Mobilink has announced the expansion of the SMS-based literacy project in partnership with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Launched last year with a view to reshaping lives through connectivity, the SMS-based literacy program is a joint venture between Mobilink and UNESCO with a local NGO, Bunyad as the implementing partner. 

The 5 month pilot project conducted with 250 adolescent girls in Punjab has shown a marked improvement in their skills and has managed to overcome the socio-cultural barriers traditionally associated with owning a cell phone. The President and CEO, Rashid Khan announced to expansion of the program to include another 1,000 girls to understand the impact of replicating the project on a larger scale.

In the pilot, the 250 learners received interesting and informative text messages daily in Urdu and were expected to respond. In the second part, the participants were evaluated on a periodic basis to assess gains in knowledge and learning. The program was conducted with the help of 10 teachers enlisted by Bunyad.

It was found that at the beginning of the program 57% of the girls were graded ‘C’ and only 28% of the girls managed to score an ‘A’. However, near the end of the project the situation reversed with percentage of girls receiving a ‘C’ dropped to only 11% whereas more than 60% of the girls were awarded an ‘A’.

The program teachers also report a stark improvement in the confidence of the young girls as owning a mobile phone made a difference to their sense of security.