The Pakistan Reading Project (PRP) spent a significant part of the first quarter of this reporting period (2013-14) on essential start-up activities, which included recruitment of staff; planning and engaging provincial/regional stakeholders and developing the project’s annual work plan for USAID’s approval. Following USAID’s approval of the annual work plan, PRP picked up pace with implementation of its activities. This was also a direct result of signing of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between USAID the provincial/regional governments.

The National Gender Study, undertaken by PRP, aims to examine, identify, synthesize, and provide recommendations for remedying gender gaps and inequalities in early grade reading, especially grades 1 and 2, in Pakistan. This study provides a thorough and expansive overview of the challenges girls and boys face in learning to read, exploring correlations between systemic inequalities and trends in reading performance in six provinces/regions across Pakistan.