Academic Achievement of Voucher Students and Ex-Post-Facto Effect on Academic Performance of EVS Students

Abstract

The Education Voucher Scheme (EVS) is one of the leading programs to provide quality education to the marginalised segment of society under the umbrella of the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF), Pakistan. Through partner schools, EVS provides access to quality education to poor students who cannot afford the education expenses by providing vouchers against which their academic fee is borne by the Foundation. In addition to the financial support, the students also get free books every academic session. The focus of the present study was to find out the difference in the academic achievement of EVS students and non-EVS students studying at EVS-partner schools. The purpose was also to establish the ex-post-facto effect on the academic achievement of EVS students after intervention by the EVS program. The present quantitative research consisted of secondary data, i.e. PEC results of grades 5 & 8 of 504 EVS students and Non-EVS students and annual results/scores of 66 EVS students. The scores in 8 subjects (English, Urdu, Islamiyat, Mathematics, General Science, Social Studies, Arabic/Computer, and Elective) of both EVS students and Non-EVS students were compared using multiple two-sample independent t-tests. It was revealed that Non-EVS students surpassed EVS students in 07 subjects, i.e. English, Islamiyat, Mathematics, Social Studies, General Science, Computer, and Elective subject, except for Urdu. However, it was also found that EVS students have shown continuous improvement in their academic performance as they progressed from class 6 to class 8.