Closing the Gap

The Closing the Gap project supported 5,928 girls and was implemented by ACTED in Pakistan.

In Pakistan, around 22.8 million children between the ages of five and 16 are not attending school (44% of the age group’s population), and enrolment rates for girls are considerably lower than for boys. Since 2022, the floods in Pakistan have also exacerbated the situation, with over 1.96 million children at risk of losing out on education due to its impact on community infrastructure. The districts targeted by the project have some of the worst education outcomes for girls with girls facing multiple barriers which include financial barriers, a lack of qualified female teachers, early marriage, heavy domestic burdens, insecurity, under-resourced schools, and a lack of support of girls’ education due to socio-cultural norms.

The project beneficiaries include girls who have never been to school or dropped out, married, orphaned, girls from ethnic minority groups and girls with disabilities. The goal of the project was to ensure that girls had improved learning outcomes, transitioned to formal school wherever required and appropriate, and gained market-relevant livelihood and life skills. This was done through an accelerated learning programme (ALP), life skills and mentorship sessions, technical and vocational education, and training (TVET) and financial literacy training.

Main activities

• Delivering a 30-month Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) for girls aged 10 to 13 and supporting them to transition back to formal school.
• Supporting girls of varying abilities through the provision of additional catch-up classes.
• Providing literacy and numeracy training to girls aged 14 to 19 coupled with skills, vocational and financial literacy training.
• Offering competitive business start-up grants and internships to graduates of skills/vocational training.
• Training female teachers from within target communities.

The project in numbers

Lessons learned

School Management Committee (SMC) can play a significant role in ensuring attendance of GEC learners. The SMCs conducted meetings with communities to disseminate information and created awareness about the learning spaces and met the parents/caregivers of girls who were not attending regularly.

The play-based approach used in the project proved to be successful despite many reservations and concerns initially. Right To Play’s play-based learning approach has been extremely effective in not just teaching essential life skills but also ensuring retention and regular attendance. The play-based learning activities were essential in life skill development amongst learners, especially improving their overall confidence and communication skills.

Business grants are an effective tool for empowerment. The grants provided girls with financial independence, which in turn allowed them to contribute to their household income and support their families. This also enabled them to be involved in the decision-making processes within their families giving them voice.

The active and strategic relationship developed with the School Education and Literacy Department (SELD) in Sindh positively contributed to the sustainability of the ALP programme. SELD played a pivotal role by conducting monitoring visits to the centres and by providing consultations on implementation strategies.

ACTED: https://www.acted.org/en/