The association between presence of sanitation facilities and school enrolment in Pakistan. (March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gillani, Abbas A.
• Is Part Of: World development perspectives. Number 21(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-03
• Subjects: Education -- Infrastructure -- Gender -- Pakistan -- JEL -- I20 -- I21 -- I28 -- R58; Economic development -- Evaluation -- Periodicals; Economic assistance -- Evaluation -- Developing countries -- Periodicals; Developing countries -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals; 338.9105
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wdp.2021.100289
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2452-2929

Abstract

Highlights: A school with a toilet facility is associated with higher enrolment. This association is only significant for girls only schools. No such association was found for boys only school or mixed schools. Abstract: Pakistan is the seventh worst country in the world in terms of access to basic sanitation facilities, with 1 in 3 schools in Pakistan lacking basic toilet provision. Evidence shows that quality environment and physical infrastructure is linked with improved educational outcomes, although literature quantifying the magnitude, or mechanism, of how a toilet facility at school can increase school participation is a recent area of interest. By using school-level data of over 17.000 schools in Pakistan from The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), this paper estimates the relationship between a school having a toilet facility and enrolment at school, between the years 2013 and 2018. We find a school with a toilet facility is correlated with increased enrolment. Gender-wise breakup of results suggests, that for girls only schools, having a toilet facility was linked with a higher enrolment. However, for boys only schools, and for mixed schools, no robust evidence of any such association between a toilet facility at school and enrolment was found. Future research should focus on quantifying the mechanism behind the heterogeneous effects across gender, as toilet facilities potentially serve as a safe space for girls against harassment, assault and sexual violence.