BRAC Launches Pre-Primary School Pilot in Pakistan

Like many developing countries, Pakistan has made significant progress towards increasing enrollment in primary education; however, studies show that basic problems such as low retention rates for both girls and boys in primary schools persist and stand in the way of achieving universal primary education. Recognizing this issue, BRAC USA has riased nearly $50,000 to implement a pilot pre-primary school education program in the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan. Specifically, BRAC plans to open 20 pre-primary schools over the next year. Each school will have 30-33 children 5 to 6 years of age and will maintain a girl to boy ratio of 70:30. The goals of the program include:

• Using pre-primary schools as a means to smooth the transition for children into a formal classroom setting, enhancing skill development and reducing primary school drop-out rates


• Using pre-schools to reach poor and often excluded children, as well as to promote greater gender equality in education


• Developing an institutional structure with skilled administrators, trained teachers and educational materials that will deliver cost-effective and replicable pre-school education and programs


• Supporting the government in its effort to achieve universal primary education

The pilot program is designed to replicate BRAC’s extensive experience in Bangladesh. BRAC first launched its pre-school intervention in Bangladesh in 1997 with 40 one-room pilot schools established to provide preparatory educational opportunities to underprivileged children between 5 and 6 years of age. BRAC has since expanded this program nationally, to include more than 26,000 pre-schools where over 700,000 children are currently enrolled. To date, approximately 2.3 million children (60%+ girls) have graduated from BRAC’s pre-primary system, almost all of which were subsequently admitted into primary schools in the formal education system.

BRAC’s experience in Bangladesh has illustrated that children completing pre-school education perform better in primary school not only in academics but in a number of other important areas: They have better school attendance records, are more proactive in classroom work including co-curricular activities and demonstrate better standards of hygiene. Furthermore, the primary education completion rate is higher for students who participated in BRAC’s pre-primary schools, with 81% of BRAC pre-primary students who entered into formal primary schools in 2003 completing their primary education in 2008. It is these impressive results that BRAC hopes to replicate in Pakistan.