Strengthening Local Governance of Schools: Evidence From Pakistan

• In Event: 18.035 - Changing Education Through Rethinking Governance

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of strengthening local governance in schools, by engaging school-level actors, using Information and Communication Technology (ICT), on school performance in Pakistan. The author estimates the impact of the School Council Mobilization Program (SCMP), a unique program spearheaded by the government, in which the government informed and encouraged school councils (SCs), comprising of teachers, parents and community members, in select schools via sustained and targeted phone calls through a hired call center, to spend funds on school improvement. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, the author finds that there is no impact on expenditure by SCs, or school and student level outcomes, like functionality of facilities, teacher and student attendance and student test scores.

Author

• Minahil Asim, University of California - Davis