Event Highlights: KIX EMAP Webinar 19: Advancing Gender Equity and Social Inclusion: Evidence-Based Education Research in South Asia, Middle East and North Africa

العربية

On 27 March 2024, the KIX EMAP Hub hosted Webinar 19 on the topic of “Advancing Gender Equity and Social Inclusion: Evidence-Based Education Research in South Asia, Middle East and North Africa”. More than 90 participants attended this online event. The webinar was conducted in English, with interpretation in Arabic.

The webinar opened with welcoming words from José Luís Canêlhas, KIX EMAP Hub Director. The webinar featured four speakers including KIX researchers and KIX EMAP Hub national experts: Rokeya Akhter, Executive Director of the South Asian Institute for Social Transformation (SAIST), Zahid Majeed, Director, Academic Planning and Course Production at Allama Iqbal Open University, and Zahida Batool, Deputy Director Planning, Quaid-e-Azam Academy for Educational Development (QAED).

After the welcoming words, Rokeya Akhter gave the first presentation “Gender and Social Disparities in School Dropout Risks Reduction: A Multifaceted Intervention in Bangladesh.” These findings from Learning Cycle 2 addressed child dropout in schools in Bangladesh, with a focus on gender and social disparities, and proposed intervention policies for dropout risk reduction. The second presentation “School leaders and inclusive practice in Pakistan: capabilities, collaboration and constraints” was delivered by Zahid Majeed who occupied a country lead role for the KIX research on “Networked Improvement Communities for School Leaders Towards Equity and Inclusion” in Pakistan. He focused on the barriers that children with disabilities face in Pakistan that exclude them from quality education and hinders the country from achieving their development goals. The third presentation “Advancing gender equity and social inclusion in Punjab”, from Zahida Batool discussed equity and social inclusion in education for all the children, with a focus on the situation in Punjab, Pakistan. 

Each presentation was followed by an engaging Q&A session with the audience. Questions and comments from participants during the session focused on quality of available data in the countries during conflict times, teacher licensing challenging process, dropout rates, access to high quality education and gender inequality issues.

Further resources:

• KIX Project: Effectiveness and Scalability of Programs for Children Who Are Out of School and at Risk of Dropping Out in Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal
• KIX Project: School leaders as agents of change towards equity and inclusion
• Learning Cycle 2, Bangladesh case study in progress: Equitable Access to Education with Geospatial Data

Presentations:

• Breaking Barriers- Advancing Equity and Social Inclusion in  Punjab, Pakistan
• Gender and Social Disparities in School Dropout Risks Reduction: A Multifaceted Intervention, Bangladesh
• School leaders approaching equity and inclusion through collective action and professional networks: case study, Pakistan