Peer-reviewed article
Access to schools and learning outcomes of children with disabilities in Pakistan: findings from a household survey in four administrative units
Neha Bhardwaj Upadhayay, Qahraman Kakar ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines school access and learning outcomes for children with disabilities across four administrative units in Pakistan. Using household survey data from 2018, researchers found that children with mild disabilities were more likely to be enrolled in school than children without disabilities, but children with severe disabilities had lower enrolment rates. Learning outcome gaps between children with and without disabilities were small. The findings suggest that disability severity and regional location significantly affect educational access.
Key points
- Children with mild disability are more likely to enrol in schools compared to children without disabilities
- Children with severe disability are less likely to access schools compared to children without disabilities
- There are regional differences in type of school access (government, private, religious) for children with disabilities
- Learning outcome gaps between children with and without disability are small
- Disability severity is a key factor affecting educational access in Pakistan
Limitations
The study uses cross-sectional household survey data from a single year (2018), which limits causal inference. The analysis does not explore the underlying barriers to school access or the specific factors driving regional differences.
Abstract
In Pakistan, children with disabilities face a two-fold disadvantage with respect to education - First, lack of access due to the country's heavily constrained education sector, and second, if they do access schools then the quality of education imparted is questionable. In this paper, we investigate the access to education and learning performance of children with disabilities in four administrative units of Pakistan-Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Merged Region and Punjab. We use household data from the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) of 2018, which included questions on disability status of children aged 3 to 16 years, their enrolment in school, and their performance of reading and arithmetic. Broadly, our findings indicate that children with mild disability are more likely to enrol in schools compared to children without disabilities. On the other hand, children with severe disability are less likely to access schools, when compared to their counterparts with no disabilities. In terms of type of school (government, private, religious) access, there are regional differences. In terms of learning outcomes of children with disabilities, we see a small gap between children with and without disability. This paper underscores policyconsiderations for children with disabilities based on the severity of disability faced.