Minister of State for Education Balighur Rehman addresses the conference. PHOTO: NNI
“Well-maintained public sector schools can play a pivotal role in an improved enrolment rate,” said the expert. He was addressing the first National Convention of Parents on Education held in the federal capital on Monday.
The daylong convention featured various presentations, photometry and panel discussions on the country’s state of education. It was held by the Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) in collaboration with Alif-Ailaan and Parents Ittehad as part of the Critical Mass to Demand Access to Quality Education project.
The Parents’ Ittehad are organic community-based networks working on the improvement of educational standards at the school level by engaging the district administration, elected representatives, teacher unions, school management committees and media professionals.
A large number of representatives of the local support organisations, representatives of district parents’ Ittehad from four districts, parliamentarians, donours, educationists, researchers and activists from various walks of life will attend the event.
Overcoming challenges
Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training, Balighur Rehman, while addressing the inaugural session, said Pakistan’s education sector is facing huge challenges. “The federal and provincial governments are trying hard to overcome challenges faced by the education sector”.
One of the major problems facing education is the number of out of school children. “A total of 24 million children are out of school. It is an alarming figure, but the good news is that the number is on a decline. In 2013, at least 26 million children were out of school”, the minister said.
Prioritising education
“The government intends to double the budget allocated to higher education,” the minister remarked. He also stressed on the importance of the educational infrastructure, saying 43% of schools were without sanitation facilities in 2013. However, the current government has improved these facilities as 28% of the schools are now without sanitation.
The minister also praised the efforts of RSPN and Alif-Ailaan and urged them to widen the scope of the project to other districts. “The success for any social sector programme is a result of the community’s involvement and great results can be achieved.”
Chairperson RSPN Shoaib Sultan Khan also stressed on the importance of community involvement. “Mobilisation of community is the key to success in social development.” He added it was important to focus on social pillars to achieve the desired results of community development.”
On the occasion, DFID Deputy Country Head Judith Herbertson delivered the keynote speech and said all children deserve to be treated equally, especially in terms of access to education. “Pakistan’s future depends on an educated youth and it is inspiring to see that students have shown their commitment to education despite limited resources and a weak infrastructure.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 20th, 2016.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ