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3. CASE STUDIES
Methodological Approach
To understand better how learning outcomes are related with household poverty and school
factors, and how policy can tackle some of the associated problems or leverage the positive links,
this section presents four detailed country case studies. The selected countries are Malaysia,
Jordan, Pakistan and Nigeria. Each case study includes a (i) description of the education system
and a brief account of the policy landscape and current efforts to improve the quality of
education (ii) brief account of the current state and trend of learning outcomes, (iii) quantitative
analysis of the relationships between learning outcomes and various correlates of student
learning, and a qualitative analysis of these relationships as well as stakeholders’ interviews.
Secondary data and literature is also reference wherever applicable.
Inclusion Criteria
The case studies have been chosen to reflect the geographic distribution of OIC countries in the
world. Jordan from MENA, Nigeria from Sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan from South Asia while
Malaysia from East Asia. We have selected South Asia over Central Asia because most of the
world’s population with less than a primary education is in South Asia which is also home to 3
other Muslim countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Maldives. In addition, the following
criteria were considered before selecting the countries:
(i) Access-related patterns (i.e. enrolment and school completion): a large number of
OIC countries are still struggling with out-of-school children or poor retention rate
among those already in school. Nigeria and Pakistan belong to this group. However,
most middle-income OIC member countries have overcome this problem. Malaysia
and Jordan belong to this group.
(ii) Trends in improvements in learning outcomes: In most cases, the level of learning
is poor and progress lacking.
(iii) Availability of independent assessment of child-level learning outcomes: In most
OIC countries, researchers do not have access to government data on child-level
learning outcomes. Jordan and Malaysia have been chosen, however, because they
at least have a long history of participation in independent international assessment
of learning outcomes.
(iv) Citizen-led initiatives: Education system in OIC countries that do not participate in
international assessment also maintain a centralized system of monitoring,
assessment and evaluation. Pakistan has been chosen as an exception to this pattern
and a rare example of large-scale citizen-driven regular assessment of the
performance of all types of schools in the country. First introduced in India by the
NGO Pratham, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) Pakistan is globally
recognized for its evidence-based leadership in the field of basic education in
Pakistan.
Additional consideration was given to the fact the OIC countries differ in terms of inequality in
access and dependence on private schools. Nigeria and Pakistan were prioritized among
income-poor member countries where private schools are have mushroomed. Among middle-
income OIC countries, Jordan represents those with a growing share of private schools. Malaysia
has also seen a recent rise in private provision.