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

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.