Abstract

Education is important for socio-economic development of a country and plays a key role in attaining the sustainable development agenda. ‘Access to education for all’ is a basic human right. Keeping this in mind, this study was designed to investigate peoples’ access to inclusive and quality education and its role in sustainable rural development in the newly merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, Pakistan. This study is based on primary data which was collected from two newly merged districts (ex-FATA) of KP province. Data were collected from the school heads as well as from the household heads. A total of 103 schools and 206 households, which were selected through a mechanism outlined in Chapter III, were included in the survey. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data from both sources. To analyze the data, SPSS software was used for both descriptive as well as inferential statistics. To investigate the factors that determine students’ enrollment in selected schools, a multiple linear regression model was used. A vector of explanatory variables (teachers’ availability, backup energy supply, schools’ landscaping, new renovated building, sufficient outdoor spaces, classroom facilities and hygienic sanitation facility) were used to determine their effects on students’ enrollment (dependent variable). The results show that teachers’ availability, schools’ landscaping, sufficient outdoor spaces, and hygiene facilities are the major determinants of students’ enrollment in these schools. The study recommends adoption of a bottom-up and inclusive approach for the formulation and implementation of effective educational policies. Furthermore, the school management needs to develop an outreach mechanism to actively engage parents and other community members in school related activities and decisions.