also a actual insight of the challenges and needs of the education sector, adding that there are a lot of thing to improve but constructive discussion always pays a pivotal rote in achieving goals. She stressed the need for teacher training to overcome challenges faced in the education sector at the school level.
