Initiatives for progress: Government to launch second shifts in public schools

Project aims to improve literacy, reduce dropout rate in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government is planning to initiate second shift classes in government-run schools to enrol out-of-school children.

The new project is aimed at controlling school dropout rates and improving enrolment, project director and former director of the Provincial Institute of Teacher Education, Jamaluddin told The Express Tribune on Monday.

Around 1.4 million children are out of primary schools in K-P and the Elementary and Secondary Education department has kicked off a number of projects aimed at improving the province’s literacy levels, said Jamaluddin.



According to the project director, 50% work on the initiative has been completed while the remaining will be completed within a couple of months.

“It has not yet been decided whether new teachers would be appointed to teach in the second shift or the responsibility would be given to existing teachers,” said Jamaluddin, adding that the curriculum would remain the same and as would the duration of classes.

He added Education Minister Atif Khan has begun discussions with various education-oriented organisations to assist the government in the project.

“Our main aim is to target districts where literacy levels are low and children are out of school,” said Jamaluddin.

Appreciating the government’s initiative, K-P All Pakistan Primary Teachers Association President Malik Khalid Khan said the students enrolled in second shift classes should also be given a stipend.

“Children who remain out of school mostly belong to very poor families and work as labourers. Stipends would serve as an incentive for the children as well as their parents,” said Khan.

He further said the government should also focus on providing basic facilities such as electricity, water, toilets and boundary walls in primary schools because a number of schools are functioning without them.

“There is a lack of primary school teachers. The government should address this and take concrete steps to improve the quality of education in K-P,” he stressed.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2014.