Govt financing 160 ALP centres across province

UNICEF chief says support to Balochistan Education Department is multidimensional

QUETTA: The provincial government has decided to finance 160 Alternative Learning Pathway (ALP) centres in a bid to provide quality alternative education to over 8,000 children and adolescents across Balochistan.

These centres will be established within three years by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), under the leadership of the Department of Secondary Education, government of Balochistan.



“UNICEF’s support to the Balochistan Education Department is multidimensional with ALP being the catalyst to accelerate enrolment of out-of-school children,” said UNICEF Chief of Field Office David Igulu while addressing an education seminar at the Sikander Jamali Auditorium, Balochistan Secretariat on Thursday.

Expressing gratitude to the government and the people of Japan, the UNICEF chief said, “Today’s event reflects the high-level commitment of government of Balochistan and long-standing support of government of Japan to UNICEF in its efforts to provide quality education to children of Balochistan.”

He said, “Capitalising on the excellent results so far, UNICEF will expand the outreach of the ALP model.”



Taking over the podium, Secondary Education Secretary Noorul Haq Baloch said, “In Balochistan, there are around 1 million out-of-school children and to provide access to quality education is a big challenge for the Department of Secondary Education.”

He said, “The department really appreciates the efforts of UNICEF and JICA for providing second chance of education to the children who have either missed out or dropped out; to catch up and complete their basic education. The provincial government is also aiming to mainstream the ALP initiative and allocate budget particularly for ALP to provide access to out-of-school children. We look forward to this collaboration which will not only strengthen the formal education system but also contribute towards social and economic development.”

Advancing Quality Alternative Learning (AQAL) Deputy Chief Adviser Abid Gill said, “JICA has been consistently prioritising Non-Formal Education (NFE) in its ongoing technical assistance to Pakistan since 2004. JICA is implementing AQAL project that aims to strengthen NFE delivery systems in Balochistan and Sindh. Now, JICA is further strengthening its commitment to NFE in collaboration with UNICEF to ensure the right to education to out-of-school children and adolescents.



He urged the government of Balochistan to come forward and expand NFE as a strategy to ensure right to education to OOSC under Article 25A.

It is pertinent to mention that the government of Japan’s support to alternative education in Balochistan is part of the recently signed agreement with UNICEF whereby $3.5 million has been granted for establishing 400 ALP centres across three provinces of Pakistan, including Balochistan. In all, over 15,000 children and adolescents will benefit from these centres.