Under the newly introduced model, SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar inaugurated the digitally enabled Ehsaas survey today, in Pakistan’s most industrialized district, Sialkot. The inaugurated model has already been effectively executed in KP and other areas of the country and is now being replicated in Sialkot as well. The new model is principally centered on the fast-track approach to implement the survey across Sialkot in collaboration with provincial school education department of Punjab under the technical supervision of Ehsaas.
The new survey is being rolled out in all areas of Sialkot. Through computer assisted approach, the socioeconomic data will be collected at the household level, which would facilitate the precise identification of deserving households. For the purpose, around 3,500 teachers have been engaged through provincial school education department. Easing out the survey listing and enumeration process, as many as 3200 enumerators along with 320 supervisors are being deployed to execute the survey in 3,200 survey blocks districtwide.
To roll out the survey with accelerated momentum, the technical training of teachers as master trainers has just begun in collaboration with provincial government. Ehsaas master trainers are providing technical training to the teachers on the methodology of socio-economic survey. As soon as the training is concluded, the field teams will go door to door to digitally collect poverty data in all Tehsils of Sialkot including Pasrur, Daska and Sambrial. An android-based tablet application has been utilized to capture the data. The data collected from the households will be submitted to central database through digital system for monitoring and review.
In line with the inclusive social protection policy of Ehsaas, results will facilitate proper targeting of poor households for the multitude of Ehsaas initiatives particularly the new Ehsaas Kafaalat beneficiaries and households of deserving special persons, widows, orphans and labourers.
While in Sialkot, Dr. Sania also held an interactive briefing with the media to brief them on the progress and constraints with regard to the ongoing national Ehsaas survey. “The phase-wise survey continues in various districts across the country to enroll deserving households in Ehsaas. The entire survey registry is expected to be completed across the country before June 2021”, said Dr. Sania. “Under the Ehsaas framework, the apolitical survey is committed to safeguard utmost transparency because its findings would cater to changing socio economic conditions of the vulnerable populations in the post-COVID-19 Pakistan”, she further added.
The opening of registration desks for self-enrolment of left out households was also discussed that once the survey nears the completion in Sialkot, Ehsaas registration desks will be mobilized at Tehsil level to facilitate the registration of deserving households.
Speaking about the inaugurated survey in Sialkot, Dr. Sania said, “Data collection is a very sensitive responsibility, local enumerators should perform it with full obligation.” She also advised public to cooperate with the survey teams and share factually true data when the survey teams visit them. Also, she urged the provincial government and district administration to facilitate the execution of the Ehsaas survey in Sialkot.
Following the media briefing, Dr. Sania visited a local household in the Sialkot Tehsil of the district to oversee the digital enrolment of the family through survey. She also reviewed integrity measures in the computer assisted survey process that have been put in place to ensure transparency. During the survey demonstration, she also interacted with the surveyed household and the survey team to take their on-spot feedback about the data collection process.
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