The effort is entirely indigenous; all the systems devised and the tools created are by our own experts: PIDA
The digital census would be a great success, as the merits of digital census include: time reduction, GIS-based monitoring, real-time progress analysis, instant data availability, online task allocation, data quality assurance, transparency, a dashboard for stakeholders, complaint resolution through a hotline, real-time trend analysis, decision support dashboard and so on.
Pakistan’s Census in 2023 is going to be digital for the first time in the country’s history. All the preparations are rolled out and the team is now ready for a gigantic task. The effort is entirely indigenous; all the systems devised and the tools created are by our own experts, enunciated Naeem uz Zafar, Chief Statistician, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), proudly. He was addressing a hybrid seminar, themed “Census 2023: All You Want to Know About”, at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Islamabad.
He shared that census is an important national activity that is linked with resource allocation to provinces, representation in National/Provincial assemblies, and the delimitation process. Therefore, the credibility of the census is of utmost importance. This is what called for comprehensive introspection leading to a solution acceptable to all – digital census.
He apprised the audience that after the results of the latest Census 2017 were approved in the 45th CCI meeting held on 12th April 2021, the Council of Common Interests (CCI) gave directions for the next census to start as early as possible and should be according to international best practices by using the latest technology. The Government of Pakistan then constituted a committee of renowned demographers and experts with comprehensive TORS, to bring transparency, credibility, and wider acceptability of census processes and results. For this, a board-based stakeholders’ engagement was carried out in order to have ownership of the process.
Earlier in his opening remarks Dr. Nadeem ul Haque, Vice Chancellor PIDE said that the Censuses remain controversial in Pakistan, at times delayed for over a decade. Now that we are moving toward the new Census, it is time to raise all the concerns and questions we have.
To address the Seminar on the forthcoming Census 2023, Dr. Naeem uz Zafar said that following UN Guidelines and detailed deliberations of the Committee, it was decided that there ought to be clarity regarding the primary objectives of the census – policy and planning. Ensuring universality, implying that counting of the whole population residing in the country at the time of census should be done, irrespective of its status/whether one is the holder of CNIC or not. The exercise is of counting not of verification. Individual enumeration to be carried out – information on each enumerated person to be collected. It was also agreed upon that census must be conducted simultaneously and in the shortest possible time, he said.
The Chief Statistician also added that a National Census Coordination Committee (N3C) has been developed at the national level in the House of PBS. N3C can be imagined as National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) that was set up during the pandemic. N3C would have centralized decision-making, having a control room with dashboards showing real-time progress, trends, and analysis.
For the first time, the self-enumeration method will also be used. It’s a two-step process. First, you will have to sign in on a portal and fill out the form. Toward the end, it will provide you with a QR code. Save it for yourself. Later, when the enumerator knocks on your door, just show him the QR code. He would scan it and the data will be saved into the system. Moreover, geo-tagging of each structure, tablet-based and self-enumeration system will build the trust of stakeholders. 126,000 tablets will be used in the exercise. All checks and security measures are in place for breach or manipulation of the data. He also said that PBS has conducted training on the digital census in three tiers i.e. Training of Master Trainers, Training of Trainers (ToT), and Training of Enumerators. As of now, the pilot census has also been completed.
All of this would be backed up by strict monitoring oversight with cross-checks and in-built checks within the systems.
Regarding the questionnaire, the Chief Statistician said that there are around 40 questions on 08 broad themes. These include household, basic amenities, demography, education health, employment, disability, and migration.
The digital census would be a great success, as the merits of digital census include: time reduction, GIS-based monitoring, real-time progress analysis, instant data availability, online task allocation, data quality assurance, transparency, a dashboard for stakeholders, complaint resolution through a hotline, real-time trend analysis, decision support dashboard and so on.
In the end, Naeem uz Zafar thanked PIDE for the opportunity and requested any feedback to mitigate any loopholes if any.
It is pertinent to note that, the first-ever regular population census in the areas now comprising Pakistan, was held in 1881. Since then regular Census was conducted after every ten years up to 1981. Six censuses have been undertaken so far i.e. 1951, 1961, 1972, 1981, 1998, and latest in 2017. — PR
