Understanding Post-COVID-19 Learning Recovery in Public and Private Schools in Pakistan

This report examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education in rural Pakistan by combining a 2024 survey with long-term data from the Learning and Educational Achievement in Pakistan Schools (LEAPS) project. Researchers analyzed test scores of primary school students across more than 100 villages in Punjab to understand how school closures, health shocks, and income losses during the pandemic influenced learning outcomes.

The findings show that the duration of school closures had little measurable impact on student learning levels two years after schools reopened. However, income shocks experienced by households during the pandemic slightly reduced student test scores, particularly in public schools. These economic disruptions widened the existing gap between public and private school performance, although the magnitude of the effect was relatively modest compared to other factors such as school type, gender, and parental education.

Despite the pandemic’s disruptions, the study finds that long-term education trends in rural Pakistan remain positive. Student test scores have continued to improve over the past two decades, and learning progress between 2011 and 2024 was even faster than in earlier years. Overall, the results suggest that while COVID-19 caused temporary challenges, the education system in these rural areas showed resilience and recovery over time.