Experts chalk out plans to enrol 25 million children

Initiative proposes both virtual and formal solutions

ISLAMABAD: A group of education experts prepared a set of recommendations to bring over 25 million out-of-school children back into the classrooms.

For this purpose, an e-education project titled ‘Iqra’ has been launched by Ammar Jaferi, former additional director general in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), in collaboration with Human Development Foundation (HDF) Pakistan.

Federal Minister Balighur Rehman said the total number of out-of-school children is Rs16 million.

Jaferi said after his retirement from FIA in 2009, he started working for social uplift of the underprivileged in society and established a platform called the Pakistan Institute of Information Technology (PIIT), focusing on modern tools and techniques of education. He said he believes 70 per cent of the population live in rural areas, and that development is not possible without their education.

The former FIA official tasked Col (retd) Abuzar Khan with enrolling 500 street children. Khan said he has stated work on this undertaking in his area of Gujjar Khan. Thus far the colonel has succeeded in enrolling 77 students, and claims that the remainder will be enrolled by the end of the year.

Jaferi said he has signed over 60 agreements with predominantly public sector institutions for their help in the project.

Expert recommendations

Dr Anwar Butt, an expert on governance, community, capacity and institutional development, said the Iqra project aims to enrol 0.1 million out-of-school children within a year by promoting education in a virtual environment, as well as on the streets, in tents and in formal schools.

Addressing the launching ceremony of the project, HDF CEO Azhar Salim said the e-learning method is so effective that it has increased classroom attendance by three times.

Under the ‘digital study hall’ project, the HDF has already set up 65 schools in Rahim Yar Khan for underprivileged children, Salim added.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2015.